TPM Reader RS on Ned Lamont and Joe Lieberman …
Josh, I went to see Ned Lamont at a Democratic Town Committee sponsored meeting in Glastonbury, CT several weeks ago largely to answer some of the questions you have about his stands on the issues and to get a feel for the man in person. About 150 people attended, which is about 100 more than had attended a similar event for Joe Lieberman (which Joe did not attend).
For perspective, I am 59 years old and a life-long Democrat who wants someone to represent me and my views. To be frank, I have grown tired of folks who represent this race as about the unseating an establishment politician by the netroots and who wears the pants in the Democratic Party. This a real political choice for me not some inside the beltway or blog-land brouhaha.
Lamont was bright, energetic and articulate. I thought his stands on the issues were very mainstream/progressive and his reception was very enthusiastic. His central theme is the Iraq war and how it is affecting our country in so many ways at home and abroad. He avoided going for the cheap applause line on impeachment saying that given what we know now, it was not appropriate and then, chuckling, he said Cheney is a scary thought. He would vote for censure.
Beyond the specific stands on the issues, I thought he was a stand up guy. He took all the questions, some not so friendly and did not parse words or sound like a poll-driven candidate. Authentic.
After the meeting broke up, I asked Lamont if he would back Lieberman if Joe won the primary and he quickly said yes. When I asked him what he had to say about Joe’s refusal to date to make the same promise if the tables were turned, he said that he wanted this race to be about the issues and to stay away from that kind of thing. I told him that it was a valid issue for party members to consider and he should find a positive way to use it in his primary campaign because for many Democrats, Joe seems to think he is has become bigger than the party. He stood his ground.
Should be an interesting summer here in Connecticut for us Democrats.
I think RS is a good example of why Lieberman’s in some trouble.
