Friday, August 25, 2006

Show Faith in the Party: Support Lamont

As I said a few posts ago, the stakes in the CT race are very high - Lieberman is determined to win this race in the worst way possible, creating a freaking disaster for Dems, particularly if they squeak out parity or a slim majority. This guy has turned on our party as badly as Zell Miller did in 2004.

Lamont has won the only endorsement that really matters - I mean that of the Rude Pundit, of course. A "He doesn't suck too much" opinion from the Rude One is high praise indeed for any politician.

Alas, the chattering class does not pay attention to the Rude One's judgments as they should. So it is satisfying to see that Senator Hillary Clinton has come down squarely behind Lamont, with money, a campaign appearance (I suspect additional ones and something from the Big Dog himself the more unhinged Holy Joe becomes) and staff. From The Carpetbagger Report:

There's been some lingering concern of late about whether, and to what extent, the Dem establishment and party leaders would back Ned Lamont in Connecticut. The major players will go through the motions, the theory goes, and formally endorse the Democratic nominee, but below the surface, Dems in DC aren't terribly concerned about the race. If Joe Lieberman wins, he'll caucus with the Dems; if Lamont wins, it's another Dem. Either way, a "blue" seat stays "blue" — so why sweat it?

It's this attitude that makes it all the more noteworthy when Dem senators step up and show they take the race seriously — and are willing to make a real commitment to the Lamont campaign.

I learned this morning that Sen. Hillary Clinton met with Lamont today and agreed to a) do an event together; b) help him raise money; and c) direct long-time aide Howard Wolfson to help Lamont with rapid-response work and coordinating the national Dems' response to the Connecticut race.

Good for Clinton; may others follow her example. This is going to be a very close race and the more Dem leaders who dedicate themselves to helping the Democrat win this race, the better.

This goes with the money she already gave him the morning after his primary win, of course.

I don't want to hear any bullshit from weak-kneed Senate Dems trying to blame their lack of party loyalty on "the blogs". Atrios, Kos and Jane Hamsher are bottom feeding demagogues as far as I'm concerned, but what Lieberman is doing to the party is so far and away more damaging that any Democratic Congress Critter who doesn't stand up and unequivocally endorse Lamont deserves to be bitch-slapped on the spot. Hillary supported Lieberman (tepidly) and threw her considerable power behind Lamont within 12 hours of his primary win. There's no excuse for any Congressional Dem not doing the same. Holy Joe only has power if he wins, so make sure he loses.

Lieberman is selling the party down the river, kissing Republican ass and taking Republican money. He is standing on the podium next to a Republican governor and a Republican House candidate, and may deny Democrats a House majority. He's not just running to keep his seat. He is actively doing harm to the party he claims to belong to.

Let's make this really, really clear:

Joe Lieberman's opponent in the general election is not Ned Lamont.

Joe Lieberman's opponent is the Democratic Party and everything the party stands for.

Joe Lieberman is running against Democrats out of spite and selfishness, and is happy to keep the Republicans in power if it helps him get "revenge".

Vote Democrat.

Anglachel

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