Disclosure: I worked for the Lamont campaign doing web design and production and some writing for the official blog (from 9/5/06 to 11/07/06).
Friday, August 04, 2006
Friday News Round-Up
Four days... volunteer! Ned needs every last vote.
- The Washington Post reports what others online had suggested last night - that Lieberman's campaign is slashing their field campaign in order to save funds for the general election. Still no news about whether Tom Lindenfeld is still working for Joe or not:
Facing a likely defeat, Lieberman has scrapped plans for a massive and costly get-out-the-vote operation on primary day, according to several Democratic sources. Instead, he will shift some of his resources into more television commercials designed to highlight his accomplishments for the state, in hopes of boosting his battered image....
The Lieberman campaign, fearing that low voter turnout in the primary would favor Lamont, had plans to build a get-out-the-vote operation bigger than any seen in a state race in Connecticut. But in the face of discouraging polls, campaign officials concluded this week that the money likely would be wasted.
And those rumors about Joe making an Iraq mea culpa commercial? Looks like that's not going to happen:Lieberman plans to spend the remaining days of the campaign making a positive case for himself through television ads and a series of media interviews, according to campaign officials. He has decided not to attempt to discuss the war in his final commercials.
- If Joe wants to polish up his image, he's going to have to rein in his paid campaign staffers. The Record Journal covers yesterday's attempt by Lieberman staffers to disrupt a Lamont event in Meriden. View the full front page here:
Lieberman supporters piled into every booth at the tiny eatery and snatched up every seat at the counter roughly half an hour before Lamont's arrival. Then, as he walked down the sidewalk from Sherman Avenue, they threw on white Lieberman T-shirts and waited. Moments later, they pounced.
Initially, Lamont appeared stunned by the ambush. However, he remained composed throughout the ordeal. He attempted to answer each question and made an effort to shake many of his opponent's supporters' hands at the second of two campaign stops in the city Thursday. After both sides sparred for several minutes, Lamont left the restaurant without ever sampling one of Ted's famous steamed cheeseburgers. - The Courant has more on the down mood in Joe's camp. And in the media, hardly anyone is even bothering to pay attention to his desperate attacks anymore:
As Lieberman was touring West Hartford, two of his supporters - AFL-CIO President John Olsen and House Speaker Jim Amann, D-Milford - took aim at Lamont. But the event - a sparsely attended press conference at the Legislative Office Building - raised no new issues.
- The Courant also reports that, finding no support in CT, Joe is hitting up his true constituency - D.C. insiders - for funds for the general election:
The one group regarded as most loyal to Lieberman are the Washington veterans who show up not only for the lunch at the hotel, but other Capitol Hill fundraisers in recent weeks. Among the hosts were Tony Podesta, a high-powered Washington consultant, and his wife Heather, a Washington lawyer....
"The Washington lawyers and lobbyists in those rooms will come back for Joe Lieberman," said Michael Lewan, a Washington consultant and former Lieberman chief of staff. "Who knows what Lamont would be like?" - Ari Melber writes about the statistical proof that Joe is indeed a "Fox News Democrat":
As I've said before, if he's avoiding conservative media in an effort to win back Democrats, he might as well say so. It's hard to get credit for responding to criticism if you insist you are not actually responding. But the numbers don't lie: Lieberman went from 25 Fox appearances during the 2004 presidential campaign to 4 appearances in 2005 to 0 this year.
- While this has been true in Connecticut for a while, Lieberman is now nationally more popular with Republicans than he is with Democrats, according to Gallup:
The latest USA Today/Gallup poll finds Lieberman with the worst ratings from Democrats nationally since Gallup first measured his image in 2000. As a result, he is now more popular with Republicans than with supporters of his own party. Among Republicans and Republican "leaners," a plurality of 46% view Lieberman favorably, while 27% view him unfavorably. Democrats are more evenly divided in their attitudes, with 38% viewing him favorably and 32% unfavorably.
- CBSNews.com has a decent profile of Ned's grassroots campaigning in the closing days of this race (click on the third image!):
“I’m an entrepreneur, I’m a business guy,” Lamont told CBSNews.com. “I think if you see a problem, you want to go out and fix it.”...
The roots of Lieberman's free fall in the polls (complacency, hubris) have been hashed over in the press.
But Lamont's secret recipe probably deserves a little more attention. While there's no question about the fact that Lamont's anti-war crusade is driving his candidacy (65 percent of the Democrats in the Quinnipiac poll say they're voting against Lieberman), Lamont has also been boosted by a frenetic, hustling grassroots campaign....
Half a year of visiting picnics, parades, nursing homes and school auditoriums around the Nutmeg state hasn't hurt. His modus operandi at small gatherings is to try to meet every attendee before delivering a short speech that often evokes cheers, laughter and questions.
Comments:
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Check out my Diary on MyDD. Looks like the 'Pro-Joe political posse' that ambushed Ned is lead by a corporate lobbyist.
Aldon - I've been looking for that guy all morning! He was the one who heckled Lorenzo and Sue in Bridgeport - great work!!
I've put up his picture on my diary at MLN and Kos.
I've put up his picture on my diary at MLN and Kos.
Anything in there about any Lieberman supporters calling Ned gay, photoshopping him in leatherdaddy outfits or maybe a little racist blackface?
No? That's only Ned Lamont supporters who do that? Huh. Weird.
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No? That's only Ned Lamont supporters who do that? Huh. Weird.
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