The title of The Hill's story this morning is, "
Lieberman puts Dems in Quandary," which is definitely true. Unfortunately, rather than talking about how Lieberman has effectively underminded his party through his undying support of President Bush, or his complete ignorance toward the will of his constituency, they had this to report:
A Lamont victory in the Aug. 8 primary could present another hurdle for Democrats Diane Farrell, Joe Courtney and Chris Murphy who are vying to oust GOP Reps. Christopher Shays, Rob Simmons and Nancy Johnson, respectively, in a state where Democrats have dominated in recent national elections.
...snip...
"Democrats have a much better chance of winning if Joe Lieberman is at top of the ticket," said Bill Andresen, Lieberman's longtime chief of staff-turned-Dutko Worldwide lobbyist. "General elections are determined by moderates and centrists, not liberals. This kind of split hurts those House candidates."
Bullshit.
The argument goes that Lieberman's reputation as the savior of the centrists allows those less fortunate than him to benefit from his intoxicating charm and good looks downticket. Unfortunately, the candidates Andresen is referring to don't seem to agree:
The three Democratic House challengers had different reactions to Lieberman's decision.
Murphy, who hopes to defeat Johnson, said that he would support the winner of the primary but that he does not think Lieberman's decision would affect his race.
"With very rare exceptions, there are not coattails in Connecticut politics," Murphy told The Hill. "For those of us that have been close to Joe in the Dem Party, I think it's more surprising than it is disappointing,"
Courtney also said that he would also support the winner of the Democratic primary. Farrell could not be reached for comment.
But don't feel bad, Joe has some support in his home state:
Shays, considered a centrist GOP lawmaker, has endorsed Lieberman and has attempted to use Lieberman's support for the Iraq war to inoculate himself from Democratic criticism.
Now, let's just look at this from a logical standpoint, taking into consideration Lieberman running as a "petitioning douchebag" in November. Lieberman's camp is trying to argue that without him running as a Democrat, the voters will flock to the Republican camp out of fear from what Ned Lamont has to say. But this is ridiculous, because it ignores one simple fact: Connecticut voters like Ned Lamont.
The Hill tries to paint Lamont as too far to the left to appeal to Connecticut's center by pointing out that his lead in a head-to-head matchup with GOP candidate Alan Schlesinger is much less than Lieberman. The important fact in this argument is that same poll had 34% of the voters undecided. It's ridiculous to even compare the two in a head-to-head matchup because the entire state hasn't been given a proper introduction to Ned Lamont the Democratic Candidate for Senate. They see him as a maverick at this point, and they aren't going to pick sides until the primary battle plays itself out. Furthermore, centrist votes that go to Lieberman won't translate into GOP gains downticket without a GOP opponent who can convince the voters that he is the best candidate. Alan Schlesinger is not this candidate.
If you want to talk about the possible ramifications of a Ned Lamont victory on the Connecticut Democratic Party, talk about how providing a true leader on the issues Democrats care about will help candidates throughout the state and federal level. Talk about how party unity will be stronger than ever before without Bush's favorite Democrat, and how this primary battle is a sign of strength rather than weakness.
But most importantly, talk about how a Ned Lamont victory will send a message to other Democratic politicians: Stand with your constituency, or stand aside.
So what are we going to do? What we always do...show Joe Lieberman and his cronies that we aren't going to listen to his lies any more: Donate to the Ned Lamont Supporters for Connecticut Actblue Page.
Ned Lamont Supporters for Connecticut
by The Netroots
Joe Lieberman says that Connecticut Democrats can't win without him. The Connecticut Democratic Party knows better.
This page is for Ned Lamont supporters to lend financial support to the Democratic Congressional candidates of Connecticut, and show Joe Lieberman that Connecticut doesn't need him to win in November.
Add .01 and let them know the Netroots sent you!
Donate to these candidates, and show Joe we don't need him!
(Originally posted at Deny My Freedom)
**Update**
It appears Bill Andresen donated $1000 to the DSCC last year. Anyone want to guess how many other Lieberman supporters might be pressuring the DSCC leadership to support Joe in November...or else?
Does anyone happen to have a more complete list of Lieberman staff/supporters so we can see what kind of financial pressure they may be putting on the leadership to sacrifice the democratic process in the name of cold, hard cash?
Also, some great comments downthread:
pavlov dog points out that Lieberman leaving the party hurts the Dem candidates in the state more than anything Lamont could ever do. Without a coherent GOTV and fundraising effort in the fall, these Congressional candidates are worse off than ever before, and that will all be Joe's fault.
gpm has this gem:
There are 5 House seats in CT.
Of those, 2 are held by Democrats and 3 are held by Republicans.
Joe helps Democrats get elected to the House?
Finally,
bumblebums provides us with some evidence that
Lamont is the real energizer in Connecticut right now.
Keep the great comments coming!
**Update II**Send some love to
ogre downthread, who has helped to jumpstart our ActBlue page.
**Update III**We now have
$510.20 in the bank to prove Joe wrong, let's keep it coming!