How Dare Joe Lieberman Talk of Running As An Independent!After all the liberal blogs have done for him.
CTBlogger reports that Lieberman is not ruling out an indy run if Ned Lamont wins the primary.
At this point, you have to ask the question: why should any Democrat in Connecticut support a candidate that threatens to leave the party if there is a primary challenge and/or he loses the Democratic primary? It apparent that Joe's strong feelings about himself are more important than the viewpoint of the Democrats in Connecticut who will vote in the primary. The main theme of Lamont's campaign is that Lieberman is out of touch with the viewpoint of the voters in Connecticut and it seems like they might be correct.Swing State Project
sees this as a bluff because independents have to file petitions with adequate signatures the day after the Democratic primary. Of course, there's nothing to say that Lieberman can't size up his prospects through polling a month or so before the primary and decide to go the signature-gathering route.
And get the sensible, measured response from
the Lamont Blog (apparently not affiliated with Lamont's campaign):
Joe believes the Democratic party should be f*cking honored that he would grace it with his presence. He expects to be treated like f*cking royalty, and if he isn't, it is now beyond obvious he will cut and run from the party.Gee, you mean there might be a downside to all the vituperation that the liberal blogs have heaped on Joe Lieberman in the last three years? I'm shocked, shocked I tell you!
Others: Dan Riehl says this
may be an attempt to get Hillary and some of the other grownups in the party to step forward and squash Lamont. Blue Crab Boulevard
does a little taunting of the liberal blogosphere.
Captain Ed draws an
interesting comparison with the Lincoln Chafee situation:
The Rhode Island situation with Linc Chaffee has some similarities, but the difference is that Lieberman votes much more often in concert with his caucus than Chaffee does with the GOP. If Chaffee ran as an independent, it would not hurt the GOP nearly as much since Chaffee's vote hardly ever goes to support key party goals. Chaffee couldn't even bring himself to vote for George Bush in the last election, opting to write in Bush 41's name instead. Connecticut Democrats have much more to lose with Lieberman, even if they themselves don't realize it.The biggest difference to me is that if Lieberman runs as an independent, it's not likely to change the mix in the Senate. The Republican in that race will still be a substantial underdog. If Chafee runs as an independent, it virtually guarantees the Democrats will pick up a seat.
