Email from Lamont just now.....contact Lieberman not to run as Indy.

[madfloridian]

We won!

There's been a lot said in the media about you, about me and about this race. But let me cut right through it and tell you what just happened.

Tonight's results show clearly and overwhelmingly one simple fact: democracy works. Connecticut came alive with participation and passion. Together, Democrats decided that it's time for a change.

It's been a spirited campaign, but today we are all Democrats.

Unfortunately, though, Joe Lieberman has announced his intention to run as an independent.

I've said from the beginning, even when Joe Lieberman had a 50-point lead in the polls, that I would respect the outcome of this race. I even said that if Joe Lieberman won the Democratic nomination, I'd campaign for him through the fall to turn out votes for the Democrat.

We Democrats have a process for choosing our nominee, and we all ought to respect the outcome. I hope that over the course of the coming days, Joe's friends, neighbors and constituents will prevail upon him to reconsider and unite with the Democrats across Connecticut who voted for change tonight.

Joe needs to hear from you. Please send him a message asking him to respect the voters -- we will deliver your note and post it on our web site:

http://www.nedlamont.com/respectvoters

Victory has never been a sure thing -- not even close. Back when I decided to run, I had no idea how many people felt the same way I did. But there was no choice -- I couldn't sit by while our Senator continued to aid and abet this president, his administration, and its course in Iraq.

When this campaign started, we were just a blip on the radar. We were 50 points down in the polls and our operation was little more than a few card tables and bumper stickers. Just a few months later, we have turned politics on its head.

The establishment and the pundits have their own ideas about this race, but don't forget the real story. It's a story of expanding the political process and demanding a real, substantive debate on the things that matter to real people.

I've met so many people and had so many conversations about their hopes for a better America -- about the war, about their job security, about their children's future. But what's been so special about this campaign is the fact that my conversations are just a tiny fraction of what's happened across Connecticut. People are having these conversations with each other again, and our political process is better for it.

No matter the issue, one thing is clear: we've brought new energy to our democracy. And that's the type of victory where we all win.

Please send him a note asking him to respect the voters now:

http://www.nedlamont.com/respectvoters

So many people have put so much into this campaign -- on both sides.

I hope that we can persuade Joe to not throw all that work away. The Democratic Party and our democratic process will benefit.

Thank you for all that you have done so far, and I will be in touch again soon.

[goclark]

1. will they post my email address on their website :(

[madfloridian]

6. Surely not. I can't imagine their doing that.

They would have to have an email contact, though.

[madfloridian]

2. Here's the email link to send Lieberman a note.

Lamont will post it on the website.

http://www.nedlamont.com/page/s/respect

[AndreaCG]

42. Should people from outside Connecticut send it?

I think it should be confined to Connecticut citizens. I did forward it to two friends who live there.

[Tekla West]

60. It is a national party

Old Joe running as an independent (what a joke that word is in this context) is no longer a matter of local politics, but a matter of party politics, it is a national issue. Let us not forget that many of us DID vote for him when he represented the party on a national ticket (and what a mistake that was, all of the people who felt sold out over that choice should feel vindication now). He needs to understand what is at stake, though sadly I dont' think he can see beyond himself, for, if he could, he would not be in this mess in the first place.

[adarling]

3. sent my letter

I hope he realizes that he can go out as an 18 year senator and had a great run, or history will judge him as a spoiled, cranky little brat.

[GrumpyGreg]

21. He's a politician. He will play the game until the bloody end.

Once it's in their blood there is no stopping them.

[Rose Siding]

4. Done

:kick:

[Bumblebee]

5. It may be much more effective to email the Dem leadership to strip

him of all the committees' assignments since once he files, he is no longer a Dem.

[madfloridian]

7. Both need to be done.

At least that is what I think.

[Hawkeye-X]

8. Here's what I said to Joe

Joe, Joe, you and I are from the same background - Orthodox Judaism. It's time for you to go. As tonight is Tu B'Av, and the lesson for this week teaches us that we should be happy for Ned Lamont, as he is the choice of the Connecticut voters. As Tu B'Av teaches us that the Tu B'Av customs commemorate many happy events which occurred at various times over the history of the Jewish People. It is the Holiday of Love. We love our Democrats, but Joe, you are not being a lovable Democrat. It's time for you to go. 18 years serving the people of Connecticut is more than enough, and it's time for a fresh blood.

Thanks!

Hawkeye-X

[Erika]

12. A kind and sincere message n/t

[PurpleChez]

37. agreed

[evilkumquat]

9. Call Me Cynical...

But Joe WILL run as an Independent.

At this point, he is so overflowing with rabid, foaming bile at being booted for being what he is (DINO) he will lash out as destructively as he can.

He knows the worst thing he can do for the Democratic Party* is run as an Independent; ergo, he will run as an Independent.

Evil Kumquat
__________________________

*And, not co-incidentally, for the United States as well.

[sendero]

50. I agree...

... I think I know Joe's type pretty well. He'll run. Sending him an email is just a complete waste of time.

What we need to do now is to do whatever we can to help Lamont win the election in November.

And get ready for the dirty tricks because Rove will pull out the stops for this one.

[Erika]

10. done n/t

[Lithos]

11. Done

It's time to respect the decisions of the voters of the Democratic Party.

L-

[Pepper32]

13. Done

Respect the process and go away sore loserman!

[usregimechange]

14. done

[Norquist Nemesis]

15. We also all have to pressure Reid to force him from his committees

Sincerely! He resigned from the Democratic Party tonight. He is officially running as a Lieberman Party candidate, not a Democratic Party candidate. It doesn't make one whit of difference who he would caucus with come January.

Imagine if an incumbent Democrat (or Republican) decided to run as a Republican (or Democrat) after losing a primary and announced that intention during his/her concession speech. Would it be tolerated or appropriate that the individual continue status quo seniority in Congress?

[chrisau214]

16. The Last Time I Sent A Note To Joe Lieberman

I received a snarky reply that basically told me to fuck off because I wasn't a resident of Connecticut. I doubt that any note now asking him to behave sensibly will have any effect of his apparent belief that he is somehow entitled to a Senate seat.

But congratulations Mr. Lamont. Hopefully this is a turning point.





Chris

[MannyGoldstein]

17. If Schumer Won't.... Why Should I?

Schumer said that the DSCC "fully supports" Sen. Joe Lieberman in his primary bid, and he refused to rule out continuing that support if Lieberman were to run as an independent.

There were degrees of independence, Schumer said. "You can run as an independent, you can run as an independent Democrat who pledges to vote for Harry Reid as Majority Leader."

(from http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2006/06/post_14.html)

[windbreeze]

19. Then perhaps

Schumer needs to receive a message of his own...in my state, you are one or the other, you cannot be registered as BOTH, and you can only vote one party...IF the DSCC wants to back Lieberman's run as an Independent....then perhaps they don't need our contributions..."just sayin"
windbreeze

[Mugsy]

18. Tight race almost certainly the result of Con vote finaggling efforts.

For Lieberman to pull within 4 percentage points of Lamont after trailing by as much as 12 points in recent polls, almost assuredly suggests there were active GOP efforts to manipulate the vote in Joe's favor. Such a "comeback" in such a short period is too ridiculous to not suspect some extra-ordinary efforts being made on his behalf.

The big stumbling block was that Ned and Joe *were* both running as Democrats (now Joe wants to run as an Indy), so the usual tricks of "short sheeting" Democratic polls of voting machines, moving polling stations at the last minute, denying ballots and disuading voters could not be used without affecting both candidates, severly limiting their manipulation options.

But in the General election, with Joe running as an Indy, and Republicans not voting in this Primary (thus making them eligible to vote for any Party in November), their voter fraud options will be manifold.

So everyone needs to stay alert and keep their eyes open through the November elections!

[VP505]

20. I had read

somewhere earlier where some Republicans were voting for Lieberman, that may account for some of the difference.

[connecticut yankee]

38. Registered Republicans

can't vote in the Connecticut primary, unless they changed their registrations 90 days earlier. I'm sure several did, but there were many right-leaning Unaffiliated voters who registered as Dems as recently as the day before the primary and voted for Lieberman.

However, he's always been supported by Republicans -- he won against Lowell Weicker in 1988 with the support of William F. Buckley and his "BuckPac." The Repubs have always loved him, and will probably vote for him again.

However, Buckley is against the war and may not help Joe this time.

[Clarkie1]

24. Give it a rest. nt

[neuvocat]

22. He can run if he wants to. That's his right.

Its also the right of the people not to vote for him.

[Sherman A1]

29. Agreed

It is up to the voters in his state to decide the issue. Our comments really don't mean much of anything, their votes do.

[joeprogressive]

39. BS, two democrats running against a republican means

vote splitting. The process is flawed and Joe is taking advantage of it at the peril of losing the seat to the republicans. If he ever was a democrat he would do the honorable thing and bow out.

[neuvocat]

62. Well...

it looks like someone agrees with you on that: General Wesley Clark. I'm going to have to re-evaluate my position.

[Zambero]

23. A surefire way for Joe to insult the voters of his state

Refuse to accept their decision and run against the same man twice, even after being shown the door. I see a backlash against Lieberman if he goes ahead and runs as an independent. Not only would he running as a sore loser, but he would continually be required to defend his support of Bush's failed war in a state where Bush's approval rating is in the toilet. I predict that a lot of independents will break toward Lamont. Joe was overconfident once, let him be overconfident again --if he exercises exceptionally bad judgment and decides to run in the general election.

[eridani]

25. "Democracy works" = "voting machines with levers work"

We cannot let up on outsourcing our democracy to unelected corporations.

[samsingh]

26. Democracy only works if

- the votes are counted properly
- the voters understand the issues and aren't complete idiots.

[wake.up.america]

27. Joe should go away. Can you imagine this guy turning into ..

the Ralph Nader of Conn.?

[Duppers]

28. done

with pleasure!

[fuzzyball]

30. Did 48% of dem voters cast for Lieberman today?

When you add the repubs crossover in Nov election,
Lieberman (I) wins in a cakewalk.

[billyskank]

35. But how many dem voters will vote for Lieberman the independent

when there is a bona fide Democratic candidate?

[fuzzyball]

59. Not many, atleast some of his voters in primary should abandon him!

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

52. At least the bastard won't have a D after his name

I'd prefer he didn't run, but I'm very happy he can't run as a democrat.

Good riddance, DINO. Take your dinosaur bone and go home.

[HuskerDU]

31. Done.

I think I had a much more positive image of Joe than others here. However, I cannot overstate my dissappointment in his sabatoging our party. Any dem who supports this turncoat should be ashamed.

If Ned had lost and decided to run as an indy, I would've said the same thing.

[Pachamama]

32. Sent the note to Lieberman & donated to Ned Lamont!

Hopefully Lieberman will get not only a messages from the voters, but he'll have people in the Democratic party at the very top (ie. Reid, Schumer, Clinton, Boxer and even Al Gore and long-time supporters) tell him to not run as an Independent.

Meanwhile, I hope that Ned Lamont gets lots of money donated to him by lots and lots of supporters and that Loserman sees his coffers dry up fast.

[tinrobot]

33. Sadly, I doubt Joe will listen

He hasn't listened to the voters in years...

Maybe if the Senate Democrats stage an intervention or something...

[Skittles]

34. he is an arrogant asshat

you are correct, he will not listen

[greguganus]

36. ...but...but...you hacked his website!

:rofl:

[Joey Liberal]

40. Done n/t

[Peeves]

41. OK, then if Democracy works ....

Then you won't be afraid to let it work in November when Joe runs as an independent. :yoiks:

[HuskerDU]

43. Good luck with that. This is pretty much the line in the sand.

If any DC Dem supports Joe (and I would have supported him gladly had he won) they will face serious consequences. Kinda like Joe did for standing with *.

His flirtations with Rs last night was despicable.

[Peeves]

56. Lieberman is the Democrats' Jeffords

if you were a connecticut repug, who would you vote for in november?

[HuskerDU]

64. If I were a Repug, I would be on my hands and knees

appologizing to the American people for the neocon disaster known as *co.

But I am not, so I am trying to elect Democrats.

[Pierre.Suave]

44. I sent

my message. I hope that bastard gets it.

[The Wizard]

45. Holy Joe

votes with republicans, supports most of the Bush failed policies, gets support from Republicans, and doesn't mind bending over for Republicans as long as they use lubricant. Bi-partisanship is over because Ku Klux Karl poisoned the well. Joe's a little behind the curve. We don't need whining Joe on Imus whimpering about being sorry to be a Democrat. If Joe likes Republican positions so much he should run as one. Joe supports the Iraq occupation; most of America doesn't.
The results prove that Republicans can change election results by 10 points as Joe was behind by 14 only a couple of days ago.
Look for Repubes to rig the polling in October and November in order to pull out another "miracle." If we don't have double digit leads in the polls just prior to the election we lose.
This is more evidence that Kerry won in 04.

[Vinca]

46. Done! Wow - this is exciting! nt

[Acadia Blue]

47. I hope Lamont uses really good attack ads against lieing lieberman

[mahoganydesk]

48. Ned gains legitimacy

from this victory. But the onus is squarely on him to advance his message. I live in CT and instead of reading blogs yesterday I listened to "moderate" radio shows. The tone was overwhelmingly anti-Ned. Most callers said he had no positive message. He was just against the war and against Joe. While I think these people are idiots, they are the people that Ned needs to appeal to in the general election. Having defeated Joe once, Ned should be able to focus more on progressive ideas while Joe will be forced into underdog attack mode. Joe's message of " Ireally stand for something" will look rediculous when he leaves his party to run against the primary winner.

[Totally Committed]

49. Already done...

Anyone think Joe will listen? We know what he thinks about us. What needs to happen is ALL THE DEMOCRATS WHO CAME OUT AND CAMPAIGNED FOR HIM -- ALL OF THEM -- need to contact him and tell him to bow out. Clinton, Boxer -- anyone who went to CT for him, without fail. If they don't, they are as responsible for what he does as he is at this point, imo.

TC

[Buttercup McToots]

51. Done

Now we really got to get to work!

[citizen snips]

53. done

[Bretttido]

54. Done, and forwarded to 64 of my democratic acquaintances

[Danascot]

55. Tom Tomorrow Nailed It

Weeks ago:

http://www.workingforchange.com/comic.cfm?itemid=21106

[cabral]

57. Thank You Connecticut...

for flushing this warmonger/traitor downt the toilet...

[Catchawave]

58. Done and with thanks to Connecticut Dems

:patriot:

[Cleita]

61. Good idea. He needs to hear from everyone that

his move to run as an independent is not politically kosher.

[Voltaire99]

63. Run, Joe, run!

I'm delighted he's filed as an independent.

This indy bid--not quixotic at all, since he can count on Republican help--is important. It will help expose what little difference there is between him and the corporate millionaire Lamont, while reminding shortsighted Democrats that the party needs much more reform than merely the expulsion of one fascist in CT.

We need an ongoing debate about the party and the duopoly. Joe's presence will facilitate that. Run, you little right wing bastard, run!