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).
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Lining Up To Support Ned
(Photo from the Ned Lamont Flickr photostream.)
If you took one look at the inaugural Lieberman Party convention in Hartford last night, it was shocking how few Democrats were in attendance. A scattering for sure, but the room mainly contained members of the press and those ubiquitous teenagers walking around in Lieberman t-shirts. Compare this to Ned Lamont's room, which was chock full of prominent national Democrats like Maxine Waters and local ones like George Jepsen, and hundreds of enthusiastic volunteers who through their hard work earned tickets to the event.
That same juxtaposition of images is being played out today in the devastating non-support that Sen. Lieberman is receiving for his quixotic and harmful "Connecticut for Lieberman" do-over campaign. Consider:
- The entire statewide Democratic ticket, including Attorney General Blumenthal, Senator Dodd, and party chair Nancy DiNardo, gathered at the state Democratic party headquarters today in a show of party unity for Ned Lamont (D-CT), the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate from the state of Connecticut (pictured above).
- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer issued this statement:
"The Democratic voters of Connecticut have spoken and chosen Ned Lamont as their nominee. Both we and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) fully support Mr. Lamont’s candidacy. Congratulations to Ned on his victory and on a race well run.
"Joe Lieberman has been an effective Democratic Senator for Connecticut and for America. But the perception was that he was too close to George Bush and this election was, in many respects, a referendum on the President more than anything else. The results bode well for Democratic victories in November and our efforts to take the country in a new direction." - Hillary Clinton and now Barack Obama both didn't wait for the ink to dry on the Lieberman Party petitions before donating through their respective PACs to Ned Lamont (D-CT).
- Russ Feingold sounds like he's itching to come to CT to campaign for Ned and the Democratic Party:
Senator Russ Feingold said today that he “enthusiastically” endorsed Mr. Lamont’s candidacy, saying that the election result showed that Americans were seeking, among other things, “an Iraq policy that makes sense.”
- And to continue down the list of potential 2008 candidates, John Edwards was the first to call Ned last night to congratulate him:
Mr. Lamont said that former Senator John Edwards, the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee in 2004, was the first Democratic leader to call him last night.
- DNC Chair Howard Dean supports the Democratic candidate:
"In Connecticut, Democratic voters exercised their most fundamental right as Americans, choosing Ned Lamont as the Democratic nominee. We congratulate Mr. Lamont and look forward to working with him both to ensure his victory in November and as a United States Senator. Senator Joe Lieberman has served the people of Connecticut admirably for the last 18 years and always stood up for what he believed in. It was a hard fought campaign, and the Democratic voters of Connecticut have made their choice."
- And Diane Farrell was the first Democratic congressional candidate to run over to Ned:
"I want to congratulate Ned Lamont on his victory – his tenacity and spirit are an inspiration. I want to commend Joe Lieberman on the race he ran. It was a tough one, hard-fought by both candidates. It focused on issues that are important to all of us, and that is always a good thing. The biggest victor here, however, is our Democratic process. Voters have expressed their views and now we move on to the general election. I believe it is important to support the election process of our democracy and I will support Ned Lamont as the Democratic candidate.
posted by tparty at 1:00 PM 
