(Update: Lieberman claims the contribution in question was returned to Wal-Mart a few days after it's receipt. There is no record of any contribution or any refund in Lieberman's 1Q FEC filing - however, if he did return it, good for him. Either way, it's probably safe to assume that the reason Wal-Mart wanted to financially support Joe's candidacy was because they agreed with his policies on issues like labor and trade.)

Apaprently, Sen. Lieberman has now asked to speak at the "Wake Up Wal-Mart" rally in Bridgeport tomorrow. Unsurprisng, since almost all Democratic elected officials and candidates in the state - including Ned Lamont, Rep. DeLauro, Destefano, Malloy, Farrell, and Dinardo - were scheduled to attend as of a few days ago.

But Sen. Lieberman's sudden opposition to Wal-Mart's policies would be a lot more believable if he didn't accept $1,000 from their PAC in February (major hat tip to Maura at MLN):



PBS's Frontline reported back in 2004 on the history of this particular PAC:

In 1998, Wal-Mart hired its first lobbyist, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Norm Lezy, and created a political action committee (PAC), called the Wal-Mart Stores Inc. PAC for Responsible Government. According to published news reports, in 1999, then-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott met with Wal-Mart executives and urged them to increase the company's political profile. In six years, the company has grown from having no lobbying presence in Washington to employing six external lobbying firms (in addition to its internal operation), and becoming one of the top 20 PAC contributors to federal candidates in the 2004 election cycle....

Wal-Mart says that it supports pro-business candidates and its political contributions on the national level overwhelmingly tilt Republican. In the 2004 cycle, the company gave $5,000 to President Bush's reelection campaign, and nothing to John Kerry's campaign. In May 2004, Vice President Dick Cheney praised the company in an economic policy speech at Wal-Mart's distribution center in Bentonville, Ark, saying: "The story of Wal-Mart exemplifies some of the very best qualities in our country -- hard work, the spirit of enterprise, fair dealing, and integrity."

In the 2004 cycle, Wal-Mart gave $1,050,500 to Republican House candidates and $195,000 to Republican Senate candidates, as compared to $273,500 to Democratic House candidates and $76,500 to Democratic Senate candidates. In 2002, 78 percent of the PAC's donations went to Republicans; in 2000, 85 percent went to Republicans; and in 1998, 93 percent went to Republicans.

Wal-Mart heir John Walton and his wife Christy also gave the maximum contributions to Lieberman's 2004 presidential campaign.

So will Sen. Lieberman return the $1,000 contribution? Or will he cancel his appearance at Wednesday's rally?

Can he seriously get away with doing neither?