Lamont Wins MoveOn's Endorsement ... Tops Lieberman 85 Pct. to 14 Pct.

[Left Coast Lynn]

WASHINGTON - May 26 - Ned Lamont has won MoveOn's endorsement for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in the organization's online Connecticut primary by a margin of 85 pct. to 14 pct.

The online primary was conducted during a 24-hour period beginning May 25th at 8 am. Lamont's win, which was triggered when he passed two-thirds of the votes cast by MoveOn's Connecticut members, will mean funding and volunteer support from the national organization's members in his quest for the Democratic Party's nomination in August.

"Lamont's substantial vote margin indicates the dissatisfaction of many MoveOn members over Senator Lieberman's continued support for the war in Iraq; his support for Big Oil's energy bill; and overall fatigue with the senator," said Eli Pariser, Executive Director of MoveOn.org Political Action. "Lamont's message resonated with members who want a senator who will stand up to President Bush on key issues and represent the views of most people in Connecticut," Pariser added.

Last Thursday, both campaigns agreed to submit a message from the candidate or a surrogate, as Senator Lieberman did during MoveOn's 2004 online presidential primary. On Monday evening, however, Lieberman's campaign informed MoveOn that the senator had changed his mind and would not communicate with MoveOn's Connecticut membership. The organization then sent out an e-mail on the senator's behalf that summarized his campaign statements and those of his most distinguished supporters.

The following comments were typical of the sentiments expressed by many of the MoveOn members who voted in the online primary:

"I do not see that Senator Lieberman actually cares about Connecticut voters. He has treated them with contempt and complacence. I don't have a problem with Democrats who don't vote the party line, but I do have a problem with senators who treat their offices as an entitlement, and this is what Sen. Lieberman seems to be doing." -- Dara from New Haven, CT

"Lamont is exactly the sort of candidate MoveOn should support: a true progressive running against the forces of Beltway conventional wisdom and accommodation of the Radical Right." -- Greg from Watertown, CT

"I'm impressed with the "fresh approach" that Ned Lamont seems to bring to the table. I think that he's correct when he says that the Democratic party needs to stand out from the Republicans (and the "W" administration). At first I was leaning towards Joe Lieberman because I can see that he is an established senator who has many contacts and perhaps has the power of persuasion within Washington, but I'm willing to take a chance on a "new guy" who better fits the voice I'd like represented." -- Meegan from Waterbury, CT

"Ned Lamont articulates my values about Iraq, health care, the environment." -- Marion from Branford, CT

Vote validation was conducted by Voter Roll Call-a SurveyUSA Company.

# # #

The Statement of Intent and rules of MoveOn's online primary follow.

Statement of Intent and Rules

This year in Connecticut the Democratic primary for United States Senate will likely determine who holds the Senate seat.

In most primary processes, pundits, pollsters and wealthy donors determine the outcome long before the actual vote. By the time the rest of us cast our ballots, the nomination is typically a done deal. The MoveOn.org Political Action Primary allowed thousands of voters to choose which candidate to endorse -- if any.

Consistent with MoveOn.org Political Action's policy for endorsements, the candidate who garners support from two-thirds of votes cast in the online primary will win the MoveOn member endorsement. If no candidate garners two-thirds support we will not make an endorsement.

Here are the rules.

1) Voting will occur for 24 hours starting on May 25, 2006 at 8:00 AM Eastern and ending May 26, 2006 at 8:00 AM Eastern.

2) Only eligible persons may vote in the MoveOn online primary. To be eligible for this primary you must be currently subscribed to MoveOn's email list at a Connecticut postal address and have joined MoveOn before May 18, 2006 at 9 a.m. People not already on the MoveOn mailing list in Connecticut cannot vote in this primary.

3) The day before the primary, May 24, 2006, each of the two presumed candidates in the Democratic primary will have a chance to send an e-mail from themselves or a designee to the MoveOn membership in Connecticut. Candidates are asked to submit a final e-mail by May 23, 2006 at 5:00 PM Eastern to Eli Pariser. The e- mail may be text or HTML. It may contain hyperlinks and graphics. No code that may trigger SPAM filters will be allowed. If the candidate declines to send an e-mail, MoveOn may ask a proxy to write an e-mail on behalf of the candidate or send a note indicating that the candidate declined to participate.

4) Ballots will be distributed via e-mail on May 25. Members will vote through a secure web form on a MoveOn.org Political Action web page. The results will be tabulated by MoveOn.org Political Action staff.

5) Only one vote per member will be counted. A member may change their vote during the 24 hour voting period. The last vote the member registers will count as his or her official vote.

6) The campaigns may ask supporters who meet the criteria above to vote in the primary. Any evidence of fraud will be investigated, and fraudulent activity by candidates is cause for immediate disqualification.

7) To win the primary the candidate must receive two-thirds of votes cast. If no candidate receives two-thirds support, MoveOn won't issue an endorsement.

8) As an anti-fraud measure, MoveOn.org Political Action will conduct an automated phone poll of participants in the primary. The phone poll is not a binding survey. It will be used to identify fraud. If fraud is suspected the primary may be declared invalid.

9) This primary process and the rules governing it are the exclusive domain of MoveOn.org Political Action and all questions or disputes are resolved by Eli Pariser, Executive Director of MoveOn.org Political Action.

To view a copy of the emails sent out to Connecticut MoveOn members on behalf of candidates Ned Lamont and Senator Joe Lieberman, go to:

http://political.moveon.org/ctprimary/Lamont.html

http://political.moveon.org/ctprimary/Lieberman.html

[Nightjock]

1. Joe-mentum must go!

Don't let the door hit "jo" ass on the way out!

[gademocrat7]

2. Goodbye Joe.

We will not miss you.

[redqueen]

3. haha!

Nice!

:bounce:

[cliss]

4. Hilarious statement....

"and overall fatigue with the senator".

I guess that just about sums it up.

[tives12]

5. I bet he knew he wouldn't win Move On's nomination

So he just didn't waste his time trying to garner support.

[stepnw1f]

6. I'd Say the Party is Moving LEFT

not wRong.

[derby378]

7. The DLC ain't gonna like this one bit...

I see a lot of DLC money flowing into DSCC coffers to help Lieberman keep his Senate seat.

[PassingFair]

33. I see washed repig money flowing into his coffers as well..*

*prediction.

[rocktivity]

8. Candidate for "You Call This NEWS?" award

The last thing I want to do is knock MoveOn. But really, why would anyone expect a DIFFERENT outcome?

:evilgrin:
rocknation

[Left Coast Lynn]

9. Apologies to the mods

This story is from last Friday, and I posted it in LBN. Thanks for moving it.

Sorry again!

[Tom Joad]

10. You know that Joe will still have all the big boys on his side, right?

Obama, Hillary, and probably Kerry, Kennedy, and Gore (you think Gore will endorse Lamont, and basically admit he made a terrible mistake in 2000?)

Prove me wrong. Please! And if any of the big boys (and girls) do come out for Lieberman, i hope the voters will still vote him out of office. Wouldn't hold my breath, though.

[Left Coast Lynn]

11. I'm afraid you're right

I believe the state party has endorsed him.

[Larkspur]

16. Gore won't meddle in CT politics

He'll remain silent on Lieberman's primary battle. If he says anything at all, he'll say that Joe's future is up to the people of CT.

[Tom Joad]

20. Gore has already done his part to advance Joe's career.

The point is that the elite in the party will not oppose him, and mostly support him...
Becasue, i think, they most endorse his views.

[Larkspur]

28. And Gore endorsed Howard Dean for Prez in 2003

not Lieberman. So Gore does not feel loyalty to a man who has gone off the deep end.

[PassingFair]

34. I think Gore already drew that line when he endorsed

Howard Dean in 04.

Gore does not play nice with the DLC anymore.

[SaveElmer]

12. I'm surprised Lieberman got 14% at MoveOn...

Joe will win handily though.

caveat: I'm not a huge Lieberman fan, but would still prefer him over any Republican!

[dpbrown]

13. It'll take a lot of work to unseat an incumbent

I hope that MoveOn and Connecticut are ready for the effort.

[geardaddy]

14. Joe, see ya! Wouldn't wanna be ya!

[saltpoint]

15. I'm thinking it must be pretty exciting to be a registered Democrat

in Connecticut long about now.

Some of us are a little jealous of you guys there in Connecticut. This is national news for politics junkies.

Ned Lamont seems contagiously effective. I wonder if Holy Joe will bolt early and run as an independent?

[Larkspur]

17. Yes it is. At first I didn't think it would be this exciting.

But Ned Lamont sure has made CT politics interesting this year.

[saltpoint]

18. Hi, Larkspur. A lot of us are paying attention to your state's primary.

How fun it would be to be a volunteer in that race.

By the way, the Picasso choice you have there is very powerful, especially in an era when the U.S. president has adopted a pre-emptive strike military policy.

[Larkspur]

22. Thanks.

Markos said that us Lamont supporters are an inspiration to progressives around the nation and then he told us not to blow it. We'll do our best to win.

I wonder if the DTC's in New York who endorsed Hillary's Dem primary opponent or who refused to endorse either one were inspired by Lamont's campaign?

I liked the combination of Picasso's painting and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s quote. They go so well together.

[saltpoint]

23. Yes -- The GUERNICA and Dr. King's words are a perfect match.

I'm often bewildered (though not offended) at Picasso's personality, but never in doubt as to his genius. Of all the anti-war gestures in the arts, the GUERNICA is a titan. Powerful and horrifying at the same time.

Dr. King said that the bombs we drop over southeast Asia will explode in the streets of America. He was right. They did. Foolishly, and stubbornly, and cruelly, the Bush administration and PNAC et al refused to learn the lessons of Dr. King and now they own a history-making calamity in Iraq.

Shame on them.

I can't offer an objective view of Lieberman because I'm ga-ga over Ned Lamont, and I hope he crushes all comers in that primary. I think Lieberman has a hell of a classy wife. Hadassah is a gem. But I just can't do Bushwar anymore. Too much of a peacenik from the Kent State era to abide Joe's pro-Bush kissfest with the neocons.

If people like you are helping the campaign to elect Ned Lamont, I feel a whole lot better about his chances. Go, team, and best wishes.

[jonnyblitz]

21. it is!! I can't wait to vote for Lamont!

:bounce: :bounce:

[saltpoint]

24. Hey there, jonnyblitz. Well, an awful lot of people who are pro-Lamont

are pulling for you guys.

Give it all ya got, and let's get a good man like Ned in the Senate. If he wins that primary in August, please post on DU that night when the returns come in so the rest of us in other state who like Lamont can slap you on the back and whoop it up big. It will be a happy night on these boards.

[PassingFair]

35. Let's not forget to put our money where our mouths are!

https://secure.nedlamont.com/page/contribute

He will need support.

Send a message to the DLC. Support Lamont in CT.

[saltpoint]

36. PassingFair, I'm already a donor. More important, I am thinking

that Lamont will win.

I don't want to jinx his chances, and I'm not unaware of Lieberman's entrenched connections, but on the other hand, Lamont might just be the right champion at the right time running in the right state.

I'm not claiming that New Englanders are perfect, but I sure like those blue demographics a hell of a lot, and I'm cuttin' them all the slack they want. Go get 'em, Dems.

[PassingFair]

38. I guessed you had, Old Crusoe!

I think the corporatists ("centrists", "progressives", "liberals", "New Democrats"
OR WHATEVER THEY ARE CALLING THEMSELVES TODAY)will have no choice but to sit down
and shut up if rank and file dems vote against the
collaborators.

Peace!

[garybeck]

19. why the ($%*#)% did Gore pick Lieberman?

I can't think of a worse choice for a runningmate.

[Greyhound]

30. Some of us asked that 7 years ago... still waiting... n/t

[saltpoint]

37. Some felt that Gore chose Lieberman because he wanted to

distance himself from Clinton in a very big way. Looking back, it opened a gap of non-support among people who appreciated Clinton's grasp of economic issues.

At the time, I think Gore felt that Lieberman's anti-Clinton remarks on the floor of the Senate would help the ticket with the large number of evangelicals who might ordinarily vote for Bush without a thought.

(Turns out just about any vote they cast for Republicans is a vote cast without a thought!)

But I think that may have been part of the strategy. Lieberman was a moralist. I don't care for his remarks against Clinton, and I'm not even a Clinton Democrat. I defend Bill Clinton against the Limbaughs and the Hannitys and the Humes -- and the Liebermans. But Joe had the potential to lure a few conservative spiritual type voters into the Dems' column, or at least Gore may have believed so.

The other plus was that Lieberman had very strong appeal in Palm Beach, Broward, and MiamiDade Counties in Florida, and early on, Gore know Florida was going to be a bloodbath and wanted high totals in those three counties.

Very likely he GOT them, too, but Katherine Harris saw to it that things didn't work right.

[paineinthearse]

25. I can't believe 14% of MoveOn supporters would vote for Lieberman

Must have been freepers.

[MrBenchley]

26. After all, they were right about Kucinich winning the presidency

(snicker)

[NJ Democrats]

27. It doesn't matter at all

Lamont will be crushed by Lieberman. Even if Lamont somehow wins, Lieberman will win the gen election. I know you all are hopeing Lamont will win but don't count on it. it is more likely he'll get beat- badly.

[Larkspur]

32. Two prominent CT Dems think Lieberman is in trouble on August 8

My Left Nutmeg has more on this
<b>Are Connecticut's Dem Bigs Leaning Lamont-wards? </b>
http://www.myleftnutmeg.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1410

This from George Jepsen:

"Once you scratch and sniff, you realize he would be a very credible senator, and that makes him a very credible candidate," said George Jepsen, the immediate past chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee. "If he was a nut, Joe wouldn't have a problem. But he's intelligent. He's accomplished. There are no personal warts. He teaches in the Bridgeport public schools. How many people of his pedigree and background go do that?"
Mr. Jepsen, who supported Senator Lieberman in past races, has not taken a public position in the primary. He is among many Democrats, however, who predict that voters who are angry with Mr. Lieberman are likely to turn out in great numbers in the primary. <b<The senator, he said, is "genuinely threatened on Aug. 8."</b>

And this from Nick Paindiris:

"He's always supported progressive presidential candidates," said Nick Paindiris, who was the coordinator for Senator Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign in Connecticut and is a member of the party's state central committee. "But he was always in the background. Even though he brought a lot of money to the events, he wasn't the one whose name was on the event. He wasn't seeking the limelight."
Mr. Paindiris, who has supported Senator Lieberman in the past, called Mr. Lamont "a very progressive, principled individual." About the senator, he said, "For me the central issue is not the war, it's Joe Lieberman's allegiance to the Democratic Party. I question it."

<snip>

UPDATE: Nick Paindiris told me today that ...if Joe starts collecting signatures for an independent run, he will come out very strongly for Lamont and support him vigorously.” ....

[Douglas Carpenter]

29. excellent

http://www.nedlamont.com

" Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut reproached fellow Democrats for criticizing President Bush during a time of war.

"It's time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that he will be the commander in chief for three more critical years and that in matters of war we undermine presidential credibility at our nation's peril," Lieberman said."

link:

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/08/democrats.iraq/?section=cnn_latest

and this interesting comment from Sen. Lieberman while in Baghdad

"Time magazine Baghdad bureau chief Michael Ware on Morning Sedition this morning:

I and some other journalists had lunch with Senator Joe Lieberman the other day and we listened to him talking about Iraq. Either Senator Lieberman is so divorced from reality that he's completely lost the plot or he knows he's spinning a line. Because one of my colleagues turned to me in the middle of this lunch and said he's not talking about any country I've ever been to and yet he was talking about Iraq, the very country where we were sitting."

link:

http://atrios.blogspot.com/2005_11_27_atrios_archive.html#113328407009752558

[Cha]

31. LIEberman doesn't care

about anything but bush enabling..anything else can so straight to hell.