Lieberman Launches A Hail Mary

[Nbadan]

Nice stuff Ocotillo, good to have you back. I still think that Wesley Clark would make a fine President for these troubled times, and he answers the wing-nut talking point about independent-minded Candidates not being tolerated in the 'left-wing' Democratic Party very nicely...

"You see, despite what Joe Lieberman believes, invading Iraq and diverting our attention away from Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden is not being strong on national security. Blind allegiance to George W. Bush and his failed "stay the course" strategy is not being strong on national security. And no, Senator Lieberman, no matter how you demonize your opponents, there is no "antisecurity wing" of the Democratic Party."

-Wes Clark 08/09/2006

[Nbadan]

The rats are scurrying from ship Lieberman...

The Carpetbagger Report says the Lieberman campaign staff "shake-up" we forecast last week is actually their way of spinning several resignations about to take place.

"Two independent sources have confirmed that some Lieberman aides decided well in advance of yesterday's primary that if the senator abandoned the Democratic Party for an independent campaign, they would resign in protest. Given yesterday's results and Lieberman's announcement, that's exactly what's about to happen."

Update: The AP says Lieberman "fired his campaign manager and spokesman, and asked for the resignations of his campaign staff."

Update II: Longtime Lieberman aide Sherry Brown and his former senate press secretary Dan Gerstein have joined the campaign. In addition, The Hotline notes all remaining staff and consultants have resigned.

Political Newswire

[rascal]

I live in Ct and voted for Lamont.

[George Gervin's Afro]

The politics of fear..The GOP 2006 platform.... Any bets on terror alerts being raised frequently right up until November? I realize it was probably just a coincedence but running up until the 04 elections terror alerts were raised frequently..but then mysteriously stopped after the election... I know it was just a coincedence..

[Nbadan]

[Yonivore]

I can't wait until November in Connecticut.

[rascal]

I expect Lieberman to win in Nov. Enough Republicans will push him over the top.

Its going to be more of the same. Thats what you people want isn't it. You like the way things are now then keep voting the same people in because there will be no change with the same people making the decisions.

[jochhejaam]

Connecticut Senate: Two Days After Primary, Lieberman Ahead by 5

Lieberman 46%, Lamont 41%
August 12, 2006

Senator Joseph Lieberman Senator Joe Lieberman’s decision to run as an Independent sets up a lively campaign season for Connecticut voters. In the first General Election poll since Ned Lamont defeated Lieberman in Tuesday’s primary, the in bent is hanging on to a five percentage point lead. Lieberman earns support from 46% of Connecticut voters while Lamont is the choice of 41% (see crosstabs).

A month ago, the candidates were tied at 40% each.

Republican Alan Schlesinger earns just 6% of the vote, down from 13% a month ago.

57% of the state's voters view Lieberman as politically moderate while 51% see Lamont as liberal.

Half (52%) of Lamont voters believe Bush should be impeached and removed from office. Just 15% of Lieberman voters share that view.

Overall, 55% of Connecticut voters trust Lieberman more than Lamont when it comes to the War on Terror. Thirty-one percent (31%) trust Lamont.

Thirty-one percent (31%) have a Very Favorable opinion of Lieberman, 18% Very Unfavorable.

For Lamont, the numbers are 19% Very Favorable, 23% Very Unfavorable.

Lieberman still attracts 35% of votes from Democrats. Lamont will have to find a way to trim that number without alienating unaffiliated voters. Lieberman is viewed at least somewhat favorably by 65% of unaffiliated voters compared to 49% for Lamont.



http://rasmussenreports.com/2006/Sta...icutSenate.htm

[Nbadan]

August 14, 2006
Bush Refuses to Back GOP Candidate

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said this morning that President Bush will not endorse Connecticut U.S. Senate candidate Alan Schlesinger (R) over Sen. Joe Lieberman even though he's the Republican nominee.

Earlier: RNC chief Ken Mehlman also refused to endorse Schlesinger.

Political Wire

Losers supporting the man they themselves labeled Loserman.

[Ocotillo]

Look for Lieberman to totally flip and become a Republican should he win in November. Judas will take the 30 pieces of silver from the Repug donors and stop the charade and become a Republican after the election.

[jochhejaam]

Look for Lieberman to totally flip and become a Republican should he win in November. Judas will take the 30 pieces of silver from the Repug donors and stop the charade and become a Republican after the election.

The swing votes for Lieberman will come from the Independents (Moderates) along with almost half of the Dems vote, why would he become a Republican?

[Extra Stout]

Losers supporting the man they themselves labeled Loserman.

Well, Republicans are open-minded, you see, so they can have a change of heart about somebody.

Please, by all means keep heaving vitriol at him. When Joe represents the deciding vote between Harry Reid and Bill Frist in the Senate, you won't regret it.

[rascal]

Yes lets just keep all the guys who are running the show there. Keep going down the same road because it is so good.

Unfortunately the money and power machine that is in Wash now will continue to win by influencing the minds of the weak to remain in control.

[Nbadan]

Maybe this is the real reason Conservatives have been courting Lieberman like a chick in The Club...

The issue of Lieberman’s seniority would arise most dramatically if Lieberman wins re-election and Democrats recapture control of the chamber. That would slot Lieberman to take over as chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the panel primarily responsible for investigating the executive branch.

The Hill

In Leiberman's mind, he won the "Democratic" primary in that Lamont's margin of victory came from late registering unaffiliated voters and new voters who put a D after their names just to get red, white and oh, so blue with Ned. The Kos/blogger voters, if you will...as distinct from 'genuine'organization Democrats - like the 60% of unions and a (near?) majority of blacks who voted him. Given Lamont's less-than-3% MOV, it would have taken a much, much higher MOV (say 15%+) for the message to penetrate through his ego and to Joe's brain.

As for Joe's en lement mentality towards the seat, Joe has tens of millions on tap to blow on ads, endorsements and GOTV, has more media and State DP organizational support than Lamont, and the last poll on the race posted has him up by 5%. Lamont may have the DP Line, but it's still liberal/progressive Democrats, Bush-hating independents, a few bloggers and the anti-war movement against the RNC, the DLC, the M$M and Wall Street.

[Gerryatrics]

Lieberman leads opponents in new poll

BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a three-term Democrat now running as an independent candidate, leads the man who beat him in last week's primary vote by 12 points in a three-way race, a poll released on Thursday shows.

The latest Quinnipiac University poll, conducted between August 10-14, shows Lieberman leads Democrat Ned Lamont, a wealthy businessman with little political experience who has played on anti-war sentiment, by 53 percent to 41 percent among likely voters in November's election. The Republican candidate Alan Schlesinger drew 4 percent, the poll shows.

Democratic voters selected Lamont as their candidate on August 8 with 52 percent of the vote after an increasingly bitter race dominated by Lieberman's support for the Iraq war.

Lieberman vowed to stay in the race as an independent candidate in order to face Lamont and Schlesinger in the general election in November.

The survey found that Lieberman polled best among likely Republican voters, leading the others with 75 percent of the vote compared with Lamont's 13 percent and Schlesinger's 10 percent.

"Senator Lieberman's support among Republicans is nothing short of amazing," Douglas Schwartz, the university's polling director said in a statement. "As long as Lieberman maintains this kind of support among Republicans while holding onto a significant number of Democratic votes, the veteran senator will be hard to beat."

Likely voters said by a 53 percent to 40 percent margin that Lieberman, the Democratic Party's vice presidential candidate in 2000 and once a presidential candidate himself, deserves to be re-elected.

[Ocotillo]

The swing votes for Lieberman will come from the Independents (Moderates) along with almost half of the Dems vote, why would he become a Republican?

His money will come from Republicans. The White House and RNC have refused to endorse the Republican in the race who has ethical problems as well. Lamont will peel off most of the Democratic vote so it will come down to the Independents.

The Reps are going to run a behind the scenes courting of Lieberman. While Lieberman would be on the left of most within the Republican party, he is their best hope in the state, hence their refusal to endorse their own candidate.

If the Democrats have a big niight in November it is conceivable that the Senate could be split in such a way that a victorious Lieberman would hold sway over who controls the Senate.

For that reason, Joe will get lots of Republican money, the right wing noise machine will bang the drum for him and elected Republicans will speak glowingly of him. Meanwhile the Dems have a delicate line to walk.

If they go to hard after him, they risk alienating him even further. The they I refer to are is colleagues in the Senate. Five Dems have endorsed Joe in his independent run and they are generally southern Dems.

Lieberman's campaign manager has said Joe will vote for Harry Reid has Senate Majority Leader but Joe himself has not made that pronouncement public.

I expect this race to evolve to the point whereby Lieberman is so bitter about this challenge that he does desert the party full bore and join the Republicans.

The Democratic party can dump a lot of money in the race courting the independent vote but that is money that could be spent elsewhere instead of what would normally be a safe seat. Add to the mx, there are three moderate Republicans running for re-election to the House in Connecticut that are vulnerable and Lieberman staying on as an independent makes those races more difficult for the Dems.

Once again, Joe Lieberman is screwing the Democratic party.

[Ocotillo]

BTW, the latest poll has Lieberman's lead down to 5 points. His Democratic support is soft, so as I said earlier, it will come down to the Independents. His message should resonate with them since by their nature, they are less partisan, so it will be a tough fight.

[boutons_]

Lieberman panders to the anti-war Dems.

Hey, asshole, US politics is ALL ABOUT IRAQ WAR, and you backed the wrong side.

===================

August 20, 2006

Lieberman Calls for Rumsfeld to Resign

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 1:15 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Joe Lieberman on Sunday called on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign and backed an international conference to find a way out of the crisis in Iraq.

Lieberman, who is seeking a fourth term as an independent candidate after losing the Democratic nomination to newcomer Ned Lamont on Aug. 8, also criticized some fellow Democrats. He said several Democrats are trying to impose a "litmus test" on the party.

"I think it's still time for new leadership at the Pentagon," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Lieberman, an early supporter of the Iraq war, said he called for Rumsfeld to step down in 2003.

"With all respect to Don Rumsfeld, who has done a grueling job for six years, we would benefit from new leadership to work with our military in Iraq," he said Sunday.

Lieberman said the Bush administration should have sent more troops into Iraq "to secure the country."

"We had a naive vision that the Iraqis were going to embrace us and then go on and live happily ever after," he said.

The Lamont campaign issued a statement Sunday criticizing Lieberman for trying to "paint himself as courageous for clinging to the failed 'stay the course' policy in Iraq and not listening to the voters of Connecticut on the need to change course."

"His new found 'criticism' of the war won't convince Connecticut voters after so many years of stubbornly rubber-stamping Bush's failed policies," the statement said.

Lieberman also said the administration must "put severe pressure on the Iraqis to contain sectarian violence."

"There is still hope in Iraq and as long as there is we cannot just pick up and walk away and leave them to the sure disaster that would follow and would compromise our security in the war on terrorism," he said.

Lieberman said he would support an "international crisis conference on Iraq" with the United States, its allies and Arab countries worrying "that if Iraq collapses and falls into civil war that Iran will surge in and dominate and claim a victory."

He also accused Lamont of distorting his stance on Iraq.

"He made me into a cheerleader for George Bush and everything that's happened," Lieberman said. "And the record shows that, while I believe we did the right thing in overthrowing Saddam Hussein, I've been very critical over the years, particularly in 2003 and 2004, about the failure to send enough American troops to secure the country, about the absence of adequate plans and preparation to deal with post-Saddam Iraq."

Tom Swan, campaign manager for Lamont, said Sunday the campaign stands by its criticism of Lieberman as too close to President Bush.

"Joe Lieberman spent hundreds of thousand dollars distorting Ned Lamont's positions during the (primary) campaign," he said.

"As bad as things are now -- and they've gotten worse in the last six months -- it would be a disaster if America set a deadline and said we're getting all of our troops out by a given date," Lieberman said. "That's a position Ned Lamont has taken."

Responding to a question about Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who was quoted as saying that Lieberman echoes Republicans, Lieberman said it was "just plain politics by somebody who has ambitions of his own."

"I voted 90 percent of the time with a majority of Democrats in the U.S. Senate," he said.

"I'm worried that my party may become what we've accused the Republicans of, a kind of litmus-test party," he said. "If you don't agree with us 100 percent of the time, you don't agree with us. I'm devoted to the Democratic Party."

===================

Sorry, asshole, your pro-phony-war stance was/is a huge mistake.

[jochhejaam]

Lieberman panders to the anti-war Dems.

Hey, asshole, US politics is ALL ABOUT IRAQ WAR, and you backed the wrong side.

Sorry, asshole, your pro-phony-war stance was/is a huge mistake.

He's ahead by 12% and his stance is a huge mistake?

As an Independent, Lieberman Leads the Field

By Chris Cillizza and Charles Babington
Sunday, August 20, 2006;

After Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman came up short against businessman and Iraq war opponent Ned Lamont in Connecticut's Democratic primary earlier this month, there was considerable speculation that the long-term in bent's formidable status in the state would crumble now that he is running as an independent.

It is still a long way to Nov. 7, but early evidence is that Lieberman is still standing plenty tall -- and taller than either of his two opponents.

Lieberman holds a 53 percent to 41 percent lead over Lamont among those most likely to vote in November, while Alan Schlesinger, the Republican candidate, gets just 4 percent. The survey was conducted by Quinnipiac University.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...081900642.html

[Nbadan]

According to a new WSJ article, Lamont has pulled to within margin of error (WSJ/Zogby poll)

Lieberman leads by only 3.9 points.

Wall Street Journal

[Nbadan]

Bush & Lieberman Commemorate 9/11