Major Union AFSCME Dumps Lieberman, Endorses Lamont

Sorry for the short diary but I just had to share this bit of good news.  It was rumored that it was going to happen but now it's official. Yeah! Lamont caught himself a huge endorsement.  This will help greatly with the GOTV operation.  It's a blow for Joe. TPM

CT-SEN: Major Union Dumps Lieberman, Endorses Lamont
By Will Menaker | bio

This is pretty big -- a major union which endorsed Joe Lieberman in the primary, Council 4 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, has just announced that it's dropping its endorsement of Lieberman and throwing its support to Ned Lamont:

    Sal Luciano, the executive director of Council 4, announced the endorsement Sunday, saying that the union wants to see a congressional delegation able to stand up to the Bush administration.

    "Since the Aug. 8 primary, we paid close attention to the remarks of both men," Luciano said. "We saw Joe Lieberman moving closer and closer to Bush, while Ned Lamont held firm in his strong opposition to the direction Bush is taking us."

Council 4 represents 35,000 members and is the state's largest affiliate of the AFL-CIO.

•  Difference

  Will Union (real democrats) endorsements make the difference in this election?

  Ain't to proud to beg - tips please

  by Kitty on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:30:42 AM PDT

  •  More on the endorsement

    Council 4 is a politically active union that represents 35,000 members and is the state's largest affiliate of the AFL-CIO. Lieberman and Lamont each lobbied for the endorsement in recent weeks, aware that Council 4 was revisiting its Senate endorsement. This culminated in personal appeals to union delegates at their New Britain headquarters Friday.

    "In the end, our delegates realized that it boiled down to a simple question: Which candidate will stand up to George Bush and Dick Cheney?" Luciano said. "That candidate is Ned Lamont and only Ned Lamont."

    Luciano said the decision was not easy, given Lieberman's "distinguished years of public service."

    "This is great news for the Lamont campaign for Senate," said Tom Swan, Lamont's campaign manager. "It shows Lamont continuing to gain support while Lieberman continues to lose support."

    by Kitty on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:33:17 AM PDT

    •  Who will kiss Bush?

      Well, that question was easy to answer, Lieberman will "stand with Bush" but has never "stood up to Bush", and he certainly deserves to be left out in the cold like the Traitor he is.

      Will Traitor Joe finally disappear if he loses twice in one election?  Hard to say, but I doubt his kissing Buddy Bush will have much use for him once he can't provide cover by sucking up to Bush on national TV.

      Goodby and good riddance Joe, you have sunk almost to Zell Miller's level of disgusting obedience to Bush.

      by MD patriot on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 11:00:51 AM PDT

  •  Yea HA! You bet it will make a difference...

    Thansks for the great diary!

    by ilyana on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:38:18 AM PDT

    •  oops. THANKS for the great diary n/t

      by ilyana on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:39:18 AM PDT

  •  Difference Also In GOTV Effort

    Had AFSCME endorsed Lieberman their members would have participated in the CT ground effort to GOTV. Lieberman already is lacking in this area and this change continues to weaken him.

    by MO Blue on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:59:55 AM PDT

•  This is huge.

  If you look at it like this (and who knows how the union's endorsement affects the votes of individual members):  Lamont won the primary by 10,000 votes.  There are 35,000 people in this union.

  by fezzik on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:32:08 AM PDT

  •  Question is

    how many of those 35,000 voted for Joe in the primary.  It would be nice if let's say all 35,000 voted in the primary and 30,000 of those originally voted for Joe who are now switching over to Ned.  However, I don't think it will be that drastic.

    Still a huge pickup for Ned.

    by DisNoir36 on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:37:33 AM PDT

    •  perhaps more important than

      a few thousand gained votes from a major union endorsement is the fact that Lamont just gained a whole bunch of foot soldiers to help his GOTV effort, and Lieberman lost a lot of his.  That's gonna be huge.

      by Fran for Dean on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:56:44 AM PDT

      •  Agreed.

        That is going to be a huge boost.

        by DisNoir36 on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:07:45 AM PDT

•  The Union Didn't Run From Joe

  Joe has been running away from the unions -- along with the rest of the Democratic base -- for years.

  He's put so much distance between himself and his base that Reed Richards couldn't stretch the divide....

  by greenskeeper on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:34:18 AM PDT

  •  Plus,

    when it comes to his voting history, Lieberman's been more like Sue Richards.

    by LarryInNYC on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:41:04 AM PDT

    •  But She Uses her Powers for Good....n/t

      by greenskeeper on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:06:34 AM PDT

•   Cool! Two good news diaries...

  ...I've read in a row.  Great way to start the week.

  by Land of Enchantment on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:35:54 AM PDT

•  Lieberman is...

  ...unravelling just like Bush. This is great news.
  You don't think Lamont's Cup Of Joe series had anything to do with it? I know Lamont has been putting out Joe' voting record for review.

  by sephius1 on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:36:53 AM PDT

•  This is Great News

  This endorsement could mean a swing of several thousand votes come November 7.  I'm not so naive as to think all 35,000 members are going to vote, but it certainly will pull votes from Lieberman's column and add them to Lamont.  What Lamont should do now is send a targeted mailer to all those Union members.

  by feebog on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:40:56 AM PDT

  •  I'm sure a union

    piece was drafted long ago....

    cheers,

    by Silverleaf on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:56:27 AM PDT

  •  And remember

    It's not just the 35,000, because those union members have families too; so in the end, when you factor in wives, and/or husbands, along with voting age children, it may be closer to 100,000 people affected.

    by pollbuster on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 10:34:27 AM PDT

•  Great!

  by blubryeyes on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:42:24 AM PDT

•  Excellent piece of news.

  Does AFSCME give its employees the day off to vote?

  by Dartagnan on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:43:25 AM PDT

  •  Vote

    I would like to see a ntional holiday for voting - at least for the 4 year elections.  What could be more important for a Democracy?

    by Kitty on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:46:03 AM PDT

    •  That should be a Dem initiative

      if we retake the House. Let the Republicans oppose.

      by Dartagnan on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:53:36 AM PDT

    •  Extension of days

      would be great too. Why just one Tuesday in November? If Democracy is so important then give the country a series of days to make sure there's a greater turnout. Especially with all the "problems" with not enough voting machines and long, long lines of people being turned away in Ohio. Let them come back the following day.

      by bookwoman on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 10:33:56 AM PDT

  •  The union

    is not an employer for those 35,000 people.  Often times unions will encourage their members to take a day off or two days off (Mon and Tues) so they can do GOVT.

    This endorsement means lots more bodies for GOTV, which is great.  They will make thousands of phone calls and knock on doors on Lamont's behalf.

    by juls on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:18:35 AM PDT

•  Don't forget GOTV

  Union members are very active in GOTV activities in CT (maybe elsewhere as well, I only know CT).  This is more feet on the ground for that.  Very good news.

  by Petronella on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:44:57 AM PDT

  •  A Real Turning Point for Ned??!!!

    AFSCME, of course, is affiliated w/SEIU and the Teamsters, so it wouldn't surprise me if they're in support as well.  

    From what I've read here, Ned has been retooling while Joe has been sliming him.  If Ned is now ready to go up on air, maybe now is the time he begins to make his move and put Joe in his rearview mirror for good!!!

    by serrano on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:51:25 AM PDT

    •  The interesting thing will be the Teamsters

      They went for Joe in the primary.

      SEIU endorsed Aug. 28th.

      http://lamontblog.blogspot.com/...

      At least one Teamsters local endorsed yet, but AFAIK, not the rest yet.

      http://nedlamont.com/...

      by LIsoundview on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:26:41 AM PDT

•  What have the other unions done? n/t

  by theran on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:01:29 AM PDT

  •  SEIU and UAW

    both endorsed Ned in the primaries and have stuck with him.

    Also Ned got a major teachers union during the primaries.  

    by DisNoir36 on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:12:05 AM PDT

    •  Go UAW!

      I don't need to wear a paper bag over my head at the stewards meeting tomorrow, then.

      by theran on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:15:29 AM PDT

  •  I forget which one, but ...

    He got another big endorsement not long ago - they offered him $5000, Lamont turned down the money, so they offered him 5000 people to help GOTV.

    I don't remember the name of the union off-hand.

    by meowmissy on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:12:35 AM PDT

    •  UAW

      That was the UAW and Bob Madore.

      by DisNoir36 on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:18:09 AM PDT

•  This is really good news....

  Most importantly, it hampers Joe's ability to build a GOTV operation.  Without a major party behind him, Joe was likely depending upon the unions.  This has gotta hurt.

  Joe will be left without a ground operation and will have to rely on the Rethuglicans.

  Unfortunately, they have a good GOTV operation, but will they throw it behind Joe?  Can he take them up on the offer if they do?  My guess is that Joe will do anything to win, but hopefully as the R's stand up for him, the remaining "Leiberman Dems" and unaffiliated voters will turn to Lamont.

  by landrew on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:04:15 AM PDT

  •  Joe didnt count on Unions to GOTV

    he is counting on the gop for that.

    by KnotIookin on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:12:41 AM PDT

    •  Or, in the R's case, to suppress the vote

      since interfering with Democracy is an area where not only do we not compete with them, we will NEVER WANT TO.  

      by lgmcp on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:36:01 AM PDT

      •   the only vote the repubs want to suppress is

        the CT votes for the republican candidate.  the GOP prefers republicans in CT vote for poor old joe...in droves.

        by KnotIookin on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:41:14 AM PDT

        •  Why wouldn't they want to suppress Lamont voters

          as well?  

          Point taken: they HAVE de facto scuttled their own candidate in favor of Joe.  

          But in this case, I would argue, they will try to cut off the left AND far right, keeping only the middle-right. And if such fine-tuning sounds tricky to accomplish, well ... unfortunately they have their ways.

          by lgmcp on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:44:20 AM PDT

  •  Perception is 9/10ths of the law

    and if Dems and Us' see unions (a traditional Dem base) abandoning Lieberman for Lamont, it does two things simultaneously: alienates Lieberman even further and let's face it, nobody likes to hang out with the "uncool" kid and it backs Lieberman into a corner I'm betting he prefer not to be in.

    He's gonna have to take GOTV help where he can get it and if he accepts it from Repubs, he feeds the perception that he's in their corner, bought and paid for. And as we all know, it's not a good year to be a friend of the Republican Party.

    by Pager on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:15:04 AM PDT

    •  CT Repubs

      Are just greedy NIMBY types who think that their geography and position will keep the fundies away.  (This applies to all of New England.)

      Joe's line isn't much different than theirs.

      by theran on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:17:38 AM PDT

•  Short but sweet.

  It doesn't require much writing if the reading has positive results. Your diary may be short, but the news is sweet.

  by wardeo on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:18:03 AM PDT

  •  Thank you

    That's real "sweet" of you to say.

    by Kitty on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:29:00 AM PDT

•  This is great news.

  I'm happy to see that people ARE listening to what Lamont and Lieberman are saying, and they have decided that Ned speaks for them.
  Go Ned!

  by Esjaydee on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:22:13 AM PDT

•  AFSCME is one of the hardest-working GOTV unions.

  Good news for Lamont.

  by Bob Johnson on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:36:52 AM PDT

•  tide

  After years of pissing in the ocean, I do believe we're actually seeing the tide start to rise. I know this isn't the final nail in Holy Joes coffin, I know there's still a long way to go, and I know we can take nothing for granted, but I just feel it.
  The tide is changing folks, this one will be the one, and... I'm out of cliche's

  by fat old man on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:47:44 AM PDT

  •  Love your ending! n/t

    by AlanF on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:55:49 AM PDT

  •  Your Metaphore Could Use Something

    After years of pissing in the ocean, I do believe we're actually seeing the tide start to rise.

    So the reward is we get covered in a sea of...?

    by Mr X on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:58:38 AM PDT

    •  choice

      Considering how badly the ocean has become polluted in some areas, it might be an improvement.

      by fat old man on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 12:11:33 PM PDT

  •  Hahahaha!!! You rule. n/t

    by theran on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:58:58 AM PDT

•  Wait til ol Joe opens his big mouth...

  ...you know he'll say something really stupid about unions or endorsments or something...

  He is really dumb with his words lately.

  And his votes....all along.

  by Silence Do Good on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 10:11:28 AM PDT

  •  He'll chuckle...

    ...and say he still has the rank 'n file. Politicians say that when they lose endorsements.

    by MichaelPH on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 10:38:11 AM PDT

    •  and

      don't think that won't tick off the rest of the average joes in the state.  The Party for the working class will be back in play.

      by MadAsHellMaddie on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 12:14:15 PM PDT

•  this race shouldn't even be close.

  why CT voters still have JoeMentum hanging around in this thing is beyond me. are they paying attention at all?

  by meangene on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 10:28:12 AM PDT

  •  People generally don't pay attention.

    Many seem to think that the Democratic Party itself got rid of Lieberman because he wasn't Democrat enough.  Serious.  It's bullshit. They don't know that the establishment campaigned for Lieberman.  But Lamont decided he wasn't happy and decided to run in a primary against Lieberman.  That is his right.  And regular people who happened to be Democratic voters decided to vote for Lamont.  A majority of them decided that.  That is their right.  Yet people think that the party fucked Lieberman over because he wasn't Democrat enough.  It is such an ignorant statement.

    by CO Democrat on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 11:15:24 AM PDT

  •  Because

    they're the republican voters?

    by Sassy on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 11:35:31 AM PDT

    •  this race seems to have fallen

      off the face of the earth. what just a few weeks ago was a 'Top Tier' race has dropped off the radar screen. maybe the Lamont Team have a clue what they're doing, but they couldn't prove it by me. JoeMentum should be shamed out of this race. instead, he still leads. amazing.

      by meangene on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 12:26:43 PM PDT

•  That is huge...

  ...man, Lanny Davis is gonna shit!

  by MichaelPH on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 10:36:07 AM PDT

•  AFSCME should be commended !!

  I belonged to this union once and it has it's share of good guys.  Thanks.

  by Keone Michaels on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 10:37:38 AM PDT

  •  Yes

    I remember when they endorsed Dean.  That was also a happy day.

    by Kitty on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 11:22:44 AM PDT

•  Great news

  Now, if we could get the AFL-CIO to get on board, it would be nice.

  by Maria19Rodriguez on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 11:26:23 AM PDT