Lieberman defeat shows anger with status quo
Author: Joelle Fishman
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 08/17/06 13:32Alarmed by the prospects of a political realignment, Karl Rove and right-wing spin-doctors called the primary results a terrorist threat. Vice President Cheney lamented that voters would “purge a man like Joe Lieberman” because “the al Qaeda types … are betting on the proposition that ultimately they can break the will of the American people.” The next day, Lieberman himself cited the terrorist bomb scare in Britain as a reason that he must continue to serve in the Senate.
These scare tactics have been met with outrage. MoveOn.org is urging letters to the editor across the country to reject this baseless Republican posturing on security.
National pundits are attempting to paint the Lamont victory as one that will marginalize Democrats in the November elections. Refuting that claim, Robert Borosage, co-director of Campaign for America’s Future, called the Lamont victory “a triumph for the new moral center … that represents a growing voter revolt against the failed policies and politics of the Bush administration and its congressional enablers, particularly the debacle in Iraq.”
In a further attempt to undermine the election, right-wing talk show hosts are mocking Lamont as “some rich guy with no experience,” a frequent refrain from Lieberman’s stump speech.
In fact, Lieberman, with a $12 million war chest, spent twice as much as Lamont in the campaign. Lamont, a millionaire who founded a cable company, refused political action committee monies and relied on grassroots support. Lieberman emphasized his contributions from unions, but his treasury was flooded with contributions from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other national conservative PACs.
http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/9683/1/336/