Josh Marshall over at Talking Points Memo is my favorite blogger because I just love his writing ability and style and, most importantly, his thoughtful way of acknowledging nuance in all things.
More below the jump.
A New York resident, Marshall has stood by with ostensible neutrality on Lamont vs. Lieberman. But he slowly has been gravitating away from Lieberman, as demonstrated in his blog posts over these past few months.
Today, for the first time, he directly slams Lieberman hard. Josh started by quoting this exchange on the Today Show:
LAUER: Senator, is there any phone call you could receive? Is there anyone in the Democratic Party who could call you today and ask you to drop out that you would listen to?
LIEBERMAN: Respectfully, no. I am committed to this campaign, to a different kind of politics, to bringing the Democratic Party back from Ned Lamont, Maxine Waters to the mainstream, and for doing something for the people of Connecticut. That's what this is all about: which one of us, Lamont or me, can do more for the future of our people here in Connecticut. And on that basis, I'm going forward with confidence, purpose and some real optimism.
And Josh responds (with my boldfacing the many money quotes):
This isn't just inaccurate, it's pathetic. I'ts [sic] a [sic] like a mini-version of the Iraq War or the War on Terror. You're either with Joe or you're with the extremists. Apparently half of Connecticut Democrats are outside the mainstream.
This is really the attitude that got poor Joe into this bind.
The mainstream is Joe Lieberman, along with possibly Sean Hannity and Bill Kristol. If you disagree with Joe Lieberman, a disagreement about policy is the least of it. It's a major existential crisis for the Democratic party which risks conquest by unreconstructed leftists, extremists and miscellaneous other freaks.
The idea that Ned Lamont is 'outside the mainstream' on any issue I'm aware of is laughable.
As a matter of civics, if Joe Lieberman wants to run as an independent, good for him. If 51% of Connecticut voters want to vote for him, that's democracy. As a Democrat, he should get out of the race now. And every Democrat should tell him to.
If he wants to run as an independent he should and could go to Connecticut voters and say, "A lot of people in my own party disagree with me on this or that issue. But I've served all of Connecticut's citizens for 18 years. And I still think I can be the best senator. So vote for me."
I wouldn't agree with that. But I could respect it.
But he's not. It's all about him and stabbing his own party in the back while he disingenuously pleads that he's trying to save it. He can't admit or realize or get his head around the idea that his denial about Iraq and his obliviousness to his own constituents got him into this mess.
In the end, he just won't come clean. Forget about being a Democrat. Just be a man. It's time.
My addition to Josh's points is this: I think Joe will lose in the general for what could be called Karmic reasons if you're spiritual, or pure logical cause-and-effect if you're not: his bad attitude will lead to continued bad campaigning, which will be his doom.
And THAT, his bad attitude as described by Josh Marshall, is the intangible factor in the general election that will kill him if he stays in it. I've shared number-crunching exchanges on one diary here today, I've considered the impact of the Democratic machine coalescing behind Lamont, and the likely impact of post-primary polling. But ultimately I think Lieberman will lose because of a simple "reap-what-you-sow" factor based on his bad attitude. He simply isn't in, and will never be, in the right frame of mind to run the effective campaign that's necessary to win this thing. And the wrong frame of mind in which he's been is the core reason he lost in the primary: he disregarded his entire state for years, he disrespected war opponents since the Iraq War began, and he disregarded the Democratic base all year, all because he thought himself above having to justify his place in office. And he still feels that way. So for that reason above any other, I think Ned will be sworn in as CT's junior senator in January 2007.