Watch Yer Ass, Lieberman -- Lamont Picking up Steam

[AtomicKitten]

Column: Lamont effort to beat Lieberman is gaining surprising strength

RAY HACKETT
On Politics

Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont will begin a state-wide petition drive Wednesday, a safety net of sorts to ensure himself a place on the Aug. 8 Democratic primary ballot in his challenge to three-term incumbent U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman.

It's not a bad idea, especially for someone who isn't very well known statewide.

But the petitioning drive may not be necessary. Lamont would automatically qualify as a primary challenger if he can capture 15 percent of the delegate vote at the May 20 Democratic State Convention. And based on the buzz generated statewide by this race, I wouldn't be surprised if Lamont does significantly better than that.

I think it's possibly that Lamont could pick up 30 to 35 percent of delegates. If he does, Lieberman is in the battle of his political life.

more at: http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060423/COLUMNISTS11/604230343/1014
Originally published April 23, 2006

[Proud_Democratt]

1. Good...Lieberman is a "Paper" Democrat anyway!!!!!

[Rocknrule]

28. Toilet paper Democrat, you mean

[kentuck]

2. There is a minimum of respect that Democrats demand you show...

Kissing the cheeks and feet of hateful Republicans does not cut it.

[Proud_Democratt]

5. Ned Lamont IS a Dem.

http://www.nedlamont.com/

[Proud_Democratt]

7. Don't forget what being a Democrat is all about....we are the ones

that cherish the Bill Of Rights.....especially the 1st Amendment.

[AtomicKitten]

3. more info

# There are rumors that half of New Haven's 69 delegates intend on voting for Lamont at the convention. Lieberman's official residence in Connecticut is New Haven.

# In New Britain, a Democratic stronghold, reportedly the majority of its 31 delegates are backing Lamont.

# The Democratic Town Committee chairman in Manchester, Ted Cummings, is reportedly trying to broker a deal with his delegates, hoping to get a 17-10 split in favor of Lieberman. Earlier this year, the Manchester committee voted nearly unanimously in favor of a resolution expressing no confidence in the incumbent.

[blueinindiana]

4. DINO’s like Joe need to go

I makes me very angry that some on here defend this guy just because he has a (D) beside his name.


I despise DINO's and other like him more than I do Republicans.

[AtomicKitten]

6. I think the defense of him is more complex than simply a (D) by his name

On all other issues Lieberman has an extensive liberal voting record. Unfortunately and sadly he got a hard-on for Bush's war.

There is also an element of sentimentality involved because he was Gore's VP candidate.

I'm just tired of seeing his face behind Bush when Bush is signing horrible legislation. Joementum backed the wrong horse and he's going to pay for that poor judgment in that regard.

[Proud_Democratt]

9. He's much too close to Bush....something is up.

[AtomicKitten]

10. whatever it is, it makes my skin crawl

[Proud_Democratt]

13. I have a funny feeling about Hilary also...I can't put my finger on it

[AtomicKitten]

15. I believe Hillary is trying to hedge her bets.

So did her husband but more successfully and with finesse. I just think she is trying to outflank all the bullshit they will dump on her if she does run, unfortunately in the process alienating much of what might have been a formidable base.

I'm going with the notion that she is a useful straw-woman to draw the wrath of the GOP, which she does. She is accustomed to the pummeling.

I really hope somebody runs that didn't have the opportunity to oppose Bush and didn't. That will be tough to forgive.

I'm praying that Al Gore runs. That would be a righteous reckoning.

[Proud_Democratt]

16. I totally agree...she's a decoy.

[Proud_Democratt]

33. Read this...

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?siteid=mktw&guid=%7BC84A3ABB%2DCD93%2D4FC3%2DA4A1%2D0C76560EAA17%7D

[skipos]

17. You despise DINO's more than republicans? I got the place for you!

freerepublic.com

[Totally Committed]

8. Now, there's a feel-good story we can agree on!

Go, Lamont!

TC

[AtomicKitten]

11. yep - the wheels of politics go round and round

:)

[still_one]

12. lieberman will probably run as an independent

and if that happens that should make anyone know exactly how loyal lieberman is to the party, NOT

[Proud_Democratt]

14. What makes you think he'll "jump ship"??

[YDogg]

18. He's addicted to power?

[still_one]

21. because he has already said he is considering it

[Pirate Smile]

27. He has a big problem if he wants to have the option of running as an Indy.

From Swing State Project:

"CT-Sen: Lieberman Needs to Brush Up on Connecticut Election Law

Posted by DavidNYC

In a recent interview with a local CT newspaper, the Waterbury Republican-American, Joe Lieberman related the following:

He then added, in response to a question, that if he were to lose a primary he would still seek re-election.

"I intend to be on the ballot in November," he declared.

There's only one problem here. Dear Joseph needs to study up on Title 9 of the Connecticut Code, specifically § 9-453i:

Submission to town clerk or Secretary of the State.

(a) Each page of a nominating petition proposing a candidate for an office to be filled at a regular election shall be submitted to the appropriate town clerk or to the Secretary of the State not later than four o'clock p.m. on the ninetieth day preceding the day of the regular election.

This means that independent candidates have to submit petitions by August 9th, 2006. It just so happens that the Connecticut primary is on August 8th. In other words, if Joe loses the primary, in order to run as an independent in the general, he'd have to file petitions the very next day.

This is all but a literal impossibility. Joe would have to collect petitions while still running in the Dem primary. Can you imagine such a spectacle? It would be beyond unheard of for a sitting senator to do such a thing. The only real way Lieberman could run as an indie would be if he abandoned the Democratic Party (save your jokes) well in advance of the primary. Otherwise, he's just talking smack. If he loses the primary, he's done, finished, tostada del dia."

http://www.swingstateproject.com/2006/01/ctsen_lieberman.php

[still_one]

31. interesting

I personally believe he would not have said he would consider running as an independent if he didn't have those signatures lined up. You have hannity and other right wing ideologues supporting him, so I am sure they would use their power with the media to get those signatures, and have a major effort to get republicans in the state to sign it

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AtomicKitten]

20. nice name-calling!

I'm sorry you object to the democratic process known as the primary election. Democrats are entitled to choose who they want to represent them in the primary.

I'm reasonably certain they will vote for the Democratic candidate in the general election.

Democracy - check into it.

[theboss]

22. Lieberman's approval rating is 57 percent

I don't think he is in any real danger of losing the nomination.

[rinsd]

26. True but a less than a year ago, he was at 69% approval.

http://www.oursenate.com/archives/2005/10/new_susa_approval_ratings.html

[Pirate Smile]

29. Joe's numbers have taken a beating. Info via Swing State Project:

CT-Sen: Lieberman Now in Negative Territory Among "Liberals"

Posted by DavidNYC

Via LamontBlog, something rather non-trivial:



Self-indentified "liberals" now oppose Lieberman by a 49-46 margin - and as you can see, the current spread represents just the latest point in a pretty clear trend. As LamontBlog notes - and as I've argued before - self-ID'ing liberals are the closest stand-in you are likely to find for "likely Democratic primary voters."

Because I had to deal with so many frustrating misunderstandings when I first made this observation, let me say the following: No, it's not a perfect stand-in for Dem primary voters; no, not all primary voters are self-ID'ing liberals; yes, the composition of voters in the primary is going to be hard to predict because of the unusual forces at work here; and no, a narrow disapproval rating does not mean Joe Lieberman is going to lose.

In fact, pretty much no matter what happens between now and August, barring Lieberman dropping out, the odds are very much against Lamont. As you all probably know, sitting senators almost never, ever lose in primary challenges. The few examples in the past thirty years all involved odd-ball circumstances, none of which obtain here. Nonetheless, this new SUSA poll is still good news for Ned. And just to show you we're not the loony left, Lieberman's support has taken a sizable recent hit among "moderates" and "independents" as well, especially among the latter.

One other detail: I believe that CT has a closed primary system - ie, you can only vote in your own party's primary. Some people have suggested that Republican Joe-lovers (and they are legion) might switch parties just to cast a vote for him in the primary. Fortunately, the GOP primary just became competitive, as Alan Schlesinger joined Paul Streitz in seeking the Republican nomination. I don't know how much of a draw this race will be, but at least there are two GOPers who dislike Joe enough to want to run against him.

UPDATE: The more I think about it, the more significant this is in my mind. Look again at Lieberman's performance among indies. Notice anything? It stands at 53-41 - a point worse than his approval among Dems! And Joe didn't just "take a hit" (as I say above) with independents - he utterly cratered in the last month. He was at 63-29, a 34-point spread. Since then, he dropped a whopping 22 points to just +12 - his fall with Dems was only from +21 to +13. I'm not sure what bearing this might have on the primary, but the numbers are pretty stunning in my mind.

http://www.swingstateproject.com/2006/04/ctsen_lieberman_2.php

[depakid]

23. Dumping Lieberman in the primary would be a HUGE boost

for the Dems going into the Novermber elections.

It would be symbolic for no more business as usual.

And after the party's pathetic performance during the first 10 weeks of this year- they could sorely use that.

[AtomicKitten]

25. and a rejection of Bush's war policy vis-a-vis Dem enablers

[Proud_Democratt]

30. That would be a correct analogy. Good observation!

[Arugula Latte]

24. Negative Joementum -- Catch the Fever! n/t

[saltpoint]

32. Lamont seems as if he has the potential to bring a lot of newly

engaged Democrats into the scene at the grassroots level.

The higher the level of involvement, the better the party's chances to have a good dialogue, to build the infrastructure of the party organization, and to be effective against any Republican candidate.

I'm dying to see how Lamont does in this primary.