Lieberman Takes out Insurance Policy to Run as Independent

Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman is facing a very tough Democratic primary challenge on August 8. Ned Lamont, usually described in the press as “a little-known millionaire cable television executive,” is taking on a three-time US senator and former vice-presidential nominee. So why did Senator Lieberman start the petition drive necessary to run as an independent in November? Iraq.

Senator Lieberman is a Bushevik on Iraq (and the Middle East in general). He’s the president’s favorite Democrat -- a term not coined here. Back in November, he wrote an op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal which read in part, “The Iraqi people are in reach of a watershed transformation from the primitive, killing tyranny of Saddam to modern, self-governing, self-securing nationhood – unless the great American military that has given them and us this unexpected opportunity is prematurely withdrawn.” The president himself could have said that.

However, this is not the sense of the Democratic Party’s grass roots. Almost half of Americans polled want a time table for withdrawal of US force from Iraq, and among Democrats, it’s 2/3. Senator Lieberman is out of touch with his party, and it is the issue of the campaign. Enter Mr. Lamont on an anti-war platform.

The primary is August 8, and New York’s Daily News reports, “Quinnipiac University polls show Lamont's support among Democrats increasing from 19% in May to 32% in June. Lieberman's support in the same period fell from 65% to 57%.” Momentum is a big deal in politics, as the sitting senator knows. So, he is trying to get 7,500 signatures to put his name on the ballot as an independent. The deadline is August 9.

If Mr. Lamont wins, as well he might in a vote held on a hot day in August with strong turn out only among the real hardcore, the DC Democrats will have to decide what they stand for. On the one hand, they might get called chicken by men who evaded the draft during Vietnam. On the other, they may get tossed out of office by voters who have had enough of a bad war. Senator Lieberman should save the nation, his state and his party the aggravation and withdraw from the primary to run as an independent, pro-war candidate. That’s the only way it looks bold and honorable. And the people of Connecticut should vote against him.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

Home