Why the GOP May Not Gain from Lieberman's Loss

[Renew Deal]

Nothing whets the appetite of a political party like two members of the opposing party tearing each other to pieces. So after Connecticut Democrats delivered the final blows in Tuesday's bruising primary between incumbent Senator Joe Lieberman and anti-war multi-millionaire Ned Lamont — and with Lieberman vowing to run as an independent — you'd think Republicans would be licking their chops. With Leiberman's loss, the GOP could actually make a run for his crucial Senate seat. If they had the right candidate.

Problem is, very few people think Alan Schlesinger — or Alan Gold, as he used to call himself when he was gambling at Connecticut's Indian casinos — is the right candidate. Last spring, back when Lamont was a joke and Lieberman looked unassailable, Schlesinger took the time to tour Connecticut collecting enough votes to get himself the Republican nomination. The former state legislator and mayor of Derby was not exactly a political star, but no one begrudged him the work he put in to get the party's nod. As one former GOP lawmaker put it in a recent op-ed in the Hartford Courant, "No one was very enthused about Schlesinger, but he had the virtue of wanting the nomination."
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http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1223918,00.html