Lieberman Weighs Campaign As Independent

[Richard Tafoya]

His popularity nationally and among his constituents plummeted after he consistently broke with the party to side with Republicans on major issues. Political actions have political consequences.

AP:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/04/ap/politics/mainD8IL1MK80.shtml

One-time Democratic stalwart Sen. Joe Lieberman, facing a stronger primary challenge than expected, said he will collect signatures for an independent campaign if he loses next month's primary.

Lieberman, the party's 2000 vice presidential nominee and a 2004 presidential candidate, has fallen into disfavor from some Democrats for his support of the Iraq war and his perceived closeness to President Bush. The Connecticut senator is seeking a fourth term.

"While I believe that I will win the Aug. 8 primary, I know there are no guarantees in elections," Lieberman told reporters Monday. "No one really knows how many Democrats will come out to vote on what may be a hot day in August."

Democrat Ned Lamont, a multimillionaire owner of a cable television company with little political experience, has so far spent $1.5 million of his own money on his campaign. He has called Lieberman a Republican lapdog and accused him of straying from his Democratic roots.

Liberal blogs have given a boost to Lamont and bill the race as a chance to send a message to the Democratic establishment.

The ActBlue.com Web site, which helps Democrats set up fundraising campaigns for candidates, had helped bring Lamont nearly $233,000 in contributions as of last week. Lamont also received about $70,000 in contributions from the liberal group Democracy for America by way of the Internet.

[Venisenvy]

I disagree polls still show that Lieberman as an independent would win. Yes the most hardcore of the left in Connecticut the ones that vote in the primaries might not vote him back in, its still actually a very close race. Most of the people i know that are democrats still want Lieberman to win. Although driving around there are a lot of Lamont signs too. In the end the best case scenario for the democrats would be that lieberman wins the primary otherwise he will run as an independent and he will win and there will be one less democratic Senator.

[Venisenvy]

How would John F. Kennedy fare in his party today?

It is impossible to completely project a historical figure into the current political situation. However, it is fair to suggest that both parties have radically changed over the past half-century. They are now far more ideologically homogenous. Back in 1960, there were far more Republican liberals and Democratic conservatives.

Kennedy himself was a hawkish, pro-growth progressive who certainly was not the darling of the liberals. In fact, in 1960, the true-blue liberals supported Hubert H. Humphrey or even longed for another run by Adlai Stevenson. However, compared with today's left, yesterday's liberals were downright centrist. Just consider the stirring words of JFK's inaugural address: "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty."
.....
The Connecticut Senate primary is nothing short of a battle for the soul of the Democratic Party. That is why outside left-wing groups have converged on this state.

By any standard, Joe Lieberman is a progressive. What his leftist critics do not realize, or have ignored, is that Lieberman bravely stood up for civil rights long before many of them were born. In 1963, a young Lieberman went to Mississippi to assist in the effort to register African American voters.

As a state senator and attorney general of Connecticut, he built a reputation as a reformer, relentlessly pursuing wrongdoing on the environment and consumer protection. In the U.S. Senate, he has been a persistent critic of GOP positions on gun control and the environment, and has vigorously fought President Bush's deep tax cuts at a time when the nation is at war and faces security challenges at home.

However, he rejects the leftist pose that the loyal opposition must be motivated by rage toward the president during wartime. His unwavering support for the war in Iraq has made him unpopular with some in the base of the party and inspired angry calls for his ouster.
....


The Democratic Party needs a strong internationalist with undoubted credentials on keeping America safe. Democrats need a JFK wing. And the leader of that wing is Joe Lieberman.



http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/commentary/hc-commentarylieberman0702.artjul02,0,4952250.story?coll=hc-headlines-commentary

I strongly recommend reading the full commentary

[Richard Tafoya]

He may well win the primary, and I would hope that the voters in CT would see the wisdom of keeping that Senate seat out of the Republican column come election time.

But he's taken an undeniable hit and he's paying the price for making some politcally convenient decisions.

[Venisenvy]

How can they be politically convenient if they are costing him this much? The fact is that he did not follow the polls, he followed his beliefs, people might not always be in favor of his views but he defended them every step of the way. I was at an event were he eloquently stated his position and why he was not backing down from it. Its one of the things I admire about him and that is that he is his own man, he doesnt base his position on DNC talking points but on what he really believes.

He has the support of Senator Chris Dodd the other Senator from Connecticut who is pretty liberal(I did vote for him).

The last poll I saw him had him winning by 56% I believe in a 3 way race if he ran as an independent. A republican cannot win the seat but Lieberman definetly will win, the question is wether he will be an Independent or a Democrat. Either way the great State of Connecticut will have a great Senator in Washington DC.

[Regis Philbin]

The Democratic Party has become so infiltrated by the kook-far-left-wacko fringe that a down-to-earth guy like Lieberman no longer has a place in it. He should join the GOP. They would welcome him with open arms.

[Venisenvy]

Im not sure, maybe. But the Republican party has also been infiltrated by the kook-far-right wing. They are the reason someone like McCain might never win the nomination, the reason someone like Guiliani might have a lot of trouble. While we are a big tent party and we have all kinds of republicans in our party and probably are at the moment a bit more accepting than the democrats we are not welcoming with open arms to those that are not bleeding republicans. We will blast McCain for not being conservative enough. So lets not kid ourselves, we would invite Lieberman with open arms because its a coup to have him turn on the democrats but then after a while we would grow tired of his behavior.

(I used we cause im a registered republican, and i have that illness that causes me to use we even when im not part of it. I do it in sports too, I talk as if i belong to the Red Sox etc...)