Time to go Joe

On August 8th, 2006 Connecticut Democrats will have a chance to clean house when they hold their state primary. If incumbent Sen. Joseph Lieberman loses the primary to challenger Ned Lamont, Lieberman is leaving open the possibility of running as an independent candidate. If he does this, he might be able to rely on the support of moderates in both parties who are still in his camp.





This kind of double dipping hedge play reminds me of the infamous presidential election in 2000 when he ran for both vice-president, and his seat in the Senate. Connecticut has a quirk in its election law that allowed him to run for both offices simultaneously.

If he and Gore had pulled it off, he would have given up that Senate seat to go sit in the vice president's mansion. If that had happened, John Rowland, the Republican governor of Connecticut, instead would have gotten to appoint Lieberman's replacement -- a Republican, naturally. He did this in a year where control of the Senate was paramount. In my opinion, that was a selfish and disloyal move.

In public statements and a newspaper column, Lieberman has argued that Bush has a strategy for victory in Iraq, has dismissed calls for the president to set a timetable for troop withdrawal, and has warned that it would be a "colossal mistake" for the Democratic leadership to "lose its will" at this critical point in the war.





- Joseph Lieberman was a strong supporter of the 2001 Patriot Act with no revisions whatsoever.

- He was the only New England Democrat to vote for the Bush/Cheney energy bill. A bill that included $8.1 billion in tax breaks, as well as more than $80.8 billion in authorized or directed spending benefiting the large energy companies. This same bill allowed oil companies to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

- Vice President Cheney has called Joe "a fine U.S. senator".

In 2006, the Democratic voters of Connecticut will have another choice come election time. From what I have seen so far, there is someone who better embodies the current values of the Democratic party. His name is Ned Lamont.





I am a New York Democrat, so I obviously can’t vote for either of these guys. I firmly believe that everyone should make up their own mind, and I don't think that anyone should tell someone else how to cast their vote.

However, if you are a Connecticut Democrat, I think you should take the time to watch the July 6th debate between Ned Lamont and incumbent Joseph Lieberman. Listen to what they have to say, and then make a point to go vote for your favorite on August 8th.