Never Lieberman Behind: Jolted Joe’s Lamont Lament

Posted by Freddie on August 9, 2006 under Uncategorized |

As surprised as I’m sure the only man in the country with certified Joementum probably was late last night, and as unsurprised as most folks closely tracking the race were, Ned Lamont bested Joe Lieberman in an unusual underdog upset of an incumbent in yesterday’s Connecticut U.S. Senate primary. Joe, still believing he has Joementum, has declared that he will run as an Independent in the general election.

Most of today’s commentary has focused on the fact that Democrats are declaring this a referendum on Bush and that Republicans are declaring the Democrats “Defeat-o-crats”. But while some commentary has noted that Lamont’s victory could cause trouble for tight house races in Connecticut (since, presumably, Lamont will have to tap heavy-hitter Democrat fundraisers to attempt to win in the general), little commentary has focused on what the outcome will mean for Democrats in the Senate. Regardless of who had won the primary, Democrats would likely have had an easy path to a safe seat. Now, in a mid-term election year where Democrats are fighting to pull off upsets in general elections, not primaries (including here in Tennessee, where Harold Ford, Jr. will demonstrate whether even a moderate Democrat can get elected to the Senate against a Republican of any gradation), a safe seat has become tenuous. If Lieberman does go on to win the general election, he will do the entire party a disservice by reducing the likelihood of Democratic control of the Senate. Even if he graciously decides to caucus with Democrats, a majority is a majority, and a formerly Democratic seat will now be sat in by an Independent. The majority party is the one that sets the agenda, heads the committees, and generally determines how well a particular house of Congress works with the other and the President. Do we really want a final 2 years of both houses of Congress doing the bidding of the Bush administration?

Lieberman, apparently statesmanlier than thou, maintains that he is doing this in an effort to preserve a spirit of bipartisanship. Excuse me, but when has a single Rove-inspired Republican done anything in the name of the spirit of bipartisanship since the Bush administration came to power? From DeLay’s K Street project to Frist’s blackmail campaign against the minimum wage, the Republican Congress has only fostered a stronger polarization among partisans, and it is precisely those partisans who came out to vote in the Democratic primary. Lieberman should do them and Democrats nationwide a favor: stop grandstanding and humbly stand down.