Pressuring Lieberman — carefully

August 10, 2006

There’s no shortage of Senate [tag]Democrats[/tag] who have [tag]endorse[/tag]d [tag]Ned Lamont[/tag]’s Senate campaign, some enthusiastically. But there’s one thing we haven’t heard from any elected Dem official since the primary: a specific call for [tag]Joe Lieberman[/tag] to step aside.

[M]ost Democrats said they would not pressure Mr. Lieberman to step aside for now, saying he was too angered by his loss to accept such counseling and noting that as of now, the Republicans do not have a strong candidate who could take advantage of a fractured Democratic field.

The WaPo added that Dems “gently signaled” their desire to see Lieberman forgo an [tag]independent[/tag] bid, but so far, no one has specifically called on the senator to quit. I think the closest comment I’ve seen came by way of Hillary Clinton, who urged Lieberman to “search his conscience and decide what is best for Connecticut and for the Democratic Party.” It was a call for Lieberman to do the right thing, but it was subtle.

This is appears to be part of a concerted strategy. A source on Capitol Hill told me late yesterday that two top former Lieberman staffers — who are now corporate lobbyists — were in DC yesterday to push the Senate Democratic leadership to hold off on calling for Lieberman to drop out of the race. These two former Lieberman aides indicated they understood endorsing Lamont, but wanted to avoid specific calls for withdrawal.

The former staffers also approached the DSCC, I’ve learned, urging the campaign committee to hold off committing resources to the Lamont race.

Will the pleas work? Probably, in the short term, for the reasons the Post and the NYT mentioned. Senate Dems are at least willing to give it a few days, letting the “dust settle.” But it’s something to keep an eye on — once one senator publicly demands Lieberman drop his independent bid, others will likely follow. How Lieberman might respond is anyone’s guess, but his team seems worried about it.

Post Script: By the way, the Lieberman staff exodus I said was coming has happened. The campaign is characterizing this as a shake-up in response to a defeat, but we know better.

August 10, 2006 at 9:53 am

Well, Joe’s staff shakeup could be his ticket out of the race. All we have to do is deny him first rate help and he will see that he can’t campaign effectively and fold.

Is that going to happen? I doubt it.

Frankly, having Joe Lieberman in the race allows the DSCC to continue to argue that this is about Boy George II. Once Lieberman leaves the race, Ned vs. Allan becomes so not the story of the week. I mean, we know Lamont would win that.

So here’s to hoping that Lieberman stays in, and we can continue to bash Boy George II through him.

I understand not shoving a long-time government official’s loss in his face just days after the vote, to “let the dust settle,” as they’ve said, but this coddling of the Republicans’ favorite “Democrat” must stop soon.

There is nothing the Repubs would love more as November approaches than to have the ability to point at a high-profile Senate race to show America that the Democratic party is not fit to lead if they can’t even stop in-party fighting. They’d eat it up, and so would so many of the moderate sheep in this country.

Joe needs to act like a man, accept his loss and walk away into the sunset… towards a future lobbying for the right.

They don’t need to pressure him to drop out of the race. He has the full right to be in the race as an Independent. What they DO need to do is kick him out of his committee memberships, since he is no longer a Democrat.

That’ll be enough of a hint, and they won’t need to address the race directly.

If Lieberman doesn’t drop out in the next week or so I think the Dems should issue a memo saying that they will not caucus with anyone who defeats a Democratic primary winner in the general election. That would force Lieberman to caucus with the Repubs and it would make CT voters realize that a vote for Lieberman is a vote for a Republican controlled congress.

Lieberman needs to man up and the Dems need to start playing some hardball. There is too much at stake to worry about sparing a deftor’s feelings.

Here’s a scenario: Lieberman wins in November. Goes to the Senate. Changes back to Democrat. It’s like nothing ever happened. The Dem establishment would love it.

I think the Dem incumbents have been slow-marching around the stately halls of Congress for too long. They don’t seem to recognize the sense of urgency that has developed within voters. Look how slowly and ineptly Lieberman was in responding to Lamont’s challenge. He was like a bureaucrat re-entering the job market not realizing that employers expect results not just taking up space.

They’re like the affable Aarfy in Catch 22 who continually blocks the escape hatch in Yossarian’s bomber and stupidly won’t get out of the way ignoring Yossarian’s panic. Lead follow or get out of the way incumbents.

CB’s use of the word “withdrawal” is appropriate.

My money is on this:

Joe will be just as stubborn about staying the course in Connecticut as he is in Iraq.

Treating him with kid gloves today in the hopes he will mature tomorrow is a generous ploy that will fail.

“angry young man” had it balanced just right yesterday when he wrote in a thread:

please please please let the slogan for lieberman’s independent run be “stay the course.”

So yep… Joe won’t withdrawal… he will stay the course.

Having “tasted” the presidency… Holy Joe really believes his own mucky-muck about being a uniting bridge across the political divide.

He is going to carry that cross all the way to the top of the mountain.

He is fake martyr… who will be sacrifice himself on the altar of “political divisiveness.”

Somebody hand me a hammer and some nails….

Lieberman has not been subtle about pressuring Americans to support our commander in chief. Tony Snow has not been subtle about using Lieberman to slam the Democrats. Democrats don’t do subtle well. IThey come off as being wussies and weak in conflict situations. I say give Joe a couple more days then slam the door in such a way as to show decisive conviction and unity. We’re better off with Joe openly joining Republican ranks and becoming a Fox News commentator, than Joe speaking for Democrats.

Lieberman is being coddled and it’s bullshit. I heard both he and Lamont on The Newshour yesterday and the difference is night and day. HoJo is spinning in his little box of outrage and “betrayal” and Lamont is lining up issues and speaking clearly to what must be done to better address those issues. HoJo lost. If he wants to play games with his own money and on his own time then that’s his prerogative. Who gives a damn what he does? He’s being granted way too much importance. His 18 years were then. This is now. He didn’t have to do things the way he’s done them. Dems need to move on from this hand-wringing crap.

This is the right tact. If the Dems came out swinging right now Lieberman would swing back and it would then be fodder for exactly the kind of product the media likes to tell (Did I say product? sorry, I meant,”news story.”). Infighting! Betrayal! Backstab! Look at those foolish Dems!

Instead, let it play itself out, see what kind of traction Lieberman is able to generate and when the media goads Dems into responding with questions such as “Aren’t you mad at Lieberman? Do you feel betrayed? Are you betraying him? Will you kill some kittens on camera for us?” the response should be something along the lines of, “Joe Lieberman is no longer a member of our party. While he is within his rights to be an independent candidate, he should have dropped out of the Democratic party and run as an Independent from the beginning of the campaign.” or, “Ned Lamont won the primary because a majority of the people voted for him. We follow the voters. The people speak and we listen.” or, “We are eager to help Mr. Lamont earn his seat in November, the same as we are for all candidates who represent the people.” or, “No, I will not kill kittens.” By focusing on the opportunities of the future, led by a nation fed up with Republican rule, Dems can effectively marginalize Lieberman. A directionless man need not be pushed off the cliff. Eventually, he’ll walk off it all his own.

People, breathe and think. (Let me start by stating I hated Lieberman when he was Gore’s VP Candidate and complained that PFAW wasn’t slamming some of his statements the way they would have done if he’d been a Republican. I voted for Gore, but Holy Joe’s presence on the ticket made me even think about voting a third party — I’m glad I didn’t, but back then I had no idea how bad GW would turn out to be.)
BUT while I think Ned would beat him in Novermber, it is by no means a sure thing. And there is only one time when party matters in the Senate (or the House). That is the vote to organize the Congress. If the election comes down to 50 Democrats, 49 Republicans and Lieberman, — a very possible result if he wins — it becomes vitally important which party he votes with. If he votes with the Democrats, they appoint the chairs of the committees and set the agenda. If he votes with the Republicans, the tie gets settled by Cheney or whoever has replaced him by that time, and the Republicans set the Committees and the agenda.
Right now, Joe Liarman is saying he will vote with the Democrats. (I am not so sure he’ll keep his word, but he’s said it.) If the Democrats give him an excuse, by saying they won’t caucus with him, he can claim the promise is no longer good.
I think the Democrats should force him out of the race, yes, and they certainly should support Lamont in the general election — and most of them will. But they have to do it very carefully, because of this.

Meanwhile, it is us to us to work for Lamont, and for other Democrats in close races — if we get 51 votes without Connecticut, we can tell Lieberman to shove off.

Besides, it might even be a more powerful statement if Ned beats Joe in the general election. I hope it doesn’t come to this, but it would truly be a glorious victory.

***A source on Capitol Hill told me late yesterday that two top former Lieberman staffers — who are now corporate lobbyists — were in DC yesterday to push the Senate Democratic leadership to hold off on calling for Lieberman to drop out of the race. These two former Lieberman aides indicated they understood endorsing Lamont, but wanted to avoid specific calls for withdrawal.

The former staffers also approached the DSCC, I’ve learned, urging the campaign committee to hold off committing resources to the Lamont race.***
—CB

First it was “The Call” from Rove; now its “corporate lobbyists” wanting to coddle Darth Lieberman while not committing resources to Lamont? Blast it all—what has to happen for the people of Connecticut to get the respect that THEY deserve; THEIR say in this election? Do they have to secede from the Union? Get the Dark Lord of the Reich out of the Dem caucuses—now. Strip him of his committeships—now. Give him every idea of what it’s like to be “a party one one”—now….

I think it is fine to not call for him to drop the indy bid for a few days, but starting immediately various other pressure points should be made to pinch.

First, i think it is a mistake to agree to not commit party resources to Lamont. The backchannel response to the backchannel request should be “we wouldn’t have to if Joe weren’t running, but the party nominee has to win that race and we will start pouring resources in as soon as we can get them there if Joe insists on running against the chosen Dem.” Leaving any doubt that the party will back Lamont with resources only sends mixed signals to Joe, who is lookingfor any reason to have hope. Bad idea.

Second, by about Sunday, key Dems need to start saying publicly, “Joe did a lot of good things as a Dem, and we’ve always thought of him as a good and loyal Democrat, and in that vein I must say that running against the winner of a Democratic primary helps no one except the Republican Right. And while we believe anyone has the right to run and it isn’t our place to ask him not to, I think he does need to ask himself how this fits with his legacy as a leader in the Democratic Party.”

Third, by about Tuesday, hints need to be dropped that if he insists on running against the party’s official nominee, and if he appears to be getting support from Connecticut (and national) Republicans, it might not be appropriate for him to hold committee positions assigned by the Democrats.

If that doesn’t do it, by about next Friday someone needs to release the photos of Joe with farm animals.

Zeitgeist , do have have the said photos?

I would imagine the plan is to slowly show support for Lamont, then when everyone is on the same page, let Joe know he should drop out.

We are spending way too much energy on this guy and Rove knows it. The longer we look at Connecticut, the less we look at other, more critical seats.

Seriously, whatever happens their we are going to have a Democratic Senator, even one who loves Bush and calls himself an Indy.. Majority is still majority, even if Joe is part of it.

Let’s set our sites on races that really matter.

Joe is being two faced about all this, mimicing Republican behavior. On the Newshour yesterday he said the endorsements and kiss uppy visits from Clinton and the dem heavyweights didn’t help him that much. Some gratitude. And he attributed his loss to partisan politics and distortion of his record. Some nonpartisan. If he can’t defend his record with the resources and time available during the primary, how can he be any more persuasive serving again in Washington?

If Joe wants to be independent, let him be. But the dems better get their act together and signal full and undivided support behind the winner of the dem primary.

And the Newshour segment gave me a chance to see Lamont for the first time. He came across very well, speaking concisely and convincingly. He is fully capable of holding his own.

I’m glad Lieberman is gone. Unfortunately, I don’t see this the way virtually all the MSM reported it: a massive leap to the left. This country no longer knows what “Left” means. There’s only Fascist (today’s GOP, neocons, strange government, military intervention) and Conservative (those of us who believe in balanced budgets, no increase in debt, preservation of natural resources, educational opportunity, separation of church and state, minding our own business, etc.).

I believe howard dean pretty much called on lieberman to quit:

Dear Fellow Democrat,

Ned Lamont — that’s the name of the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate from Connecticut. He defeated Senator Joe Lieberman yesterday in a hard-fought primary election.

There’s been a lot said about this race and what it means for our party, so I wanted to get a few things straight.

One big issue in this race was the war in Iraq. Like the vast majority of Americans, Ned Lamont believes that “staying the course” will only drive America and Iraq deeper into disaster.

Lamont’s courage and conviction on Iraq will make him a good Senator. But his positions on all the important issues — on Iraq, but also balancing the budget, getting every American health insurance, and solving the energy crisis — will make him a great Senator. These are not just the values of the Democratic Party, they are mainstream American values, and they are Ned Lamont’s values.

After his loss, Joe Lieberman announced his intention to run as an independent. That’s the wrong thing to do.

Ned Lamont won fair and square. We have a process, and those who participate in it should respect the outcome. Joe Lieberman should respect the Democratic voters’ decision. He has to do what all of us who have lost an election have done: support the winner.

Our party is united on a new direction for our country. Joe Lieberman has been nominated for Senate by Democratic voters three times, and has served admirably for 18 years. But this moment in our country’s history demands that we be unified.

This race wasn’t about ideology. Ned Lamont succeeded because of participation politics — he talked plainly and honestly with the people of Connecticut, and his campaign engaged in the kind of neighbor-to-neighbor organizing that has reinvigorated our party across the country.

Over a quarter-million people voted in the Democratic primary in Connecticut yesterday. Among those taking part in that exceptionally high voter turnout were tens of thousands of people who are new to our party. Voters included Republicans and Independents joining the Democratic Party and others registering for the first time and choosing to be Democrats.

That bodes well for our chances not just in Connecticut but everywhere that people like you have been working to build this party from the ground up.

We’ve got to be unified through November.

Thank you,
Howard

So here’s to hoping that Lieberman stays in, and we can continue to bash Boy George II through him.

It negatively impacts the down ticket races, though. We have a fairly good opporunity to unseat Shays this November. Having Lieberman/Lamont suck up all the oxygen in the CT race, however, will make it that much harder for the Dems looking to unseat the House GOPpers. Lieberman needs to drop out.

Can’t someone convince him that this is a perfect opportunity for him to focus on his 2008 presidential campaign? (to be clear, I shudder at the thought of him as a potential president.)

The former staffers also approached the DSCC, I’ve learned, urging the campaign committee to hold off committing resources to the Lamont race. –CB

I saw that and nearly exploded; the unmitigated nerve! What right does he have to tell DSCC whom not to support? Lamont has won the Democratic primary, is now the Democratic candidate, and, as such, deserves as much support as any other candidate.

At least, so far, this particular plea seems to have fallen on deaf ears; the DSCC still has Lamont at the top of its home page…

Hey rege we have a photographer in Lebanon who can get you those farm animal photos. Just kidding.

“It negatively impacts the down ticket races, though. We have a fairly good opporunity to unseat Shays this November. Having Lieberman/Lamont suck up all the oxygen in the CT race, however, will make it that much harder for the Dems looking to unseat the House GOPpers. Lieberman needs to drop out.” – Edo

Are we sure that is the way to figure it? Perhaps the Democrats who come out to support Joe and the Democrats who come out to support Ned will all vote for Shays’ opponent (whom you do not name, I note) along with the candidates for the other congressional districts.

District 1: John Larson
District 2: Joe Courtney
District 3: Rosa DeLauro
District 4: Diane Farrell (Shays district)

Not true that no one has called on Lieberman to quit. Just no one Inside the Beltway.

Here’s some of what Wes Clark wrote (you can sign the petition on his website, securingamerica.com):

As a Democrat, I respect the will of the Connecticut Democratic voters and their decision to make Ned Lamont their nominee. Even before the election results came in on Tuesday, Ned Lamont showed his respect for the voters by committing to abide by the Democratic primary result and support whoever won.

Joe Lieberman, on the other hand, began collecting petition signatures to run as an Independent several weeks ago while concurrently running in the Democratic primary. In short, he wanted to have his cake and eat it too.

Despite his efforts to appear on the November ballot as an Independent, I held out hope that Joe would withdraw from the Connecticut Senate race after the primary votes were counted. Unfortunately, Joe has announced his candidacy as an Independent candidate, running against Ned, the Democratic nominee.

Today, I ask you to email Joe Lieberman. Urge him to respect the will of Connecticut Democrats and end his Independent candidacy for CT Senate.

In 2000, the presence of a third party candidate, Ralph Nader, no doubt played a role in the defeat of Vice President Gore and Joe Lieberman. Now Joe Lieberman is risking our party’s claim on his Senate seat by running as a third party candidate himself. Recent news reports detail the GOP’s interest in supporting such an effort. It’s time to draw a line.

I committed myself to supporting the Democratic nominee for the US Senate in Connecticut, and I ask you to do likewise. Because too much is at stake with our troubles abroad and at home, we cannot play games this Election Day. That’s why I call on all loyal Democrats to join me in urging Senator Lieberman to drop his bid for the Senate as an Independent and endorse the duly nominated Democrat.

We should thank him for his service and invite him to stay active, or even run again someday, but as a party we cannot let Joe Lieberman be this year’s Ralph Nader.

Edo:

“Can’t someone convince him that this is a perfect opportunity for him to focus on his 2008 presidential campaign?”

That really is too rich…
And goes straight to the crux…

Which is also to say:

The fame that comes with being a US Senator is one of the most powerful “stupidizing” drugs on the planet.

Joe’s been snorting it for 18 years.
He really is serious ill…

How could he not be?

I’m afraid I don’t have access to Lexis/Nexis, but it would be interesting if one could research Joe’s thoughts about Nader’s run in 2000. Did he encourage Nader to run, or did he indicate some concern about Nader splitting the vote and hurting the Democrat ticket?

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