From Elena Kagan’s first comments about Cheney’s illegal wiretapping program yesterday, it sounds almost like she’d vote for rule of law in the al-Haramain case (though the case is probably in the gray area of cases on which she should recuse herself).

The progressive movement showed they can still be a force in elections, if not in governing. Across the country, real Democrats were chosen over corrupt elites or conservative Democrats. This really ends up being a game of inches – but I still believe it matters who gets these politicians into office.

Tuesday was a bad day for Washington establishment candidates and a bad day for conservative Democrats. All three establishment favorites performed poorly in the May 18 elections — and President Obama also fared badly as an endorser.

Ah, primary season. During which the Republican base tries to move their party from far-right to batshit-right, while the Democratic base tries to move theirs from center-right to center.

Depending on how the elections go today, the spinmeisters will work their story-telling magic in various ways.

Tomorrow, May 18, there are three highly contested Democratic primaries for US Senate seats: Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Arkansas. In each race, the more left-leaning Democratic candidate is currently polling as the most electable.

WaPo’s Greg Sargent asks — is the White House bracing for an Arlen Specter loss? Is that why Joe Biden won’t do last-minute events with Specter? It may have something to do with the numbers that Quinnipiac is seeing.

With Pennsylvania’s May 18 primary fast approaching, more and more signs indicate a come-from-behind Joe Sestak victory over incumbent Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter — including the most positive poll result for Sestak so far.

There is a meme that the Republican Party has a top-down, authoritarian structure where potential candidates patiently wait their turn for nominations. On the other hand, the Democratic Party hosts a divided, disorganized coalition. Yet this year, it’s the GOP that is seeing a roiling, rebellious bottom-up movement with little deference to leadership.

It appears that Democrats want more reliable Democrats in office, and nobody wants incumbents to stay in place.