NYT/AP: Democrats Abandon Lieberman, Back Lamont

[DeepModem Mom]

Democrats Abandon Lieberman, Back Lamont
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 9, 2006

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Top Democrats on Capitol Hill abandoned Sen. Joe Lieberman one by one Wednesday and threw their support to Ned Lamont, the anti-war challenger who defeated him in the primary. But Lieberman said his conscience demands that he run as an independent in November.

***

Top Senate Democrats, including John Kerry and Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, Harry Reid of Nevada, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Chuck Schumer of New York, said they supported Lamont as the duly elected choice of Connecticut's Democratic voters.

Reid and Schumer -- the party's Senate leader, and the head of the Democratic Senate campaign committee -- said: ''The perception was that (Lieberman) was too close to George Bush and this was, in many respects, a referendum on the president more than anything else. The results bode well for Democratic victories in November and our efforts to take the country in a new direction.''

Kennedy called Lamont's victory ''a clarion call for change,'' and a spokeswoman said Kennedy planned to campaign for the nominee.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton reiterated her pledge to back the winner of the primary. She stopped short of calling on Lieberman to quit the race but urged the senator to ''search his conscience and decide what is best for Connecticut and for the Democratic Party.''...

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Lieberman.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[NV Whino]

1. Lieberman is the one who did the abandoning

Sorry, Joe.

(No I'm not.)

[stepnw1f]

2. Lieberman ABANDONED the Democratic Party

it's the other way around.

[LiberalFighter]

3. If Lieberman didn't want to accept the will of the people in the primary

he NEVER should had run as a Democrat!!!!

That is the purpose of a primary. Reduce the number of candidates from many to one. It also evens out the odds of having one person for each primary running instead of a party with one candidate against a party with multiple candidates. Opponents could play games with that type of situation. Providing fake candidates for the other party so that the votes are split.

[conkar]

4. No Shit!

Thats a no brainier!

[krkaufman]

5. It seems that Lieberman's been a "Democrat" simply because ...

... Connecticuticans :) would not send a Republican to Washington. Joe has now been forced out into the open, and is now running as a Republican -- if not by name, than at least in style. (see "antisecurity wing", "hacked website", "at your peril", etc)

[ShockediSay]

6. Sadly, I see the odds favoring Lieberman's "independent" bid

The Repugs will vote for him (the official Repug candidate is even flakier, imo)

The lesser half of the Dem primary voters will go back to him

The Christian Zionistas will organize, donate and those few in CT will vote for him

The American Zionists will organize, donate and those in CT will vote for him

as will the Israel Lobby

as will the CT War Contractor Lobby (GE, Sikorsky etc)

Maybe Lamont can go after Lieberman as a creature of the Washington Abramoff
Affliction of Lobbyists (?) Critical on this point will be disclosure of lobbyist
contributions.