My letter to Senator Lieberman
I am a loyal supporter of the Democratic Party. I lost my electoral virginity back in 1988 in a poorly heated fire house in a Philadelphia suburb and have never been the same since....
Twelve years later I proudly cast my presidential vote for the Gore/Lieberman ticket as a California resident. I even supported Gore's decision to not fight the Supreme Court's decision that installed Bush in the White House--a position that put me at odds with others in my own party--and a position whose full consequences are yet to be realized. And I also supported your choice to run for VP and your senate seat concurrently. I've bet on horses in the past and so I understand that sometimes you have to hedge your bets.
You are a Democrat and I support Democrats.
I wasn't shocked when I heard earlier this year that you were being challenged by Ned Lamont. As a resident of California I chose to leave it up to the Democratic voters of Connecticut on August 8. I did not contribute to Ned Lamont's campaign. I did not volunteer to work on Ned Lamont's campaign. I did not even blog about this primary election. I even had no objections to President Clinton's campaigning for you nor to organizations like the Sierra Club (of which I'm a member) endorsing you. I am a Democrat and I support Democrats.
And it appears that yesterday's primary election was one of the successes in recent memory from a democratic (small "d") standpoint. Voter participation was much higher than most (reports of 40% or more--almost rivaling a general election turnout). There were no allegations of voter disenfranchisement--no reports of 5 or 6 hour lines at polling places--no reports of voter intimidation. This election was not a repeat of the irregularities that we saw in 2000 and 2004 on the national level. And so it is with great disappointment, Senator Lieberman, that instead of hearing a speech from you last night where you asked your downtrodden supporters to look to November and to support the democratically elected Democratic nominee for Connecticut Senator, Ned Lamont, I instead hear a so-called concession speech where you announce your intentions to continue to run for your seat. Senator, did I hear you correctly? Do you not believe in primaries? If not, why did you run in the Democratic primary in the first place--was it out of convenience? And are you now no longer a member of the Democratic party? Senator, are you a Democrat? Because from where I sit it does not appear that you are and so I must say--I am a Democrat and I support Ned Lamont.