Lieberman the Loser

One of the most anticipated results for this year's midterm elections comes almost three months before any race has concluded. The Connecticut Democratic primary race for Senator pitted Joe Lieberman, the incumbent former Vice Presidential nominee, moderate (some would even call him conservative) supporter of Bush's Iraqi war, who is uncomfortably close to the President yet estranged from the more proressive base of his party, against newcomer Ned Lamont, the cable TV magnate and decidedly more liberal, anti-war candidate with minimal experience. By all rights this should have been a slam-dunk for Lieberman, with his considerable edge in experience and his impressive speaking and debating skills making him the obvious choice. But something happened along the way for Joe Lieberman. His primary electoral campaign, which in most other years would have been a hum-drum chance for him to raise money for the actual election, became a national referendum on Bush, the Iraq war and the direction the Democrats need to go if they want to regain a voice as a party. The wait is finally over, the votes are in, and Lieberman, and possibly the pandering, "triangulating" Democratic strategists who he has come to represent, are out.

One of the Democrats' most prominent figures has announced he will stand as an independent candidate after losing mid-term primaries in Connecticut.

Senator Joe Lieberman, who stood for vice-president in 2000, lost to anti-war newcomer Ned Lamont.

He spoke against "partisan bickering" and vowed to campaign for "a new politics of unity and purpose".

Mr Lieberman, a senator for 18 years, has been harshly criticised in his home state for his support for the Iraq war.

Ned Lamont, founder of a cable television company and a political novice, capitalised on the war's unpopularity in Connecticut to leap over Mr Lieberman.
Despite the narrow margin of victory for Lamont, this may be a decisive moment for the Democratic party. The anti-war message that has been simmering amongst Democratic voters while their representatives allowed themselves to be bullied into giving Bush carte blanche in the pursuit of his all-encompassing "war on terror" and specifically the ability to make war in Iraq has finally bubbled over and forced out one of the most prominent Democratic politicians of the last decade. Despite their best efforts to play nice with the Republicans in charge, Congressional and Senate Democrats should pay attention to the fact that Americans are not happy about the war, they're not happy about the direction that the country is headed in, and apparently politicians who would normally have considered their careers to be safe may be looking for new jobs soon if they don't acknowledge these sentiments.

Even if Lamont gets trounced in November (and Lieberman won't take no for an answer and insists on running as an independent) the message sent today is clear: Democratic voters are tired of their politicians compromising and accomodating while Republicans don't budge. Get a backbone, or get out.

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