If you saw that Rasmussen Poll, Lieberman's leading 46-41-6. That's a pretty poor starting point for him and if we can just get a semi-viable GOPer into the race, it'll finish off Lieberman since Lamont's 41 percent should be rock solid. Jack Orchulli, the guy who ran against Chris Dodd wants to get in (and would be able to cut into Lieberman's vote) but Schlesinger refuses to surrender the nomination. Now I know he's less than credible, but keep in mind that insane carpet bagger Alan Keyes still got 27% against Barack Obama. I doubt anybody knows Schlesinger, so that could explain why his support is so low. So Ned should challenge him to a debate in order to increase his visibility, which should increase his poll numbers.
Now I know many are worried about a Republican somehow being able to win a 3-way race. But consider this: according to Rasmussen, Lamont is getting 41 percent. Now I'd say this number is pretty solid, since Lamont has always gained as the campaign goes on. Most Republicans are supporting Lieberman because they like his dissing of Democrats and there is no visible Republican candidate, so he is naturally the one to support.
Any gain a Republican candidate gets in the polls will come straight from Joe Lieberman. If we could get Schlesinger to 20%, Lieberman would be finished. The media is not paying any attention to Schlesinger, so many Republicans are probably unaware there is even a GOP candidate in the race. A debate with Ned Lamont would quickly change all of that. Schlesinger could remind Republican voters that after all, Lieberman votes 90% with Democrats and has promised to stay a Democrat in the Senate, so there is no reason to support him.
Lieberman could not allow Schlesinger to errode his base, so he would have to start using incredibly right-wing rhetoric in order to fend off Schlesinger. This would drive away almost all of his remaining Democratic support and devastate him with Independents who do not support Bush or the war.
The result? Lieberman would be facing attacks from Lamont for being too close to Bush and the Republicans while also facing attacks from Schlesinger for being insufficiently conservative. Every time he attempted to respond to one attack, he'd lose ground on the other side. You see where this is going: he'll be squeezed out from either side. The way to get Schlesinger to be seen as "news" by the media is to challenge him to debates, mention his name often, and treat him as a serious opponent. Schlesinger would be harmless to Lamont since all the support he gained would come at Lieberman's expense (for those worried about him winning, he'd have to get 36% more in polls, all of that coming from Lieberman's 46%--not going to happen). A 3-way race is Ned Lamont's best friend. Joe Lieberman would like to pretend there is no Republican in this race and will want a one-on-one debate with Lamont.
Let's be conservative and say in this entire campaign, Ned can only pick up 4% in the polls, leaving him at 45%. That leaves 55%. If Alan Schlesinger makes it to even 11%, Lieberman's finished. I don't know of any instance of any Democrat or Republican anywhere running for the Senate finishing with below 11% or even anywhere that low. If Schlesinger gets even the slightest bit of media exposure, I can think of no reason for him to fall below 11%. I'd guess he'd finish somewhere around 20%, at the worst.
So Ned, do everything within your power to make sure that Alan Schlesinger is seen as a serious candidate and it will be smooth sailing into the general election.