Ned Lamont defeated Joe Lieberman in the CT Senatorial primary by only four percentage points. Lieberman is determined to run as an Independent.
Many political observers have said that the Democrats have a problem; namely, that the public doesn't know what they stand for. The public knows what Republicans stand for. Many are thinking of voting Democratic this fall but hesitate because the Party has not expressed a basic philosophy. These observers say that the Democrats seem united only in their opposition to George Bush and his policies and they accuse Democrats of not having policies of its own other than to oppose the policies of the Republicans.
The fact that a centrist-conservative Democrat was defeated by only four percentage points in a heavy turn-out feeds this image of Democrats unable to agree on a philosophy. That's the bad news of the Connecticut Senatorial Primary.
Everyone in politics is interested in winning. I once knew a member of Congress who liked to say that a politician has two obligations:
1. Getting elected
2. Getting reelected.
He was a good liberal progressive Democrat. He was the Representative for my district in California from 1960 to 1980. He lost re-election in 1980 on the issue of school busing and because Carter conceded before the polls closed here in the West.
The Democratic Leadership Conference (DLC) was organized to develop a strategy of winning elections. The basic philosophy of the DLC was that Democrats should appeal to moderate or somewhat conservative undecided voters. The DLC recognized that only about two-thirds of voters considered themselves either Democrats or Republicans. The others were independent or non-partisan. They hated partisanship and thought elected officials should simply get along with each other and work together to get things done. They had no use for the ideology of either Party. Hence, the Democratic Party, according to the DLC, would renounce partisanship and ideology and appeal to middle-of-the-road voters.
The last few elections have shown that the DLC prescription for electoral victory doesn't work. The Republicans have shown that the way to win elections is to appeal to certain extreme one-issue right-wing groups, particularly Christian Evangelical Fundamentalists. These are people who traditionally are uninterested in politics. The Republicans have inspired them to vote and elect Republicans. We see what kind of Republicans they elect!
Lieberman is a stubborn and proud man. He will run as an Independent in the general election this fall. However, everyone knows that he is a former Democrat. He even was the Party's nominee for Vice President in 2000. Lieberman demonstrates that the Democratic Party is undecided on several important issues. His candidacy as an Independent will make it difficult for others in the Party to persuade the public that the Party knows what it stand for.