Who do you think is at the top of Joe Lieberman’s “people who have made my life miserable” list? After Ned Lamont, that is. I’d think a pretty decent guess would be Ralph Nader. Nader, of course, is the guy who refused to drop out of the 2000 presidential race even when it was painfully clear that by staying in he could hand the election to George W. Bush, whose 97,000 votes turned Florida into the biggest electoral crisis this country has ever faced, and who ultimately had a big hand in depriving Lieberman of the vice-presidency. Plus, Nader represents a sector of the left that Lieberman probably doesn’t have much in common with (to put it mildly). Surely Nader’s not a guy Lieberman holds in particularly high regard.
How ironic, then, that Lieberman is doing his best to emulate the worst thing Nader ever did in his career. By running as an independent, Lieberman obviously runs the risk of splitting the Democratic vote. Is it possible that a Republican could therefore win the race? Probably not if current contender Alan Schlesinger stays in, since he’s got no shortage of baggage. But what if Schlesinger withdraws and a much stronger candidate steps in, as has been widely discussed in CT circles? So far, it doesn’t look like that’s happening, but these things have a funny way of changing quickly. Could Connecticut, of all places, actually represent a pickup opportunity for the GOP if Lieberman stays in? There’s a nightmare scenario for the DSCC.
Memo to Joe: you’ve done some good things as a Senator, just like Ralph did a lot of good things in his career. Don’t make the same mistake he did. Don’t risk being remembered as the guy who handed the Republicans a big win that they didn’t deserve. Get out now, while the getting’s good.
noahlotte says
After all these years of being a faithful Democratic Party member, I am shamed by the callous treatment of Joe Lieberman by his own party. Joe is an American hero of the party. For years Joe has supported Israel and, if that means giving limited support to an otherwise incompetent Republican President, so be it. Have people forgotten that Saddam was paying the families of suicide bombers to kill themselves and Israeli men, women and children? What could Israel do to protect its citizens from a large country such as Iraq? Israel would have been forced to use their atomic arsenal. So American blood for Israel is not wasted, but prevents wider war.
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Politics makes strange bedfellows, the saying goes. In this case, the small support for the only thing the Republican administration has done right, is wrongly hurting a great man.