TPM Reader AR on Lamont/Lieberman …
Josh
I am afraid I must disagree with you and DK on whether or not attention (and money) should be directed towards the Lieberman-Lamont race.
Tactially, the current poll numbers are not particularly relevant — recall how far Lamont was behind Lieberman 3 months prior to the primary. That gap can and will close with the right strategy. Speeches such as “Today, x number of Iraqis were killed and y number of Americans were killed. yet,
Senator Liberman is unwilling to acknowledge the foolhardiness of our Iraq misadventure. Support the troops. Support me because I support the troops and want to bring them home before more of them die”. The “netroots” will play an important role.Strategically, those of us who work on “brand architecture” understand the notion of “anchor brands”. This race is not an either/or proposition (support Lamont and ignore the other races). There is an interaction effect — the more traction Lamont gets, the more the “Democrat” brand benefits,
and vice versa.Please give this some thought — yours is an important voice in this battle and I would hate to see the overall structure fall apart because we frame this as a false choice between Lamont and others. These issues are inextricably intertwined. And, to quote another successful campaign, “Its the War …”
