Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Joe Must Go
Two years ago during the build-up to the Presidential elections, I remember having several conversations with my friends, wishing that we could move to Ohio or Florida or some other hotly contested state so our votes would have more of an impact on the election. Connecticut (and Massachusetts) were going to go to the Democratic candidate whether I voted for John Kerry or Ralph Nader or Krusty the Clown.
Fast-forward to This year, and Connecticut residents finally have a chance to cast a vote with meaningful national consequences. Presidential apologist and DINOsaur Joe Lieberman, the junior Senator from our fair state, faced a strong challenge in the Democratic pirmary from millionaire and political neophyte Ned Lamont. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, last week I formally changed my party declaration from unaffiliated to Democratic, and this morning I cast my vote in the Democratic primary for Lamont.
Coincidentally, the day I sent in the forms to officially join the Democratic party, the Connecticut Post ran a front-page article about the thousands of other state voters who had done the same thing. By the time the deadline for such changes came at noon on Monday, more than 10,000 citizens had either registered to vote as or changed their party affiliation to the Democrats. How many of them joined just to vote for Lamont is unknown, as voters will also be deciding a hotly contested gubernatorial race between the mayors of New Haven and Stamford.
Anyway, it's probably fair to say that my vote today wasn't so much for Lamont as it was against Lieberman. The interviews I've read paint Lamont as a thoughtful individual, more of a traditional Democrat. I also thought he held his own on the Colbert Report, and his campaign commercials mke him seem somewhat self-deprecating, and I appreciate a sense of humor in anyone, especially a politician.
But Lamont's personality and politics aren't what made me register and vote today. As the biggest Democratic shill for the POTUS and his war, Joe Lieberman has abandoned all pretense of princilpes and integrity. He abandoned his Democratic base back home to ingratiate himself with the Republican hawks, and joins them in painting all opposition to the POTUS as unAmerican and soft on security. AMERICAblog has Lieberman nailed in this post, how he can even call himself a democrat at this point is laughable.
I have a theory that might explain Lieberman's antics. Back in 2000, when Lieberman was tabbed as Al Gore's vice Presidental running mate, Gore's advisors told him his place on the ticket was contingent on one thing and one thign only: that once the election was over, he was never to publicly disagree with the policies of the President. Except those advisors forgot to say that only held if Gore actually won the election, and Lieberman being a man of his word, felt it was his obligation to hold up his end of the bargain anyway.
Lieberman himself seems to understand this, as Lieberman had already scaled back plans for a big get-out-the vote push, and grassroots reports from the polls claim his campaign is a nonpresence. None of this should come as a surprise to anyone who has followed this race, as Lieberman already said a month ago that if he lost the primary, he'd run as an independent candidate. That stance should also not come as a surprise to anyone who has followed Lieberman's political career. Back in 2000 when he was tabbed as Al Gore's Vice Presidential running mate, Lieberman still insited on running for re-election for his Senate seat at the same time. Assured that Gore would carry this heavily Democratic state, Lieberman knew that even if Gore lost the national election, he could essentially ride his own coattails back into the Senate. Had Gore won, then-Republican governor John Rowland would have been tasked to name a successor to the seat. In a Senate that would up deadlocked 50-50 between the two parties, that choice could have lost the Senate entirely for the Dems. Lieberman put his own shameless self-interests above the Democratic party's in 2000, and he'll do it again if he loses the primary in 2006.
As a Democrat for all of five days, I say, 'Good riddance.' And I look forward to the chance to vote against you again on November 7. ¶ 11:41 AM
Fast-forward to This year, and Connecticut residents finally have a chance to cast a vote with meaningful national consequences. Presidential apologist and DINOsaur Joe Lieberman, the junior Senator from our fair state, faced a strong challenge in the Democratic pirmary from millionaire and political neophyte Ned Lamont. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, last week I formally changed my party declaration from unaffiliated to Democratic, and this morning I cast my vote in the Democratic primary for Lamont.
Coincidentally, the day I sent in the forms to officially join the Democratic party, the Connecticut Post ran a front-page article about the thousands of other state voters who had done the same thing. By the time the deadline for such changes came at noon on Monday, more than 10,000 citizens had either registered to vote as or changed their party affiliation to the Democrats. How many of them joined just to vote for Lamont is unknown, as voters will also be deciding a hotly contested gubernatorial race between the mayors of New Haven and Stamford.
Anyway, it's probably fair to say that my vote today wasn't so much for Lamont as it was against Lieberman. The interviews I've read paint Lamont as a thoughtful individual, more of a traditional Democrat. I also thought he held his own on the Colbert Report, and his campaign commercials mke him seem somewhat self-deprecating, and I appreciate a sense of humor in anyone, especially a politician.
But Lamont's personality and politics aren't what made me register and vote today. As the biggest Democratic shill for the POTUS and his war, Joe Lieberman has abandoned all pretense of princilpes and integrity. He abandoned his Democratic base back home to ingratiate himself with the Republican hawks, and joins them in painting all opposition to the POTUS as unAmerican and soft on security. AMERICAblog has Lieberman nailed in this post, how he can even call himself a democrat at this point is laughable.
I have a theory that might explain Lieberman's antics. Back in 2000, when Lieberman was tabbed as Al Gore's vice Presidental running mate, Gore's advisors told him his place on the ticket was contingent on one thing and one thign only: that once the election was over, he was never to publicly disagree with the policies of the President. Except those advisors forgot to say that only held if Gore actually won the election, and Lieberman being a man of his word, felt it was his obligation to hold up his end of the bargain anyway.
Lieberman himself seems to understand this, as Lieberman had already scaled back plans for a big get-out-the vote push, and grassroots reports from the polls claim his campaign is a nonpresence. None of this should come as a surprise to anyone who has followed this race, as Lieberman already said a month ago that if he lost the primary, he'd run as an independent candidate. That stance should also not come as a surprise to anyone who has followed Lieberman's political career. Back in 2000 when he was tabbed as Al Gore's Vice Presidential running mate, Lieberman still insited on running for re-election for his Senate seat at the same time. Assured that Gore would carry this heavily Democratic state, Lieberman knew that even if Gore lost the national election, he could essentially ride his own coattails back into the Senate. Had Gore won, then-Republican governor John Rowland would have been tasked to name a successor to the seat. In a Senate that would up deadlocked 50-50 between the two parties, that choice could have lost the Senate entirely for the Dems. Lieberman put his own shameless self-interests above the Democratic party's in 2000, and he'll do it again if he loses the primary in 2006.
As a Democrat for all of five days, I say, 'Good riddance.' And I look forward to the chance to vote against you again on November 7. ¶ 11:41 AM
