Is Lieberman calling in the Beltway cavalry?
Every once in a while I take a potshot at Joe Lieberman, although it's invariably for the same thing-- going on TV (often Fox News) to talk about some new way in which he thinks the Democratic party is totally misguided. And I do it because, you know, breaking with your party and voting your conscience is fine (although not permitted in today's GOP), but actively seeking out venues in which to undermine your party over a single policy difference seems excessive to me.
If you watch the blogs, you've seen articles from Connecticut about Lieberman's apparent peevishness that a Democrat has decided to run for his seat this year. In fact, if the accounts of Lieberman's behavior at campaign events are true, he's straight out pissed that Ned Lamont is challenging him.
This story from Crooks & Liars managed to nudge me a little closer to believing that Joe views the senate seat as his and his alone. Which brings me to the title of my post. Considering the establishment's active opposition to Paul Hackett's Ohio senate candidacy, you have to wonder if Lieberman isn't hoping for a similar intervention.
Lieberman: I'll always be a member of the Democratic party. I hope there's not a primary. I'm confident if there is one, I'll win it, but I'm not gonna rule out any other option for now because I feel so strongly that I can do better for the State of Connecticut for the next six years in the United States Senate that I want to give all the voters a chance to make that decision on Election day in November. I want to do it as a Democrat. If I didn't want to do it as a Democrat, I would choose to run in some other party, trust me. But I want to do it as a Democrat because I believe in the Democratic party, so really the choice is up to my fellow Democrats...
Doesn't that sound like a (very squishy) ultimatum? As in, 'DC Dems better step in and squash this Lamont guy or I'm going to cause trouble'? At the very least, he's claiming that the democratic process is a nuisance that he shouldn't have to deal with. But maybe I shouldn't be too harsh on ol' Joe-- as that creaky political chestnut goes, the only known cure for the presidential bug is embalming fluid. And even a tough fight to keep his seat this fall would be trouble for Joe in 2008.
If you watch the blogs, you've seen articles from Connecticut about Lieberman's apparent peevishness that a Democrat has decided to run for his seat this year. In fact, if the accounts of Lieberman's behavior at campaign events are true, he's straight out pissed that Ned Lamont is challenging him.
This story from Crooks & Liars managed to nudge me a little closer to believing that Joe views the senate seat as his and his alone. Which brings me to the title of my post. Considering the establishment's active opposition to Paul Hackett's Ohio senate candidacy, you have to wonder if Lieberman isn't hoping for a similar intervention.
Lieberman: I'll always be a member of the Democratic party. I hope there's not a primary. I'm confident if there is one, I'll win it, but I'm not gonna rule out any other option for now because I feel so strongly that I can do better for the State of Connecticut for the next six years in the United States Senate that I want to give all the voters a chance to make that decision on Election day in November. I want to do it as a Democrat. If I didn't want to do it as a Democrat, I would choose to run in some other party, trust me. But I want to do it as a Democrat because I believe in the Democratic party, so really the choice is up to my fellow Democrats...
Doesn't that sound like a (very squishy) ultimatum? As in, 'DC Dems better step in and squash this Lamont guy or I'm going to cause trouble'? At the very least, he's claiming that the democratic process is a nuisance that he shouldn't have to deal with. But maybe I shouldn't be too harsh on ol' Joe-- as that creaky political chestnut goes, the only known cure for the presidential bug is embalming fluid. And even a tough fight to keep his seat this fall would be trouble for Joe in 2008.
posted by Matt Sandwich | 9:15 PM
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