I was in CT yesterday. Normally, I canvass for Stender and Menendez but this weekend, I was visiting my BFF who lives in NY very close to CT. So, we drove to Norwalk for an afternoon of streetwalking. The Norwalk office was humming along. We met another canvasser within minutes of signing in and before long, we teamed up, got organized and hit the streets. I like the efficiency of Lamont's offices. It's like one stop shopping. It's hard to say how many canvassers had gone through the Norwalk office yesterday but the stack of sheets was pretty high when we returned. But no matter how many people canvass, there are always more districts to cover, so if you feel so inclined, head out to quaint, quirky Connecticut and make a day of it.
Anyway, Kossacks, we are at the turning point.
More below the fold.
Connecticut voters are different from New Jersey voters, that's for darned sure. In NJ, voters will stand on their porch and talk your ear off for 20 minutes. EVERYONE has an opinion. They don't mind telling you they are voting for your opponent. (Fortunately, these people are few) But most of them are paying attention, are actively engaged and have a point of view that they want YOU to carry back to the guys in charge.
Not so in Connecticut, or at least, not in the comparable socio-economic neighborhood that I canvassed yesterday. Many people were not home. Many people were too busy. The Lieberman voters I can spot from just looking at the house in some cases. They are an odd lot. They seem almost defensive about voting for Lieberman. They don't want to talk about it and zealously guard their privacy. It kind of makes me wonder why they even bothered to answer the door and agree to answer questions when their only answer is, "It's none of your business who I'm voting for."
Now, Kossacks, I may have many personal flaws but I am sweet as pie when it comes to voters. No need to antagonize them. But for some reason, Lieberman voters are hostile. One guy said he was going to look after his own interests and vote for Lieberman. Yep, that's just the kind of selfishness that Lieberman would promote.
I am still cautiously optimistic. I think Lamont is going to come much closer than people think. But he might be able to close the deal if the party leadership was more supportive of him. And here is where I think we have reached a turning point.
Because, let's face it, the party leadership, such as Harry Reid, have not been playing fair. Lamont won the primary fair and square but here we have Reid, Schumer and Clinton, winking and nodding at Lieberman. As a campign worker told me last night, it's as if they were trying to make primaries irrelevant. The party will pick the winner, in advance, voters be damned. Isn't that the message Lieberman is sending with his big Fuck You? "You're not important. I can get outside funding. The party will support me anyway. "
Now, I have been of the opinion that no matter what Lieberman says he'll do after the election, on all matters important to us, like the war, NSA wiretapping and Supreme Court judges, Lieberman is going to vote with the Republicans. They own him now. And his latest statement about getting seniority in committee assignments may actually be correct. Reid may give away the store to a man with no principles. A man who can't be counted on. A man who by all accounts hasn't delivered for Connecticut. And he may not be my senator, but this is my senate and I am sick of the GOP running roughshod all over us.
So here it is: the turning point. The leadership would very much like us to remain naive cheerleaders for them. They will encourage us at YearlyKos but will stab us in the back when we vote for change. We have a week left, boys and girls. How are we going to get across to these guys that we mean business and we aren't going to go away until they take us seriously? If Lamont goes down, they will crow that we are the insignificant fringe and they will party on. And how can we persuade Her Royal Highness Hillary that she better get her ass to Connecticut to campaign for Lamont or she can rethink changing the drapes in the Oval Office? BTW, did you know that NJ has moved its primary date from June to February? Yep, if HRC thinks she is going to sweep to victory while knifing Lamont, she can count me out as a volunteer for her.
We may not win the senate this year, but all of our hopes of making a change in the party hinge on Connecticut. How do we show these bastards they can't get away with it?