The governor of Texas may be in for some trouble...combined with Chandler's victory yesterday and the whole GOP machine is starting to come apart.

I was annoyed yesterday when, during the post-Wisconsin spin one of the commentators said something to the effect of "I don't buy this whole 'virtual democrat' argument that Trippi keeps trotting out...I mean, these 'virtual dems' didn't even win a single primary". Slurring the blogosphere as being "unable to win a primary" is exactly why Chandler's support and victory was so important.

Without soft money, these so-called 'virtual democrats' are keeping us afloat against the GOP. Small dollar contributions are going to take back the party to the people, and to reinvigorate every Democrat. The reason primary attendance has been so high has been disgust at Bush, channelled through grass-roots organizing and GOTV operations. Without the 'virtual democrats' who actually had a spine and put their money where their mouths were, none of this would've been possible.

As JMM points out, the Dems finally have an advantage that we can make the most of. And as I relayed to a friend yesterday, it's a huge one. How huge? Well, just look at the latest political meetup numbers, which are a good gauge of net-savvy strength:

1. Dean in 2004 (>188,600 members)
2. Clark in 2004 (>66,700)
3. Kerry in 2004 (>48,600)
4. Democratic Party (>27,000)
5. Kucinich in 2004 (>23,800)
6. Townhall (>22,600)
7. March for Women (>10,100)
8. Edwards in 2004 (>9,500)
9. Common Cause (>7,000)
10. MTV and RTV (>5,800)
11. Republican Party (>4,900)
12. Impeach Bush (>3,800)
13. Bush in 2004 (>3,400)
14. Million Moms (>2,200)
15. Gay Rights (>1,700)

Between the top three groups is a quarter of a million people. MTV and Rock the Vote have more members than the GOP group. The "Impeach Bush" group is even larger than the Bush/Cheney 04 group. If the Dems can continue to water the grassroots and get a million people involved around the country, there's no way the GOP can stop us in November. Regardless of who is on our ticket. Simple, numerical superiority.