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).

Saturday, June 24, 2006

 

Joe's Position on Iraq: _____

I can't find it on his website. Anywhere. And neither can Google. (There is one measly hit, but it's cached from his old site).

Compare this to Joe's friend Chris Shays, who puts Iraq front-and-center on his website, and has this detailed explanation of his position one click away from the front page.

God knows I don't agree with Shays, but at least he's not trying to pretend Iraq doesn't exist.

Friday, June 23, 2006

 

Fantasy Land

Lies, and the lying senators who tell them:

"In the morning [Lamont] said he was against the Kerry Amendment for an immediate withdrawal," Sen. Lieberman said. "By the end of the day he said he was for it.‚"


As Tim notes, Joe is just making this up. Ned Lamont never said he was against the Kerry amendment.

Maybe it's time for the Senator to put down that copy of the Bush-Cheney 2004 anti-Kerry script he bought from Karl Rove, and start addressing the actual concerns of Connecticut voters. Like, you know, his own disastrous support for Bush's failed Iraq policy.

If he gets any more out-of-touch, he'll be in orbit.

Update: The campaign issues this statement:

“[Lieberman's] efforts to deflect from his record, by misrepresenting Ned’s, is purely Rovian,” said [Tom] Swan. “These tactics, along with his votes, are a strong reminder why he is considered by many to be George Bush’s favorite Democrat. Attacking Ned is an attempt to divert attention from his own record—in support of the war, voting for the Bush/Cheney energy bill, and in support of right-wing judges and other Bush priorities.


Update 2: CTBob poked around Joe's official website looking for a place to express his interest in the senator's position on Iraq. Turns out Iraq is not an issue for Joe. For someone who is so willing to lie about his opponent's position on Iraq, he certainly keeps his own position well-hidden.
 

Ned on PBS News Hour Tonight

A segment about the Connecticut senate race is scheduled to air tonight on the News Hour with Jim Lehrer. Check your local listings, as they say.

Also, CQPolitics.com just posted an interview with Ned that they conducted last week.

Update: The ten-minute News Hour piece by Gwen Ifill actually focused entirely on the role of Iraq in both the CT-Sen and CT-04 races, and was mostly about Lieberman and Shays. Ned wasn't even mentioned until about 6 minutes in, and he got maybe 45 seconds on air total. Oh well.

And some more stonewalling from Lieberman on whether he's going to run as an independent.
 

"Family, Friends, and Neighbors" Program Goes Online

(Bumped.)

This is the way we will win this election:

http://community.nedlamont.com

Join the Family, Friends, and Neighbors program at NedLamont.com. In just a few seconds, you can sign in and start identifying people you know in CT so you can tell them about the Lamont for senate campaign. Even if you don't live in CT, you can use this tool by identifying friends and/or family in the state. The people you identify will then get personalized postcards from you introducing them to Ned. This type of word-of-mouth and personal contact is crucial to getting people out to the polls on August 8th and then in November.

So, sign up now, it only takes a few seconds:

http://community.nedlamont.com
 

Lieberman to Start Gathering Signatures Soon?

Noted democracy-hater Stuart Rothenberg is just the latest of Joe's D.C. insider friends to float the idea that he will soon start collecting signatures in order to bolt the party:

Many insiders seem to believe that allies of Lieberman will begin a petition drive to get him on the ballot as an Independent sooner rather than later, just in case that’s the only way for him to appear on the ballot in the fall. So even though the Democratic left could score a victory in the primary in August, Lieberman might still have the last laugh in November.


Check out CTBlogger's updated list of Connecticut Democratic officials who have declared that they will support their party and the winner of the primary.

Then sign the petition urging Joe to do the honorable thing and support the primary winner instead of selfishly and cowardly cutting and running from the party.
 

Friday Morning Round-Up


Thursday, June 22, 2006

 

Iraq Vote Fallout

A roundup of the reaction to yesterday's scene of Lieberman opening the debate for Republicans to help kill the two Democratic amendments on Iraq:

 

Thursday Morning Round-Up


Wednesday, June 21, 2006

 

Lamont Agrees With Democrats on Iraq

Today, Ned Lamont showed what kind of senator he would be by supporting the Levin-Reed amendment on Iraq, saying that "it represents the minimum needed, but will build a Democratic coalition to establish and stick to a plan to end the war." He supported this less substantial amendment - as did Sen. Clinton, Sen. Feinstein, and others who can hardly be called critics on Iraq - in the hopes that it would build consensus and have the effect of making actual progress on Iraq policy.

Today, Joe Lieberman showed what kind of senator he is by actively leading the Republican charge against the Levin-Reed amendment. Sen. Warner (R-VA) fought to take speaking time away from Kerry and Feingold, and immediately passed it on to Lieberman to lead the charge to kill this call for greater accountability. Afterwards, Lieberman was praised effusively by both Warner and Sen. Santorum for his absolute lockstep agreement with the Administration on Iraq.

It is clear now that, for all the differences of opinion within the party on how exactly to proceed, there is a unified Democratic position on Iraq. And that position is that we need to change course and start planning for an end to our military presence there. Sen. Lieberman not only disagrees with this position, but is actively working against these goals to the point where he would steal time away from his colleagues to lead the Republican fight to kill their amendments.

The words "Senator Lamont" have never sounded better.

(Spazeboy has more, including .wmv video of Lieberman's speech today hosted by Without A Purpose.)
 

Lamont Statement on Levin-Reed Amendment

Sen. Lieberman will be speaking shortly on the senate floor on the two Democratic amendments pending before the senate trying to change course on Iraq.

In fact, Sen. Warner (R-VA) actually agreed to let Sen. Lieberman open up the debate for the Republican side in a contentious discussion about time allotments for individual senators which preceded the actual debate.

(Update: Kerry and Feingold - the authors of one amendment - were forced to cut short their speeches at the request of the Sen. Warner who is managing debate for the Republicans. Warner then immediately yielded time to Sen. Lieberman to speak. Yes, Lieberman opened up debate for the Republicans. He opposed both amendments, even the exceedingly moderate Levin amendment, which is co-sponsored by Senators Biden, Clinton, Feinstein, Obama, and Salazar. At the end of his speech, Sen. Warner slobbered all over Joe, basically reading a love letter to him on the floor of the senate, in thanks for his help in killing these Democratic amendments. Santorum, the next speaker up, also fawned over Lieberman. More later.)

Here is Ned Lamont's statement on the Levin-Reed amendment:

Currently, our troops are stuck in a bloody civil war in Iraq, with no exit strategy. The violence continues unabated and the continued presence of our forces with no sign of a reduction fuels the insurgency and further destabilizes the region. President Bush and his allies believe American troops should stay in Iraq indefinitely - he said that it would be an issue for "“future Presidents and future governments of Iraq."

I support the Levin-Reed Amendment on U.S. Policy in Iraq, and I urge Senator Lieberman to do the same.

It represents the minimum needed, but will build a Democratic coalition to establish and stick to a plan to end the war.

The three main provisions of the Amendment - expediting the transition of U.S. forces to a limited mission, a phased redeployment of U.S. forces, and requiring the administration to submit to Congress its plan for continued redeployment beyond 2006 - are all critical to ensuring that the we move forward from our current failed strategy.

This is an issue that needs to be dealt with by the current President and the current government of Iraq. "Stay the course" is not a strategy for any real victory, and it is time that the President and Congress recognize that fact and take the steps needed to ensure true safety and security for the region and for America.

 

DLC Chairman To Support Primary Winner

It seems even Joe's friends at the DLC aren't willing to support his Indy run. CTBlogger notes that DLC Chairman Gov. Tom Vilsack (IA) pledged to support the primary winner in Connecticut yesterday at dKos:

[new] Connecticut Senate Race (0+ / 0-)
Joe Lieberman is a friend. He has been a great Senator for the state of Connecticut.

The voters in Connecticut will make their decision on August 8th and I will support the nominee.

by Tom Vilsack on Tue Jun 20, 2006 at 07:29:12 PM EDT

 

Roll Call: D.C. Insiders to Stump for Lieberman

A lot of news in today's Roll Call article on the race. First is the news that Lieberman, lacking any support in Connecticut whatsoever, is planning to fly in his D.C. insider friends to campaign for him in the coming weeks:

With Lamont mounting a serious challenge, Senate Democrats are making a point of rallying around Lieberman, with many lawmakers expected to travel to the Nutmeg State in the coming weeks. His Senate Democratic colleagues already have donated more than $49,000 since 2004 to his re-election campaign.

“I disagree with Joe on the war, but there are a lot of things we agree on,” one Democratic Senator close to Lieberman said. The lawmaker, who has clashed with Lieberman in the past, nevertheless said that he will travel to Connecticut in the run-up to the primary to campaign for his colleague.


But these same D.C insider Democrats aren't too happy about Joe's desire to bolt the party:

Privately, however, Democrats acknowledge that Lieberman — whose positions on the Iraq war and often close relationship with the Bush administration have rankled many in the party — could force his fellow Senators to choose between backing one of their own and abiding by the wishes of the state’s Democratic voters. Lieberman’s decision to leave the door open to an Independent run has angered many rank-and-file Democratic activists and has added an unwanted wrinkle to Democrats’ long-shot efforts to gain control of the Senate in November.

“Lieberman running as an Independent will do major damage to our party, undoing all the work we have been doing building relationships between Democrats in Washington and the [liberal] base back home,” a senior Democratic aide said, warning that “If the DSCC and the establishment support a Lieberman Independent bid, it would send a message to state parties that they don’t matter anymore. That would be devastating. Lieberman needs to run in the primary, follow the rules, and work hard for a win. Any other option should be off the table.”


Lastly, DiNardo goes on the record saying she would not support a Lieberman (I) bid:

I will be endorsing the Democratic Party candidate, who I anticipate will be Joe Lieberman,” said Nancy DiNardo, the state party chairman.

 

Wednesday Morning Round-Up


Tuesday, June 20, 2006

 

Joementum in June

According to the new SUSA tracking poll, Lieberman's approval/disapproval among Democrats is now in negative territory for the first time ever at 46/50, sinking 10 points since last month:

SUSA June Dems

His approval/disapproval among liberals is down to an astounding 40/56:

SUSA June Liberals
 

Schlesinger Backs Troop Withdrawal

Alan Schlesinger (R) is a non-issue in this race, so it's understandable why he'd want to make some news... any news. Still, it's telling that he chose to make that news in a WNPR interview by running to the left of Lieberman and suggesting a timetable for withdrawing 50% of American troops from Iraq in the next 12 months (hat tip Quarterly Prophet at MLN).
 

Tuesday Morning Round-Up


Monday, June 19, 2006

 

George Jepsen Press Conference

From CT-N today, hat tip Spazeboy (who also has the NBC30 coverage of the endorsement):


 

"Bipartisan" Joe and the Three-Way Race

(Bumped.) Read this AP summary, and tell me if you think this really sounds like a guy running in a Democratic primary:

''Washington has become much too partisan and that partisanship gets in the way of doing the job that you send us to do,'' Lieberman said.

Lieberman dismissed a question about whether he is taking a risk by boasting about his bipartisanship, especially with the Aug. 8 primary looming and Lamont gaining in the polls though still down by double digits.

''I'm telling the truth,'' he told reporters. ''Whether it's risky or not, I don't know.''


Brave, courageous Joe, sticking his neck out for the good name of "bipartisanship" (i.e. "agreeing 100% with Bush") at such dire political risk to himself. Actually, he's at zero political risk, considering he's pretty much said he will run as an Independent if he loses the Democratic nomination, and given that his base of support in Connecticut is overwhelmingly Republican, conservative, and pro-life. These are exactly the kind of voters he intends to court with statements like the above - voters who cannot vote for Joe in August. It is clear he wants no part of a Democratic primary.

But as long as Joe is running scared from any close race whatsoever, he might want to consider dropping out of the general election too, given the already tightening numbers in a possible three-way race that is sure to get even tighter (Rasmussen, trend from April):

Joseph Lieberman (Ind): 44% (-3)
Ned Lamont (Dem): 29% (+9)
Alan Schlesinger (Rep): 15% (-2)


As Howie suggests, maybe his best move now is to call up the White House and ask for Rummy's job again.
 

Cokehead Mayors for Joe II

Joe stands by his man:
(from Joe2006.com, "Joe's Supporters," 6/19/06:)

 

Major Endorsement at 2pm Today

Check the campaign blog for the announcement.

Update: It's recent state Democratic chair and party insider George Jepsen:

“It begins with the war, but is not limited to the war,” Jepsen said. “I sincerely like Joe Lieberman. But I disagree profoundly with his unyielding support for George Bush’s war in Iraq, his embrace of the so-called ‘culture of life’ in overriding the rights of Terry Schiavo, his failure to be an advocate for civil rights issues, his support for school vouchers, his being the only New England Senator to vote to allow the federal government to put a natural gas pipeline in Long Island Sound.”...

Lamont’s presence on the ticket will help all Democrats, “because we will be speaking in one voice,” added Jepsen.


This is huge news, and has to be devastating to Lieberman. Establishment CT Democrats are feeling the breeze, and are jumping ship on Joe before he is able to jump ship on them.
 

Gore Refuses to Endorse Lieberman

Heh.

"I am not involved. I typically do not get involved in Democratic primaries. Joe is my close friend, Joe and Hadassah are close to Tipper and me and it would be very difficult for me to ever oppose him. But I don't get involved in primaries typically. He's a great guy and he's right on a lot of other issues."


Interesting, because Gore had no problem "getting involved" in a primary by endorsing Howard Dean against Joe Lieberman in December 2003.
 

What is an "Independent Democrat"?

Spazeboy asks the question, in response to a Courant article where Lieberman commits to running in the primary but refuses to say he'll support the winner of that primary.

You don't just get to declare yourself a Democrat if you decide to bolt the party to run as an Independent. Doesn't work that way. The party has one nominee. And the party unites to support that nominee.

If this is what Joe thinks of his relationship to his party, he should just run on the (R) line as a "Republican Democrat."
 

Bysiewicz Will Support Democratic Nominee

The Secretary of State promises to support the winner of the primary. ConnecticutBlog is keeping track:

A Statement from Susan Bysiewicz on the race for U.S. Senate:

"As the person whose office runs the primaries in Connecticut, it is my policy not to endorse any particular candidate running in a Democratic primary. I will, however, be supporting the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in the November elections."


It's looking increasingly like Joe will be finding himself very lonely if he decides to bolt the party.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

 

Lieberman Wants to Invade Iran

Glenn Greenwald has an excellent post up on Lieberman's radically neoconservative stance on Iran, which is actually more unilateral than - and to the right of - the Bush Administration's:

Joe Lieberman is a neoconservative whose foreign policy philosophy is inevitably going to lead him to support whatever hard-line policies against Iran which this administration wants, including a military attack. To the extent Lieberman is willing to deviate at all from the administration's Iran policy, he will likely be more hard-line than they are, just as was the case with the Santorum legislation.

It would be incredibly irresponsible for the Democrats not to have an all-out debate about whether they want to be represented in the Senate by someone whose foreign policy views are more or less identical to the most militaristic ideologues in the administration. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that the primary challenge against Lieberman is motivated almost exclusively by his support for the Iraq war (an obviously false claim given that numerous Democrats who supported the war are still supported by most Democrats), Lieberman's neoconservative world-view is squarely at odds with the views of most Democrats (and most Americans), and that, among other things, is what is at issue in his primary challenge.


Of course, Lieberman is trying to out-hawk Dick Cheney on Iran at the same time that Iran's president is warming to negotiations.

This is exactly why Iraq is not just "a single issue" in this race. It's about whether our representatives, like Sen. Lieberman, let their zealous ideological beliefs blind them to the disastrous consequences of their actions, and whether we can trust their judgment on decisions where the lives of thousands of Americans and countless others hang in the balance.

This is a huge issue. And we need Ned Lamont in the senate, because we desperately need sound judgment on decisions like these in the future.
 

Courtney "Will Work for Democratic Ticket" in November

Updated and bumped:

In the Courant today, Joe Courtney's campaign confirmed that he will be supporting the Democratic nominee for senate in November (hat tip MikeCT):

Joe Courtney, the Democratic challenger for Congress in the 2nd District, said he will work in November for the Democratic ticket.


I've also received confirmation that the following Democratic candidates and officials have said they will unconditionally support the winner of the Democratic primary for senate: State Rep. Michael Cardin (53rd district - Tolland/Willington/Ashford), Kim Fawcett (candidate for State Rep., 133rd district - Fairfield/Westport), and Lex Paulson (candidate for State Rep., 142nd district - Norwalk).

This is in addition to previous unequivocal statements by DeStefano, Malloy, and Chirs Murphy, all saying they will refuse to bolt the party along with Joe.

Hearing any more names of Democrats who are committing to supporting the Democratic candidate? Get your local officials on the record and let us know.
 

Sunday Morning Round-Up