Last month when Scott Brown became the first Massachusetts Republican in over thirty years to win a US Senate election, it sent veritable shock waves through the political punditry. Now all of a sudden it seemed plausible that rock-solid Democrat Senators such as Barbara Boxer (CA), Patty Murray (WA) and Russ Feingold (WI) could face very serious challenges in this year's mid-term elections. The prevailing optimism would even suggest that 18-term MN Congressman James Oberstar can finally be unseated.
I equate the paradigm shift to when Roger Bannister became the first runner to break the 4-minute mile. Prior to 1954, when Bannister's landmark sprint took place, the conventional wisdom was that the human physiological makeup couldn't endure the stress of such a jaunt. But since Bannister busted through that proverbial road block, the 'four minute barrier' has been broken by many male athletes, and is now the standard of all professional middle distance runners. In the last 50+ years the mile record has been lowered by almost 17 seconds.
The point is it took only one landmark victory in Massachusetts to create a groundswell of hope that many other formidable GOP candidates can emerge victorious come November. But like Bannister's historic moment, it doesn't happen without a tremendous amount of work and preparation.
So consider this evening's precinct caucuses as a light jog in preparing for the November races. Roger Bannister didn't break the four-minute mile because he got lucky. Countless hours of training put him in prime position on that fateful day in May of 1954. So check out your local caucus tonight. It is there that you will receive your "training regimen" for the next nine months.
Don't know where your caucus is located? Please click here.
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