It's now crystal clear that Joe Lieberman - as of today, officially (Lieberman-CT) - will be getting close to zero support from any national or local Democratic figure or organization of any stature whatsoever. Read the post below for a list of those who came out in strong support of the Democratic party in just the first few hours of the officially endorsed candidacy of Ned Lamont (D-CT), or read this partial list of endorsements that is sure to grow exponentially over the next few hours and days.

While the national backlash (such as Rahm Emanuel's "love child" comment) seems tied in large part to party leaders wanting a unified message going into the fall, on the local level a different dynamic is at play. Local candidates and officials have seen the results of the amazing energy of the both the campaign organization and its supporters in the state that resulted in a longshot candidate knocking off an 18-year incumbent, helping to inspire 30,000 new voters to become Democrats in the process, and most shockingly, inspiring a 43% turnout in a primary race that was expected to bring half that.

As the official blog notes, Joe Lieberman (Lieberman-CT) is now the single biggest impediment to the success of local Democrats in November:

We need 15 seats to re-capture the House of Representatives. We can re-claim the governor’s mansion in Connecticut. Everyone in the Party hopes our impressive grassroots organization can exert even more of it’s muscle towards making those goals happen. But that is up to Senator Lieberman. And we hope he’ll join us in doing so between now and November.

And some of his campaign's own staffers apparently feel the same way, according to the Carpetbagger Report:

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.

The staff "shake-up," in other words, isn't necessarily Lieberman cleaning house — it's Lieberman losing staffers who won't work for someone who isn't a Democrat.

If the Lieberman Party is to go forward at all, it will only be thanks to strong financial and political right-wing support. From President Bush, from Karl Rove, from the White House press shop, from Ken Mehlman, from local GOP officials, from big-time Republican donors, from right-wing talk radio and the right-wing blogosphere - all of whom have launched attacks today against the Democratic Party in the person of Ned Lamont, taking their cues precisely from Lieberman's attacks on Ned in his acceptance speech at the Lieberman Party nominating convention last night.

If Joe Lieberman (Lieberman-CT) goes forward with his GOP front-group Party of One, it will almost certainly mean no CT Democratic pickups in the House, and no chance of winning the governor's race either. For Connecticut Democrats, that's obviously far too high a price to pay for one selfish man who yearns to hold on to power but can't ever seem to win elections.