A post at MyDD by Matt Stoller details how the Lieberman campaign has resorted to thuggish tacticts, hijacking a Lamont event and being extremely aggressive.
I will gladly delete if Mr. Stoller cross-posts, but I thought it important to alert readers here, or if I have missed a duplicate.
Details below the fold.
http://www.mydd.com/...
Stoller relays how Lamont was treated by "Lieberyouth" who showed up ahead of Lamont's scheduled stop at a restaurant in Meridan.
There were about 15 Ned supporters outside, holding signs and milling about. There were also some reporters, a photographer, and a bunch of journalists. Ned arrived at 5:05, and spent about 10 or 15 minutes outside before heading in to give a speech and eat a cheeseburger. He goes inside, and all of sudden the field organizer who was behind Ned heard a lot of screaming directed at Ned.
There were only four booths and six stools in the whole place, and they were basically all occupied. When Ned went in, all of the supporters ripped off their 'civilian clothes' and revealed their Lieberman T-Shirts.
A large man, around 50 years old or so, then started screaming at Ned, "Are you an Al Sharpton Democrat, or a Bill Clinton Democrat?" Ned was trying to answer, and the gentleman kept yelling. The Lamont press secretary tried to intervene, and meanwhile, the people behind the counter who owned the restaurant were horrified and embarrassed. Then Ned Lamont went up to the few people in regular clothes and introduced himself, even as the Lieberman supporters kept screaming. He also tried to introduce himself to the Lieberman staffers, but to no avail. The screaming continued, and it was so abrasive that he left, and the whole crowd followed him outside.
These kids poured out, and a half a dozen reporters were mostly outside. The large man kept yelling, and was joined by one particularly obnoxious Lieberman supporter who started yelling about national security and how Lamont would endanger the country. The messaging seemed rehearsed. The Lieberman supporters started getting aggressive, pushing some of the Lamont staffers. When confronted, the Lieberman staffers said that they are just doing what the bloggers did.
In the whole affair, one photographer caught an elbow and got a bloody nose. It seems that the Lieberman campaign is explicitly setting up their supporters at Lamont events in tense and aggressive situations, all in the presence of reporters. When asked, the Lieberman campaign is expressing outrage at the unsavory and unruly behavior of the Lamont supporters.
A quick google news search a short while ago revealed no mention of this incident. While normally I would not post large portions of Mr. Stoller's diary, this kind of tactic needs to be reported in the SCLM, and the Lieberman campaign held to account if they are indeed behind it.
One school of thought, of course, is that Lieberman has simply lost it and is turning loose paid goons. It wouldn't be the first time it's happened in the history of the Democratic Party, but it would put Lieberman on the wrong side of history. The name Richard J. Daley comes to mind. (That's Mayor Daley, Sr.-you know, Chicago 1968 police riot Mayor Daley, not his son.)
Comparisons are also being drawn at other blogs between this and the Florida recount. Given that Lieberman supposedly brought in the College Republicans, it wouldn't be surprising. This kind of action is basically what College Republicans teach their members.
If Stoller's account is born out, any Senator who supports Lieberman is in effect supporting the use of thuggery against a fellow Democrat. And that's a sad thing.