Death to Smoochy: Real Democrats vs. The Lieeber

Death to Smoochy: Bush Kiss of Death (video)


What could possibly go wrong?

Kicking out a Senator?!

Sen. Joe Lieberman is in serious trouble in Connecticut, as Ned Lamont threatens to win the Democratic nominating primary in early August. Lamont's not leading in polls, but he's probably within shooting distance. If Lamont won the primary, Lieberman would have to be an 'independent' on the ballot, and he now says that as an independent he would still support the Democrats in the Senate.

Hillary, Al Gore and other leading Dems are essentially leaving Lieberman twisting in the wind. Some senators are still going to back Liebs, but it's pretty thin for an incumbent senator!

NY Times: Lieberman Says He Will Run on His Own if He Loses Primary (July 3, 2006)

HARTFORD, July 3 — Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut said today that he will run independently if he loses in the statewide Democratic primary next month, a move that further underscored his increasing vulnerability for his support for the war in Iraq and effectively means that he is willing to run two campaigns within three months to keep the seat he has held for three terms.

Under increasing pressure from Ned Lamont, a businessman and political newcomer who has criticized the senator for supporting President Bush on the war and other issues, Senator Lieberman said today, the eve of Independence Day, that he would begin gathering the 7,500 signatures on petitions necessary to run on his own should he lose to Mr. Lamont in the state Democratic primary, which is Aug. 8.

The most recent poll showed Mr. Lieberman 15 percentage points above Mr. Lamont among likely Democratic primary voters. In a three-way race against Mr. Lamont and the Republican Alan Schlesinger, polls show Mr. Lieberman winning with 56 percent of the vote.

Tomorrow there will be a debate between Lamont and Lieberman carried on C-SPAN and MSNBC. Lieberman has recently picked up support from, say, Ann Coulter (the Witch in Quicktime):

CAVUTO: So you would admire more at least the politician that says a timetable to get out than going back and forth?

COULTER: No. I would admire a politician, not as much as basically your run of the mill garden-variety Republican, but as far as Democrats go like Lieberman, who apparently does want to defend America and fight the war on terrorism. He is the one facing a primary fight.

CAVUTO: You know, there is talk about him maybe bolting to a third party. The seeds are there for a third party movement. Do you buy that?

COULTER: I think he should come all the way and become a Republican. He wouldn’t be our best Republican but at left he’d fit in with the party that wants to defend the country.

(Coulter is getting tangled up in a plagarism scandal, huzzah...)

More on depressed Lieberman supporters here, more on it here. He says he's really not President Bush. RawStory heard today that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will "likely" not back Lieberman if he loses to Lamont. ABC News notes that Senators Joe Biden, Barbara Boxer and Ken Salazar are going to campaign for Lieberman in Connecticut:

Democrats fear Lieberman and Lamont could split the November vote and hand the Republicans a Senate seat in a three-way runoff. Party officials also did not anticipate having to devote scarce campaign resources to Lieberman in reliably Democratic Connecticut.

Here's what some guy named Greg thinks. The funny thing is that Lamont's whole campaign has come out of nowhere, sustained by Internet buzz and disgruntled Connecticut activists. More on this from the Agonist, MyDD and the DailyKos. Major marks to the blog guys and gals for stirring up a huge amount of trouble against America's worst elected DC Democrat.