Lieberman is pulling a Cheney by parroting right-wing talking points. Lamont should pull a Santorum and divide the opposition by raising the profile of Republican Alan Schlesinger, who is currently in single digits. How can Ned do this?
Challenge Schlesinger to debates. And he should do it before Lieberman gets certified as the candidate of "Lieberman for Lieberman" Party.
Think about it: Lamont is in the drivers seat. The CT Secretary of State says that only 4,600 of 7,500 voters' signatures have been certified. That leaves only two certified candidates at this point in time: Lamont and Schlesinger. So, Lamont can call for debates with Schlesinger between only the two of them. While major news outlets may not support debates between just the two of these candidates, political shows like Chris Matthews, Hannity & Colmes, and local radio talk show host Colin McEnroe probably would.
In the end, Lamont has absolutely nothing to lose from this. Follow me after the flip and I'll explain...
First, the more debate practice Lamont gets, the better he comes off. With each new interview - whether with Chris Wallace, Chuck Roberts, Lawrence Kudlow, or Chris Matthews - Ned gets more and more appealing. So we don't have to worry about him embarassing himself.
Secondly, after his appearance on Hardball yesterday, Schlesinger has shown that he's willing to run as an unabashed Republican willing to defend the adminstration. There are still Republicans in Connecticut who yearn for that and Lieberman is too scared to do that at this point. With Ned bashing Bush and Schlesinger defending Rumsfield and irresponsible borrow and spending, Democrats and Republicans have two clear choices.
Thirdly, even if some shows demand that Lieberman debate too, Lamont still wins in such a situation. Lieberman could react in several ways. Joe may not like the idea of Schlesinger's profile being raised and could demand it only be between he and Ned. Of course that wouldn't fly since he's not even one of the major party canidates. Plus it would reflect poorly on him. Or he could refuse to debate except during a major network sponsored debate. Again, that would make him look unwilling to answer to the people. Or he may agree, which again puts Lieberman as the main target of Schlesinger since they are both vying for Republican voters.
Finally, Ned can choose as many debates as he wants. Schlesinger is desperate for coverage and would agree to whatever debates he suggests. If Lamont can arrange some before Lieberman gets certified, he could possibly make it just one-on-one. But even if he did it after Lieberman got certiified and wanted one every other week, he could probably get that, too. Schlesinger is desperate and would probably go for it. And since Lieberman is getting the vast majority of the conservative GOP and unaffiliated votes, many would certainly start gravitating to Schlesinger because they would see he's more than just someone with gambling problems.
Besides, what this Senate race has embodied is democracy in action. In 1996, John Kerry and William Weld held an historic series of Senate debates that really energized that race. Lamont could easily replicate a similar situation, thus enlivening not just this race but others across the nation, since so many people are watching this one.
I hope Ned considers this.