Connecticut Polls Are Closed

[Bob Geiger]

The polls just closed and, at this point, the important people -- campaign workers -- are still out working while the media mob waiting here at Lamont headquarters sets up and waits for the evening to truly begin.

The media room, which has mostly been populated by bloggers, has been abuzz with how to best address the ridiculous charges by the Lieberman Team that people in cahoots with the Ned Lamont campaign hacked their web site. Hopefully, with the admission by Joe's campaign spokesman Dan Gerstein that they have no evidence whatsoever that anyone linked to the Lamont campaign had anything whatsoever to do with the downing of their cheapo, $15-per-month web site, that nonsense is dead for the evening.

For now, we sit in the Meriden Four Points Sheraton waiting…. And hoping.

Christina O'Connell, the Lamont campaign's media coordinator, estimates credentialed media at 150 plus and, as I walked through the ballroom where Ned will appear later, I counted 15 television cameras set up on a stage at the back of the room.

The corporate media is all over the place and, as they kill time, are interviewing many of us and seem surprised at how erudite and well-informed our lot are -- not me, of course, but the likes of Jane Hamsher and TRex, both of Firedoglake, and Matt Browner-Hamlin of Bring It On and Emboldened who are sitting with me blogging.

As was true with YearlyKos, I'm getting to meet some wonderful bloggers and, as with everyone else here, we wait…

Update:

I Just Met Jesse Jackson

You could cut the excitement with a knife when the Reverend Jesse Jackson walked into the media room for a press conference a few minutes ago. Don’t have time to write much about it right now but here's some good quotes from Jackson:

"Many Democrats have faked Left and then voted Right. With the deepening crisis, too many Democrats are hedging their bets and Ned Lamont offers another direction"

"The Iraq war is not a single issue, it is a central issue. We're losing lives, we’re losing money, we’re losing honor -- we're losing the war. If it were about national security, eminent threat or WMD, it would be a different story, but it's about none of that."

"There are a lot of people concerned about Lieberman playing it both ways. Lamont says if Lieberman wins, he will support Lieberman. Lieberman says if Lamont wins, Lieberman will support himself."

In describing the Progressive opposition to the Iraq war and to fighting Bush's domestic policies, Jackson said. "This is not the far Left, it's the moral center."

[stillcool]

1. wow...that's so cool...

thanks...:bounce: :applause: :woohoo:

[DODI]

2. We won the battle of the Elmwood Community Center in WH

148 to 127. Doesn't sound like a lot of the West Hartford News was as good. Keep your fingers crossed!

[Zhade]

3. Shady i.p. thread...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2765091

[flyarm]

4. THANK GOD..NOW THE ROOTING FOR HIGH NUMBERS ..

COMMENCES!!

i have such a good feeling...wooo hooo!!

dlc ..look out here we come

fly

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

5. fuck the dlc.

[spooky3]

6. Bob, I enjoy all your posts. Thanks.

[peace_on_earth]

7. Link to election returns here - so far Ned's ahead!!

http://web.wtnh.com/2006voteprimary/race200.html

Current results:

U.S. Senate
Democratic Primary
Updated at 08:49 PM - Aug. 08, 2006

Precincts Reporting: 81 of 757 - 11%
Candidate Incumbent Votes Vote %
Joe Lieberman X 14,870 44%
Ned Lamont 19,257 56%

[Cha]

8. K&R! We're out here

waiting and hoping, too!