H A M S H E R !!!

YESSSSS!!!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NETROOTS
I nominate This song from David Bowie’s HEATHEN for our unity anthem:

David Bowie – A Better Future Lyrics

Please don’t tear this world asunder
Please take back
This fear we’re under
I demand a better future
Or I might just stop wanting you
I might just stop wanting you
Please make sure we get tomorrow
All this pain and all the sorrow
I demand a better future
Or I might just stop needing you
I might just stop needing you
Give my children sunny smile
Give them moon and cloudless sky
I demand a better future
Or I might just stop loving you,
Loving you, loving you
When we talk, we talk to you
When we walk, we walk to you
From factory to field
How many tears must fall
Down there below
Nothing is moving
Oo-o
I might just stop wanting you
I might just stop needing you
I might just stop loving you
I demand a better future
I demand a better future
I demand a better future
For I might just stop loving you,
Loving you, loving you
I demand a better future
I demand a better future
I demand a better future
For I might just stop loving you, loving you, loving you
I demand a better future

F I T Z !

Yay Lamont!

I suspect it was always Joe’s intention to turn to the Republicans in the event of a primary loss. He needs their votes.

“It’s time for Joe Lieberman, and others who distrust the will of Democratic Primary voters in Connecticut, to acknowledge that Ned Lamont is the current Democratic Senate candidate for the state of Connecticut, and the future Democratic Senator from Connecticut for the next six years. Not doing so undermines the credibility of the Democratic Party, and of democracy itself, at our nation’s peril.”

It’d be damn nice to only have to win each race once per cycle, though.

Joe – Round 2 is in 2012. You lost.

Time to get his committee assignments, and inform the now-independent, opposing-the-Democratic-nominee Senator that he can no longer attend Democratic strategy meetings, unless he decides to drop his new party before it begins.

What does the Big Dog have to say?

Can’t say it enough: thanks for all you and your FDL-inspired campaign workers did! You made history; and if our country’s to be saved, we’ll know who did it and how it was done.

JANE JANE JANE JANE JANE!

That’s all I have to say.

I don’t post very often, but I just had to relate this story:

My 7 year old son watched the Lieberman faux-concession speech with me, and asked me to explain. I didn’t know what to say. We try so hard to get him to follow the rules, and here’s this man on TV blatantly rewriting the rules as he goes along.

I think everybody needs to ask the question:

WHAT DO WE TELL OUR CHILDREN, JOE?

Thank you for your efforts in bringing us to this refreshing point. You note: “Colin McEnroe and Lowell Weicker both think that if Lieberman continues in the race it will only be in league with the GOP and I agree that it is his only chance. Is Joe willing to go that far to stay in the Senate?”

Maybe this is the question: Is Joe willing to go that far to keep Lamont out of the Senate?

By the way, 18,000 petitions isn’t a lot, even in places where the rules are less strict than Connecticut’s. The indy run is by no means a lock.

Text of the e-mail I posted at nedlamont.com, in response to their request for messages to be sent to Joe on accepting the will of Democratic voters:

Dear Mr. Lieberman:

Yesterday, the voters of Connecticut went to the polls in record numbers to cast votes that would determine which candidate would be the nominee of the Democratic Party. In the weeks prior to the election, thousands of formerly unaffiliated voters registered as Democrats, which can only be described as a victory for Democrats, and a victory for the electoral process.

The results are in, and Ned Lamont won the primary; it is his name that will appear as the Democrat in the general election to be held in November.

Last night, you said that you lost because the “old politics of partisan polarization won.” With all due respect, that is an accusation that does not accurately reflect the message that was delivered last night. What Connecticut voters have decided is that they want a Democrat who will stand up against the Republican party, not capitulate to it. This is not polarization, it is the reality that the two parties have different philosophies, different ideologies, different goals and different positions, and the voters want a Senator who will advocate for those positions as strongly as possible, with a goal of seeing those positions in the form of legislation and policy. What the voters have said is that you have too easily and quickly given ground on Democratic values and positions and they no longer believe you have the will to undertake the fight for them, or the understanding of how important that fight is.

While it is true that Independents represent the largest voting bloc in Connecticut, and those Independents have not yet had an opportunity to speak on this election, you have insisted that you are not an Independent, but a Democrat. You put your brand of Democrat up against Ned Lamont, and voters who believe strongly enough in the Democratic Party to register and declare their affiliation with the party have spoken. Saying you would continue with an Independent run is emblematic of the dismissive treatment of the Democratic position that caused you to lose the Democratic primary. If you are unable to see and understand that simple truth, I fear you will be in for an even more devastating loss in November, and a sad and unsportsmanlike end to your career.

You’ve said that if you win, you would caucus with the Democrats. That’s the equivalent of telling the Independents and Republicans, whose votes you would need to win in November, “Thanks for your votes – now let me go about being a Democrat.” This is as dismissive of the interests of Independents and Republicans as it is of the decision of Democrats, and is as clear an indication that this is not really about voters of any affiliation, it is only about the votes. Sadly, this reduces the quest for victory to one that is, finally, all about you and your interests.

The voters deserve better. If you truly care about Connecticut, and the Democratic Party, you will accept the decision of the voters, withdraw as a candidate, and put your full support behind Ned Lamont.

Have a feeling a boatload of these kinds of messages are going to be accumulating at a staggering rate.

AP: Lieberman files papers to get on ballot

Our focus right now has to be hammering the Democratic leadership that Joe must be stripped of all assignments and other perks that come with being a Dem. All of them. The personal ego and arrogance he showed last night, and continued with this morning, is a slap in the face to the voters of CT and the entire Democratic party.

All of our energy for the next few weeks needs to be focused on getting Dems to force Joe to drop out. Hopefully we can have enough of an impact where that will occur within a week or two so we can start focusig on beating Republicans in November.

I’m so proud of Ned right now, and so utterly disappointed in Joe. He’s now just a sad shell of a man who’s sold his soul to power. It’s disgusting and it can’t be allowed to continue to be associated in any way with the Democratic party.

Nice Job Jane and big cheer to Ned

However…I don’t think that you have the luxury of “plenty of time to digest the results and analyze the implications going forward” and your desire to cut Joe some slack, as you say, while admirable, is misplaced.

Joe came out of the gate last night spewing venom, the likes of which I’ve never heard against a member of one’s own party in a concession speech in all of the 35 years I’ve followed politics. That bile continued this morning. It is clear that, so long as he ( and, according to the Hotline, Haddasah) believe that he can win the general, he’s going nowhere.

So, Jane, I’m going to ask you to put your H’wood producer’s hat on and tell the campaign that it’s time to fight fire with fire. The first thing that should be done would be to have attorneys at the ready to challenge each and every petition filed by the lieberman campaign for their “Joe for Joe” line. If Ned wants to pretend that he’s above it all, fine. Let the campaign take the responsibility. The meme can be that evne tho Joe doesn’t respect the demlocratic process, Ned does…all of it, including correct filings.

Sorry, you underestimate this man’s hatred for Democrats and capacity for lying at your own peril. And BTW, after his speech last night there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he will NOT vote with the Dem caucus if elected.

I am disgusted with the MSM…I watched msnbc last night after the victory and they spent the entire hour interviewing lieberman people and discussing him. They devoted literally 2 minutes to Lamont. Washington is a cesspool.

David Sirota says it all:
“Make no mistake about it – be prepared for Lieberman, the Enron lobbyists, corporate lawyers, Establishment pundits and other assorted characters in the Washington brothel to run out immediately and trumpet how incredible it was that Lieberman got so close. What they want to do is pretend that Lieberman hasn’t spent 18 years in the Senate, wasn’t have every single advantage, didn’t outspend his opponent with a massive corporate-funded warchest, and was, instead, the courageous underdog who supposedly did not arrogantly ignore mainstream public opinion with his stands pushing the Iraq War, Social Security privatization and corporate-written trade deals that sold out American jobs. That storyline provides a convenient excuse to justify Lieberman ignoring Connecticut voters, Connecticut taxpayers who funded the election, and all the democratic principles this country is supposed to be based on. It provides a consultant-packaged excuse for Lieberman to ignore voters and insult the Democratic Party by running as a party of one, and potentially throwing the general election to the Republican Party.

But as Ezra Klein astutely notes, “If this gets spun in the next few days as a microscopic margin so infinitesimal as to be mere statistical error, try and keep in mind the towering mandate the media agreed Bush had after his three — not four — percent win over Kerry.” I’ll put it in exact language that Lieberman himself can understand: “It’s time for Joe Lieberman and his friends in the Washington Establishment who distrust Ned Lamont to acknowledge that Ned is now the Democratic Party’s nominee for U.S. Senate, and that we as Democrats undermine our nominee’s credibility at our party and our democracy’s peril.”

Lieberman’s concession speech tonight spitefully announcing that he will abandon the Democratic Party that he has spent the last week transparently pleging his fealty to is classic Lieberman. You may recall that after he was crushed in the New Hampshire primary, he proudly boasted that “we are in a three-way split decision for third place” – as if he really thought voters were stupid enough to think that was a good thing and that he was well on his way to winning the nomination. Similarly today, he is claiming that the Democratic Party primary election is just the “first half” of the election process – again, thinking voters are so stupid, they don’t see that what he’s really doing is giving the big middle finger to American democracy.

But voters do see what’s going on – and that’s why Lieberman, an 18-year incumbent who outspent his opponent, was handed a crushing defeat tonight: because ordinary people realize that Joe Lieberman and the Washington Establishment he represents has for too long been allowed to sellout their constituents and this country as a whole. Ned Lamont is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Connecticut. Every single Democratic officeholder in this country (that means YOU Kerry, Feingold, Clinton, Edwards, Warner, et al.) has an obligation to respect the Democratic Party primary election that took place tonight, lest they too go on record as saying Democratic Party voters and America’s democratic process as an afterthought in comparison to their own personal political ambitions. Likewise, Democratic leaders in Congress now have an obligation to remove Lieberman from his committee assignments, and cut off Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee resources, now that he has officially left the Democratic Party.

This is an incredible victory tonight. Ordinary people showed that no politician – even a snake like Lieberman with every single advantage – is above American democracy. Though Lieberman and the lobbyists who are backing him would like everyone to forget about democracy, Ned Lamont tonight showed that ordinary people in this country still have power and that no Senate seat is the exclusive property of any one individual.

“This is not about the war. It’s blind loyalty to Bush.”

Oh, he’s wrong there too – it’s about the war, it’s about LIEberman’s big mouth and his willingness to be Bush’s lapdog. And a host of other issues besides. You cannot parse it out. And the dems will not come out of their doldrums until they get a clue!

considering joe has spent the last month braying about his credentials as not just a dem, but a “progressive” dem, how does he really think he can run as an indy and appeal to republican voters. does he think that he can be progressive in july and moderate in august and no one will notice? i know that some of the early three-way race polls gave joe the edge, but i would like to see what people think in a week or two.

From today’s NYT editorials(nailing it, for once):

The rebellion against Mr. Lieberman was actually an uprising by that rare phenomenon, irate moderates. They are the voters who have been unnerved over the last few years as the country has seemed to be galloping in a deeply unmoderate direction. A war that began at the president’s choosing has degenerated into a desperate, bloody mess that has turned much of the world against the United States. The administration’s contempt for international agreements, Congressional prerogatives and the authority of the courts has undermined the rule of law abroad and at home.

Yet while all this has been happening, the political discussion in Washington has become a captive of the Bush agenda. Traditional beliefs like every person’s right to a day in court, or the conviction that America should not start wars it does not know how to win, wind up being portrayed as extreme. The middle becomes a place where senators struggle to get the president to volunteer to obey the law when the mood strikes him. Attempting to regain the real center becomes a radical alternative.

When Mr. Lieberman told The Washington Post, “I haven’t changed. Events around me have changed,” he actually put his finger on his political problem. His constituents felt that when the White House led the country into a disastrous international crisis and started subverting the nation’s basic traditions, Joe Lieberman should have changed enough to take a lead in fighting back.

Emanuel and the House Dems will probably have as big a role in twisting Joe’s arm as the Senate caucus. The three vulnerable CT seats are low-hanging fruit this election, and the House is the easier target of the two.

I think there has to be as much carrot as stick right now: if Joe bows out with the grace he’s yet to show, he can huddle up to Bush as much as he likes for the next few months, as long as he doesn’t tread on the election campaign.

Give it till the weekend and the gasbag shows, and let the Senate Dems go to work behind the scenes. Ego is a big thing in politics, and Joe’s just took a pasting: demanding that he be stripped of committee positions before other Senate Dems and party leaders have had the chance to a) talk quietly to him; b) appear very publically with Lamont may play into his martyr complex.

And if Joe is still campaigning next week, let’s hit him with all we’ve got.

Take care of yourself, Jane. You’ve done a great job.

Ned’s so nice he’ll beat Joe twice. I just hope it doesn’t come to that.

You wonder if he understands that running is likely to mean losing again. No lingering ability to say, “I could have won, if I had run as an indpendent.”

Jane,

so sorry about the not sleeping, not eating thing – hope the coming days provide relief

just want to say Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, it’s not lost on any of us that you took a time of great sadness in your life and did something incredibly, progressively good with your grief – and multitudes of folks you will never meet are better off as a result – without ever meeting her, I am certain a righteously proud mama is beaming this morning -

Or will enough pressure be brought to bear on him today that it will offer him a reality check and enlighten him to the fact that his brand of politics is obsolete?

Not necessary for Joe to have this epiphany. Just to recognize the havoc he will wreak by being stubborn and not listening to his better angel, assuming he has one.

Hey the Lamont win is great! Any thoughts on Ciro Rodriguez(D) (remember him, against Liebermanesque Henry Cuellar) to unseat Henry Bonilla(R) in Texas. This would be on the new district created by the Supreme court decision.

C’mon, bring some of that ass kicking to my part of town.

Please…

The air is crisper, the sunshine is sunnier, my tea tastes better and i have this feeling that things are getting better.

Good Morning All!

isn’t it amazing how the wingers can so vociferously support a well-known babykiller like Lieberman?

of course, that was their word they used to use on him …

Maxine Waters will always have my support.

Shorter Joe this morning on Today to all Democrats, establishment and insurgents:

Fuck you. I’ll do what I want.

If Joe doesn’t get out, folks, this is a problem. Yes, Lamont will win, but this race will suck out oxygen, embolden the Rovian right, and waste our time.

zergle 16, you are absolutely dead-on:
“Our focus right now has to be hammering the Democratic leadership that Joe must be stripped of all assignments and other perks that come with being a Dem. All of them. The personal ego and arrogance he showed last night, and continued with this morning, is a slap in the face to the voters of CT and the entire Democratic party.

All of our energy for the next few weeks needs to be focused on getting Dems to force Joe to drop out. Hopefully we can have enough of an impact where that will occur within a week or two so we can start focusig on beating Republicans in November.”

I also do not like seeing this vote portrayed as an anti war vote. This is what the republicans want the media to call it. What it really is, is the adults taking back control and putting the kids to bed. The republicans are a pack of immature, incompetant, fantasists (and thieves) who need to be sent to the naughty corner for a hellava long time.

*ilson46201 @ 15

AP: Lieberman files papers to get on ballot

I’d bet money that most of them were Republicans.

The bastards.

Why doesn’t Lieberman just run as an R? Huh?

Further proof of Joe’s collossal arrogance;

What the hell kind of person names a party after HIMSELF? I mean, really, not pretty little abstract monikers like “Freedom Party” or Liberty Party” or “Douchbag Appeasement Party” or “Traitorous Scumbag Egomaniac Party”?

It only goes to show that Joe’s whole party is about Joe, and nobody else.

Wanker.

http://www.CT4Joe2006.com

Way to go, Ned! A great morning in America. Except for the poops needing scooping up.

My nominees? CT AG threatening investigations, jailtime for hackers of Lieberman site just now on MSNBC. Liebercrony, anyone?

And J-Lie himself. His politics of blind loyalty…to himself…and his threatened politics of personal attack and destruction just aren’t going to play this time. He’s gone to that well too many times.

I hope SOMEONE talks some sense into Loose Lips Lieberman, and point out that his already tainted legacy will be destroyed if he campaigns AGAINST the Party that supported him for eighteen years.

Come on Bubba… Go to Joe… ’splain it to him…

and Jane..

EAT some nourishing food and get about 2 days of SLEEP !!!! You and the others have kept us in the blogsphere so informed during this triumph I feel like I was almost there..

Good on ALL of you that reported from the trenches in Conn.

It’s time to stop referring to Lieberman as a democrat.

A diarist at MyDD points out that, by law, Lieberman cannot claim affiliation with a party that has not chosen him in a primary. He’s not a democrat anymore. He’s not an “independent democrat.” He’s running on the Connecticut for Liberman ticket.

The diarist suggests writing to the various CT publications that are running quotations of Joe continuing to claim Dem status. I think that’s a good idea. And we also have to stop referring to him as a democrat. He has left the party.

or the conviction that America should not start wars it does not know how to win,

Whaaaa – America does not START wars. Period.

(well, until Wenie took over that is)

Jane — Congratulations, you worked hard for this. You did an exceptional job in view of the odds, the power of the incumbency, etc –
We owe you a huge thanks! — now get some sleep!

As with all campaigns, the next few days are also crucial — you’re still needed and need to be alert.

Ned was great, he did it. Great job all.

Thanks, Jane, for spending the last month in CT. For those of us who couldn’t make it, reading the blogs was the next best thing.

(And I’m thrilled that you’re accepting crankiness as a way of life. It’s worked for me for years!)

http://www.ConnecticutForLieberman.com
http://www.LiebermanForConnecticut.com

dratty–if Joe is willing to put it behind, we should let him serve out his remaining term in peace. If he isn’t trying to break the party with an indy run he isn’t worth spending the time between now and November.

Our key task now is making Joe irrelevant. I imagine we only have hours or days to bring enough pressure to bear in order to do that.

Thank you Jane for the great ride. Lets take ‘er on home.

Joe can’t heeearrr yooouuu!!!

So who thinks Dodd can talk Holy Joe down from the ledge?

mark my words

lieberman will run as mccain’s vp candidate

I said it, I didn’t say it first, but I’m calling it now

Jane – a huge “thank you!” for all your work up there. Those of us unable to get there had a ringside seat to history thanks to you (and mydd and the rest of the lefty blogosphere) (I’m thinking Scoobie-Do right now- Joe’d gotten away with it if it weren’t for you meddling kids!)

I sent Joe an email via Lamont’s tubes encouraging him to honor the vote, and one to Harry Reid as well – I agree with pseudo22 above, give Joe a few days, but if he persists, lock him out and hit him hard. The Republic is at stake, after all.

This is so unbelievably awesome – winning sure does feel nice.

Amazing that Joe is willing to fight now, against the party he claims to be a member of, but wasn’t willing to fight in 2000, when the election was so close.

I was struck last night when some talking head on Tweety’s show was talking about how Joe had been in favor of war in Iraq since 1991 — this said to show that the war was a long term principled position. I couldn’t help but think that with all that time to plan, they should have done a much better job of it.

And also, Joe20006 being down for so very long…was his web security being handled by Ahmed Chalabi?

Did you see Lieberman on the Today show this am. He told Lauer Ned L cleverly distort and lie about his records.

The sheer arrogance!!!! What a bozo.

From the evergreen state of WA, I want to thank all of you in CT for taking this faux Democrat off the list! I have never trusted Lieberman. His support for Israel is blind as is his support of the Bush doctrine.

We don’t need another war monger.

I hope his defeat serves as a wake up for the rest of the DEmocrats who voted for the war. They have 3 long years already to admit they made a mistake and so far, hardly any had the integrity or courage to say so.

Dune Messiah @ 28

Hey the Lamont win is great! Any thoughts on Ciro Rodriguez(D) (remember him, against Liebermanesque Henry Cuellar) to unseat Henry Bonilla(R) in Texas. This would be on the new district created by the Supreme court decision.

C’mon, bring some of that ass kicking to my part of town.

Please…

Dune, it would be nice, but…

As much as I hate his frickin’ guts, Cuellar would probably have a better shot at winning in this district. I’ll have to look at the re-drawn boundaries a little more closely, but Bonilla barely has to campaign here. I live just a few miles from Pinche Vanilla’s office, and most of this area is white, conservative and has a higher income than most other parts of San Antonio (Shavano Park is part of this constituency). In other words, very, very Republican. I think this district went for Bush something like 66-33. Still a lot of people proudly displaying their Bush stickers from 04.

blogenfreude @ 44

Joe can’t heeearrr yooouuu!!!

So who thinks Dodd can talk Holy Joe down from the ledge?

I think only Bill Clinton can convince him. Where are you Bill?

We can use the ReThug line they insesantly used during the Clinton years…. “What do we tell the children?”

Afterall, if you play by the rules and run a race fair and square, you loose, then you cannot just change the rules and keep playing.

So what do you tell the children?

YEAH – a post went through from the laptop!

I may go back to having a side fling with the NYT after all. That editorial and that one backing Lamont, were so spot on.

Congrats to all the FDLers. The blogs may not have made a huge difference to CT, but CT made a huge difference to the “irate moderates” reading the blogs and talking “amongst themselves” bc of a media and party that seemed to have lost a connection with truth and values.

Jane,

Thanks so much for all of your work on this race. You deserve a lot of credit. Take care.

Now that we’ve done this, is it possible at all to get folks to take a look at Bush loyalist Gov. Doofinator here in California and get rid of him too?

He is faking a centrist line to get re-elected – once he does he’ll become an “out” Bushie once again. Please, stop the madness.

Good news; the powers that be turns out to be the people.

And the people are fed up. (Just ask Cynthia McKinney).

Actually, the people are Really fed up. (See http://www.Amendmente.com)

Especially in this area – http://www.FamilyLawCourts.com/judging.html

“For the sake of our state, our country and my party, I cannot and will not let that result stand.”
_____

The HELL with the expressed will of the people.

The arrogance is this asshole is turning me into a venomously rabid angry polarized moderate extremist. And I’m not even a Wealthy Multimillionaire Cable TV Businessman.
_

What kind of karma is it that Lieberman lost on the same day Delay “made way for a write-in candidate”? With Scalia putting the shiv into Texas GOP efforts?

Ultimately, Tom Delay out of politics, that’s a beautiful thing.

I think only Bill Clinton can convince him. Where are you Bill?

You might be right … oh shit – J-Pod is on WNYC re: this race and just said he wasn’t a professional Republican. Feh!

Blumenthal just on msnbc talking about the alleged hack attack and the fact that his office is taking it very seriously.

Blonde bobblehead repeatedly calling it a ‘hack’ job and no mention of any other reason for the site going down.

Thank you Jane and ‘ere’s hoping you get a nice celebratory brunch (with warm pumpkin muffins) and some cool, crisp sheets to envelope you shortly…

So many people to thank and so much work ahead that I am so looking forward to!!! Reclaiming our country sure feels good.

Penman: Yes, Lamont will win, but this race will suck out oxygen, embolden the Rovian right, and waste our time.

Your point is well-taken, but I’m a little more optimistic about the situation for the moment. The polling I saw that shows Leiberman doing well in a three-way race was also taken back when he was also polling ahead of Lamont. He has more to contend with now: he’s lost once, he’ll lose the Democratic party’s support along with most of its precinct organization, and even if the Republicans in Connecticut decide to tacitly support him (a big if, given L’s history in state politics), that would further cut into his base of support in the Democratic Party. I won’t believe he has much of a chance until I see polls taken about a week from now, when his abandonment of the party has had a chance to sink in. The we should decide whether all the Republican’s old “Sore Loserman” merchandise needs to be retasked.

Some should make an ad of a child playing a game, losing, then changing the rules.

Say it with me:

WHAT DO WE TELL OUR CHILDREN????

WHAT DO WE TELL OUR CHILDREN????

WHAT DO WE TELL OUR CHILDREN????

Oh Jane! You must be utterly exhausted.

We THANK YOU so very much!

Those of us “just sittin’ around” watching the numbers were indeed getting antsy as the gap narrowed, then narrowed s’more last night.

And THEN it held, & it HELD s’more — hearts were in our throats twd the end.

YOU DID IT! NED DID IT!
And Pach et al. were dead-on accurate. It took every ounce of the energy & smarts you guys brought to the task, but it WORKED!

WE ARE SO PROUD, and SO GRATEFUL!

{{{{{THANK YOU ALL}}}}}

priller @ 23

Take care of yourself, Jane. You’ve done a great job.

Ditto priller plus love.

EPU’d –

Next Steps:

We all need to do the following today:

1. Email or call Harry Reid and ask that Lieberman be stripped of all his committee assignments as he is no longer a Democrat.

2. Email or call our local Democratic representatives and strongly state our demand that they publicly support and endorse Ned Lamont as the Democratic candidate for Senate in Connecticut and denounce Lieberman’s betrayal of the party.

3. Brainstorm here at FDL about ALL possible ways to apply pressure to politicians who may be on the fence with regard to Lieberman. Now is the time, folks. We need to shape public opinion immediately before Lieberman can develop any sort of momentum. His selfish desire to get a “do-over” must be made dead on arrival.

4. Keep a running list of who has stood up for Ned Lamont as the Democratic nominee for Senate.

5. Also, as importantly, keep tabs on WHEN each Democrat came forward with an explicit endorsement of Ned Lamont.

We need to let Democrats know that they need to act FAST to get on the side of Lamont. Any delay will be noted and remembered for a long time to come. This is significant because such delays aid Lieberman by giving him time to shape the narrative in his favor.

Any Democrat in office needs to get on the public record YESTERDAY about Ned Lamont, in clear, forceful, and unambiguous terms. They must be made fully aware that if they sit on their hands regarding their support for Ned Lamont this race for ANY LENGTH OF TIME, we won’t forget about it.

I really expected something like this graphic to accompany this post.

He should be called to task for most likely false claims his site was hacked, and preferably mixed to Ted Steven (R – Alaska) who essentailly has oversight of the internet in his “its like a series of tubes” speech.

$15 a month for the web site what an idiot.

The win was a good one for democracy, but the effort needs to be made in 50 states x100 in the next few months.

PS. I noticed your website was “hacked” last night – by hacked I mean slow since the site saw a lot of traffic due to —gasp— an election last night.

I would advise that you upgrade before Nov 1st or your site will go down the day before, the day of, and the day after the election this November.

I would advise Loeloser to suck it up and make a few million with the defense lobby.

Best $50 I ever contributed. The beginning of the end for Republicans? One can only hope (and keep on contributing, writing LTEs, GOTV, etc.). woohoo!

http://www.Salon.com

Also there to support the incumbent was Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal, who was less enthusiastic. Asked whether he was confident Lieberman would prevail, Blumenthal, who had endorsed the senator, replied that he was “never confident of anything in a political campaign.”

Blumenthal may also be called upon to oversee an investigation into an issue that dominated much of the campaign’s last day, the alleged hacking of Lieberman’s campaign Web site, which began experiencing technical problems Monday night. The Lieberman campaign has filed a complaint with Blumenthal’s office.

draw your own conclusions …

Please don’t use the neologism “Lieberman Democrat”. If he does not accept the primary results, he is no longer a Democrat, and cannot be allowed to pose as one. He has the right to run as an independent or Repub, of course, but he’ll have to throw his rhetorical firebombs from outside our tent, not inside.

Jane: Re: Dems backing Joe: “It’s a stupid, shortsighted and solipsistic construct.”

Damn, I wish I had said that. Solipsistic is one of my favorite words (German Philosophy 201). Solipsism: theory that only the self exists.

I remember Liebnitz and his ’solipsistic monads,’ existing out there all by themselves, disconnected…like Joe Lieberman?

*ilson you are the sneak aren’t ya? Love the sites. Sweeeeeeeeeeet.

“He’s not a democrat anymore. He’s not an independent democrat. He’s running on the Connecticut for Liberman ticket.“

That’s absolutely right jayackroyd. Joe and Democrat cannot share the same space any longer. This has to be drilled home everywhere. We need to put as much pressure on this situation as humanly possible in a short amount of time. We need to get him out of the picture as quickly as possible. The Dems have to make him feel completely cut off. No more policy meetings, no more dinners, no more committees, nothing. He is a self-centered outsider now and deserves to be treated as one.

Sluff him off like dead skin.

your title is what I wrote to Hillary and Schumer last night….

are you a Lamont Democrat or a lieberman democrat.

this morning the DSCC is STILL touting Lieberman as the democratic candidate….if you call Schumer’s office to ask about who he plans to support they get mighty testy (i know, i called the NY office and the DC office)

seems Schumer has still not made up HIS mind which kind of democrat he is….a democrat who supports our party and the will of our voters or a democrat who stands with the man (in the red tie) who gave us the finger from his concession/i need republicans now podium speech

Senator Schumer needs to be flooded by calls today with people asking him the question WHICH KIND OF DEMOCRAT ARE YOU….one that stands with the voters of our party or one that stands with the man who told us to basically F Off…and wore a red tie while doing it.

1-888-355-3588….
the TOLL FREE congressional switchboard

I agree with dratty @17 and with Jane too. If Lieberman drops out, I am happy to see him in cabinet in 2008, but I doubt very much that he will drop out if polls have him anywhere near having a chance. My strong suspiciaon is that the Repubs will force out their nominee after it is too late to name a replacement, Lieberman will pretend not to care, and then caucus with the Republicans after he is elected. It is, after all, likely his last term regardless and he will imagine that he is doing all this to save the world.

*ilson46201 @
42

http://www.ConnecticutForLieberman.com
http://www.LiebermanForConnecticut.com

You know, *ilson, those sites are good candidates (ha!) for some Google bombs. Maybe one for Douchebag. Another for Asshat.

Consider it.

The only person who could convince Joe not to run as an independent is, of course:

His BFF George W. Bush.

I really hope the Democrats in the House and Senate can talk Joe out of the race. Who the hell wants to see him running in his Independs?

They just read my email on Diane Rehm!!!!
WHOOO HOOOO

but then they blew off the substance….

effin brilliant:

*ilson46201 @ 42

http://www.ConnecticutForLieberman.com
http://www.LiebermanForConnecticut.com

Are you a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?

thank you jane. thank you and, did i say, thank you?
you’re the stick that stirs the drink. you did say you’d gotten thin, right?

you’re our battlefield general (appologies to the General. he may be our Robert E. Lee, but you’re our Nathan Bedford Forrest, as it were). in that vein we all say, what do we do next sir/ma’am?
send us off to meet the battle, and you crash for a few days and trough it up at least twice a day.

There are more numerous “smart” Republican voters. They are pretty sure their guy is a loser, but everyone I heard on the call-ins said they would vote for Joeloser.

This of course because he gives them almost everything they need.

I wish they had a sore loser law like in Ohio.

I actually thinking lieberman CAN’T run for senator if he wants to be on a vp ticket

two loosing campaigns would make it hard to put him on a ticket

I’m thinking he “withdraws for the good of the party” and then accepts some kind of post.

liiiikkkeeee

oh, I don’t know

secretary of defense?

then on to the whitehouse

Okay, now I’m calmed down.

It was pretty much that Lieberman has been supporting the Pres, saying he was elected so get over it, and that Lamont won with about the same percentage as Bush, so Lieberman is being a hypocrite etc.. then some heated stuff.

Heh

Tag?

I looked up ‘Concern Troll’ in the DMSV-IV
and Lieberpuss was staring right back at me

Musical Editorial

How To Handle The Right Wing

Oh, and Jane. There’s a lot going on right now, tis true. But do yourself a favor if you can…

Take a nice 2-3 day break. Really. We all need you healthy and ready to go as we get closer to November. Don’t hurt yourself in the warmups before the big race.

Just take a short break for now…pamper yourself for a little while, you deserve it.

It’s not about explaining things to Lieberman. He’s obviously made the calculus that he can betray the Democratic party and still retain his Senate seat – with the help of powerful interest groups and Rethug operatives. It’s clear that retention of the Lieberman Seat is more important to Lieberman than the Democratic Party. And if he can’t retain the seat then he will be happy to be a Nader and act as spoiler. Pathetic. Vomitous. And he doesn’t give a shit.

Sooooo-o-o, I think that there has to be brass-knuckle politics brought to bear. I don’t know what those might be but I’m hoping that folks like Rahm Emmanuel do…those are the only tactics that Lieberman will understand. Maybe being stripped of the committee assignments is a place to start. Who knows…but I think they have to strike early and hard.

*ilson –

What about LiebermanForLieberman & Lieberman4Lieberman?

Truth in advertising, and all that . . .

Oh wait — this is Joe Lieberman we’re talking about.

Truth has nothing to do with it — nevermind . . .

Breaking News From Atrios:

Posted by Atrios

From email:

Democratic Leader Harry Reid and DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer issued the following joint statement today on the Connecticut Senate race:

“The Democratic voters of Connecticut have spoken and chosen Ned Lamont as their nominee. Both we and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) fully support Mr. Lamont’s candidacy. Congratulations to Ned on his victory and on a race well run.

“Joe Lieberman has been an effective Democratic Senator for Connecticut and for America. But the perception was that he was too close to George Bush and this election was, in many respects, a referendum on the President more than anything else. The results bode well for Democratic victories in November and our efforts to take the country in a new direction.”

Thanks whomever … we’ll never take back the House if we don’t close our tags …

Duncan Black

Democratic Leader Harry Reid and DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer issued the following joint statement today on the Connecticut Senate race:

“The Democratic voters of Connecticut have spoken and chosen Ned Lamont as their nominee. Both we and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) fully support Mr. Lamont’s candidacy. Congratulations to Ned on his victory and on a race well run.

“Joe Lieberman has been an effective Democratic Senator for Connecticut and for America. But the perception was that he was too close to George Bush and this election was, in many respects, a referendum on the President more than anything else. The results bode well for Democratic victories in November and our efforts to take the country in a new direction.”

Oh man, I so need a massage. And we need to send Jane on vacation. *g*

I only have two contemptuous words for Holy Joe and his “I”ndependent bid:

Ralph Fucking Nader

OK three, but who’s counting?

There is no “I” in team, but independent starts there.

Go Lamont!!! What a great day!

Lieberman’s actions today are so transparently selfish, and he has placed himself in a logic paradox you read about in high school — the mere fact that he wants to WIN as an independent become the reasons he will LOSE.

Well, it’s a start, but what about his committee assignments? His key to the Dem washroom, etc?

This sure feels better than the day after…

Ciro ; )

Whewwwwww!!! Wooo Hoooo!!!!

It will have to come down to Clinton to talk some sense into Joe, but I think ol’ Bill will let Lieberman twist in the wind from hoisting himself on his own petard…for a while. For the fun of it.

You know, Bill has been waiting for a day to get even with Joe for that Monica business. He’s gonna make this moment last. And savor it.

Count on it.

Why do people have such a hard time realizing this primary is about more than one thing? It starts with Bush, but it also ripples out from there to many, mnay issues.
My sincere admiration goes to Jane who is willing to lighten up on Joe this morning. I’m still furious that he’s got that web page up and that he’s stomping all over our democracy. I will work on lightening up on him, too. He is obviously in a world of hurt.

Thanks whomever … we’ll never take back the House if we don’t close our tags …

we will never take the house if we don’t do something about electronic voting

this is a FACT and this HAS to be the next roots project

Good on Schumer and Reid. Finally!

That this was even in question tells us all we need to know about Schumer, especially. I might just move to New York, to let him know I haven’t forgotten.

Reid and Schumer, via Atrios:

Joe Lieberman has been an effective Democratic Senator for Connecticut and for America. But the perception was that he was too close to George Bush and this election was, in many respects, a referendum on the President more than anything else.

Perfect language. Chimes with Emanuel. Uses Joe as the coathook on which to hang the election: ‘bye-bye, Bush buddies’.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 94

Oh man, I so need a massage. And we need to send Jane on vacation. *g*

Tell us how we have to convince Mr. Redd and we’ll take care of it for you! With Jane though…I think we’re going to have to put something in her drink, put her in a case, and ship her to Rio. She’s got a full head of steam going right now…gonna be hard to shut that down.

And the Bush administration will continue to drown in it’s self-made sea of nightmarish solipsism. And that’s why we will beat the Republicans this fall and will pummel them in 2008. And the DLC must go along with Joe.

CNN is planning to feature the tear-wrenching wife of a captured Israeli soldier — considering Israel still holds several thousand Lebanese prisoners from their 18-year military occupation of Southern Lebanon, surely CNN could interview a grieving Lebanese woman missing her husband?

Suggest we do not get too far out on the $15 a month website meme until more facts are in. One of the hosting company reps claims the Lieberman site had sufficient bandwith. You take it from there.

TPMCafe has a reasonably technological post on the issue today. Assuming this was not a hack job but technological glitches, the problem appears more to be their apparent failure to migrate successfully to a new server/host, and also shameful negligence as to security precautions.

This from a man who wants to save us from terrorism, he cannot secure his own website.

And of course, the hysterical charges following the event, filing a complaint with the Attorney General, thus opening the door to some potentially embarassng revelations. And now the FBI is in the act because of the potential of a crime that crosses state borders. Talk about self-destructing.

If Lieberman wants to make any kind of respectable run as an Indy, his first order of business is to get rid of his campaign managers, but he is then between a rock and a hard place, because he would have to put together a team in the next few days.

With Sean Smith at the helm, Lieberman can look forward to sailiing forth in a very leaky boat.

If Joe has any dignity remaining (questionable), he should drop out by the end of the week.

Agsmabble @
12

Thank you for your efforts in bringing us to this refreshing point. You note: “Colin McEnroe and Lowell Weicker both think that if Lieberman continues in the race it will only be in league with the GOP and I agree that it is his only chance. Is Joe willing to go that far to stay in the Senate?”

Maybe this is the question: Is Joe willing to go that far to keep Lamont out of the Senate?

I think it’s both. I think that Lieberman has clearly shown he’s a sore loser and really only has his OWN interests in mind and not that of the greater Dem. party.

It’s rather sickening to think about.

Let’s hope for a miracle, shall we?

And, as suggestions have been floating around various blogs, we need to start phoning our Congresscritters and tell them to remove Joe from his committees…. If he’s not really a Dem, then he should reap the benefits.

Here’s the links and numbers to use to call:
http://www.senate.gov/general/…..rs_cfm.cfm
http://www.congress.org/congre…..nd=congdir
TOLL-FREE CONGRESSIONAL SWITCHBOARD: 888-355-3588

I would have preferred the reid shummer statement to read;(emobldened are the changes

Joe Lieberman has been an effective Democratic Senator for Connecticut and for America. But the perception was that he was too close to George Bush and what his policies have done to this country

this election was, in many respects, a referendum on the President’s polices which have deconstructed this republic, her santity, her economy her our armed forces, and the respect around the world we once enjoyed as an inpartial broker of world events more than anything else.

someone please typo my post for spelling ann grammer, would much appreciate

Congratulations to Ned, Tom Swan, Jane, and the firepups !! Great job! I doubt you need to worry about whether the Clintons and the rest of the power players in the party are going to tell Joe to take a hike. His gall is either delusional, quixotic, fake, or just plain mean-spirited at this point, but I am sure that it cannot hold up until the election, although there may be quite a bit of corporate republican trouble-making money flowing into his campaign over the next few days. We’ll see. I know I’ve pooh-poohed some of the Lamont frenzy over here, but I’ve always been a supporter. I hope that we can use some of your amazing energy to push some more progressive candidates and issues around the country.

Can we stop the war(s) now?
jim

Thank you Jane, and all your readers and fellow bloggers for keeping up the pressure. I’m in the Deep South and obviously couldn’t vote for Lamont, but his win (and Leiberman’s loss) may be a turning point in the madness and death spiral that the U.S. seems to have plunged into. I’m so ready for November, and I’ll continue to read your wonderful blog.

EPU’d…I’m too slow:
Does Joe have 7500 signatures and have they been verified?
How many are registered Republicans?
Can he use funds generated by Democrats to run as an Independent?

He should have to fight for his bid to run as an Independent – every move he makes from this point forward should be challenged. His rabid need for power will further alienate him from Democrats in CT.

And another question: When he submits these signatures, is he automatically an Independent? If so, Senate Democrats need to immediately treat him as an Independent.

Congratulations to Ned Lamont, who EARNED the support of his state to represent Connecticut Dems in the election in November, and represent DEMOCRATS in the Senate next year.

I witnessed the most disgusting display this morning from Joe LIE-berman on cable news.
He was adamant on CNN: “No, No, No! I will NOT drop out! I AM going to run as an Independent!”

So, Joe Lieberman, who has represented Connecticut in the Senate for 18 years, will now be THE FORMER DEMOCRAT WHO TAKES A SEAT AWAY FROM THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN THE SENATE!

That is the most DISGUSTING, SELF-SERVING, ARROGANT ACT I can imagine. It will be stabbing HIS OWN PARTY in the back a thousand times. The Republicans will love it, of course, and they’ll work hard to take that seat away from the Democrats, no matter Joe’s breezy comments about “caucasing with the Democrats” in the Senate.

Here’s a clue, Joe: If you take that seat AWAY from the DEMOCRATS, there won’t be ONE DEMOCRAT WHO WILL SPEAK TO YOU, much less “caucus” with you.

It is just the epitome of Joe Lieberman’s ARROGANCE that he thinks of NO ONE BUT HIMSELF AT ALL TIMES.

1,236 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…

Citizen Hamsher:

I usually bow ta yer foresight and political insights and instincts but in this case I think that the conventional wisdom of even some a those on the progressive end of things is wrong…I believe that the best thing that could happen to the Democratic Party and , by extension, the worst thing that could happen to the fascists, both nationally and in Connecticut, is for Joe to puff himself up with his ego and AIPAC money and run as an independent. The Democrats would be forced ta do what they shoulda done 6 years ago and unite behind a message of progressive national unity. The fascists will be split in Connecticut and Joe will get less than half a the Dems he got in the primary.

This is Karl Rove’s worst nightmare, to expose the chiffon underbelly of the fascist machine and to let folks identify as Democrats united against Bush fascism.

So “bring it on” Joe…getcher whiney, Quisling ass out there in the street and take the Likud Democrats and DLCers with ya.

KEEP THE FAITH THAT WE MAY HAVE JOE TA KICK AROUND FER ANOTHER 3 MONTHS!!

I’m predicting joe thinks twice about an indepenany bid

if he goes that route and looses he will poison his position as a white house candidate

Take a look at the stories and polls, the MSM does not get it – of is yet again forcing poop on people.

Darkblack, we seriously need a picture, from behind, of Joe sitting in front of a makeup mirror preparing his next face.

Well, maybe not…

squirrel hiller @ 31

Maxine Waters will always have my support.

Yes, I had the pleasure of meeting her at the Norwalk office last Saturday. She shook each and every person’s hand and said a few words – definitely a class act.

And how telling that Lierman singled her out for his scorn. He is a vindictive, thin-skinned jerk.

Last nite on WTIC radio Lowell Weicker, Jr. made it clear he was adamant about getting Indy’s for Lamont full throttle.

me to me @ 115

I’m predicting joe thinks twice about an indepenany bid

if he goes that route and looses he will poison his position as a white house candidate

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! (wait a second)
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

RE: electronic voting machines

I almost forgot to vote in the primary yesterday, and made it 15 minutes before the polls closed. (nothing much on the ballot, but still)

Anyway, they had the new Sequoia electronic touch screen voting machines, with permanent paper ballot record — it was way cool!!!

They checked my precinct, gave me an electronic card, and the screen brought up only the races I was eligible to vote on. And then, the best part — it printed all of my vote selections on paper, and asked me to confirm that it was correct before it registered the vote.

The new generation machines are very good — if we can just past the hack-tackular Diebold crap.

Take a look at the stories and polls around the web and on the news, the MSM does not get it – or is yet again forcing poop on people.

Either that or its like they never heard of free speech, or the electoral process, or what a BLOGGER is! Maybe the Soccer Mom to NASCAR Dad to LIBERAL BLOGGER is a great story!

jim, I meant on the republican ticket

he obviously can’t run as a democrat, but as a vp candidate for mccain, that might look attractive to republicans

I can’t tell you how proud I am of Jane, Christy, the other FDL writers, site commentators, Lamont campaign and of course the people of CT.

“This is an incredible victory tonight. Ordinary people showed that no politician – even a snake like Lieberman with every single advantage – is above American democracy.”

Yay David Sirota !

Yay Ned Lamont !

Yay Jane Hamsher !

Yay American Democracy !

Yay Firepups !

Yay all the dedicated field workers !

Yay firedoglake !

Yay my new puppy who has no name ! (I’ve already suggested Ned but the famdamily says no).

Why doesn’t Lieberman just run as an R? Huh?

The Connecticut republicans were asked last year if they wanted him, and they said NO.

(channel Ted Stevens here)

NO!

I think a couple of days of seeing one Dem after another put their support behind Ned is going to result in Joe taking himself out of the race. Hilary Clinton’s PAC ponying up $5,000 for Lamont is really putting her money where her mouth is, and I think that’s just the first of many checks that are going to be made payable to Ned.

There’s gotta be a poll in the works on a three-way race, and if those numbers look bad, what will Joe be accomplishing by staying in? Especially if, as some suspect, the GOP pulls Schlesinger and substitutes a candidate who would be more viable.

======
Jane – blessings upon you and all who have worked so hard. It’s not just that you helped a great guy get the nomination of the party, it’s that you generated so much interest in the electoral process, and made us all feel more American than we have in a long time. Sleep, eat and recharge while you can, cuz this roller-coaster ride is moving to a new level!!!

Christy – find a day spa and a babysitter and GO! We can “discuss” among ourselves endlessly while you have a much-needed soak in the hot tub and a massage to end all massages…*g*

blogenfreude (#85):

Lionel! after all these years! At last I’ve found you! Slim Pickens Ghost!

great bloggensite by the way……………

verifying, combing and analyzing petition signatures is a well-known political task. The NedTeam has been preparing already … the petitions will not go unchallenged!

So very much Thanks to FDL!
I wrote to a progressive url I visit this AM:

Here’s hoping this one step takes US toward reviving the American Dream for ALL!

I tribute Lamont’s win to the Grassroots….Netroots………. people all over OUR GRAND COUNTRY who contributed and literally worked HARD to carve a pathway back toward LIBERTY and JUSTICE for ALL

and to those of us in CT. who ARE listening and watching and understanding what is truly happening in our country and world today!

So cheers and a toast to All of you who supported Ned Lamont, a humane being, who stands for ALL our countrymen!

Two CT Newspapers:
http://www.newhavenindependent…..shes_1.php

http://www.courant.com/

Poll: 60 percent of Americans oppose Iraq war

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/…..index.html

So does that mean 60% of Americans are now “far left, fringe, wackos”? Sure.

j.cro, agsmabble — yes, Joe’s continued quasi-indie run would be fueled with GOP help, although it won’t appear so on the face of it.

If you comb through the late contributions (funds received inside the last few days of Joe’s campaign), you see two big trends: donors who are aligned with single issue, and donors that give to BOTH parties. It’s this crowd that will be urged to donate more for the indie run because their donations will not take funds from GOP candidates’ races.

cbl @ 26,
What a beautiful post!
Jane, You are so important to all of us as is Christy. Please take the time to smell the flowers for a few days. Rest, and then let’s go get them in the less than 100 days to the election.

I can’t tell you how proud I am of Jane, Christy, the other FDL writers, FDL commentators, the Lamont campaign and of course the people of CT.

Sore Loserman mentioned the peerless maxine Waters in his “concession” (hah) speech last night, but he didn’t dare utter the name of She Who He Fears Most
– you Jane!

(In my best Bill Clinton voice)
Sorry Joe,You gotta go.

#34

I’d bet money that most of them were Republicans

I’d bet money that they have problems with some of the names on the petition. Just going by the general incompetence displayed thus far by Lieberman’s campaign staff.

folks, remember — No Purina LieberChow for the trolls this morning!

I’ve never said this before, but folks, if you’re so inclined, use our Paypal link up top, if you think we’ve earned it.

Wish I could remember where I found that link yesterday to the late donations to Joe-nertia’s race…fascinating stuff.

One family made $16,800 in donations — each kid gave the limit, each adult gave the limit — all on one day. And now that Joe’s “Democratic” race is done, he’s probably started a new PAC to which these folks can give the same amount again (at least I think that’s the case). Anybody up on their FEC regs? can you confirm it’s a limit to a single PAC and not by donor?

Norske at 115:

You might be right.

kerry is spot on;

“I’ve worked with Joe Lieberman since our days in college together,” Kerry said in a statement today, “and I respect his many contributions to our public life. But the Democratic Party stands for something, and the Democratic Party in Connecticut has made a choice.”

“The events of the past months make even more clear,” Kerry added, “the differences Democratic leadership would make for our country on Iraq, in making America safer, in having an economy that works for everyone, and in achieving energy independence. That’s who we are as Democrats, and that’s what we’ll be fighting for. It’s time for all Democrats to come together to support Ned Lamont. It’s time for Democrats to unite.”

I am curious as to how you (FDL) would evaluate the impact of the “blogs” on the Ned victory?

Would the impact be that it energized the grass roots to get out and vote?

How would the results have been different if there was no blogs behind Ned?

Speaking for myself, and being next door to CT and having some time I did work the polling place in Stamford for 6 hrs yesterday and make a cash donation early on. My source of “inspiration” was FDL and Kos, but I am not a voter in CT. I wonder how the voters were “reached”? Was it their genereal discontent or did the blogs grease the way for the truth to be told?

Too good to be lost in EPUland. A view from one of the civilized* countries: [*they actually go out and PROTEST when their elections are stolen]

kimba1970 @ 332

Believe me or not it was hard even for me, an Italian living on the other side of the world, to go to sleep yesterday without knowing how this election was going to end, I still remenber how this ended with Kerry … I have keep reloading the website till up to 2.38 am, but then my holiday is still 2 days away so I still have to go to work in the morning…

Ah! I have to admit that the first thing I did this morning was to connect to Firedoglake and take a quick peek at the result of the primary … and behold here I see the fireworks opening Trex post : NED WON ! What a great result! Maybe it sound that I am exaggerating but it was with a huge relief that I saw (finally!) that the political tide is changing in the USA: as someone else posted in the threads during this frantic day the USA I have seen in the news in the last 4-5 years in a scary sight and to see that, little by little, the good people are getting back in charge is something uplifting and inspiring. It is like having seen your best friend sliding down into dementia and madness with no way to stop him and suddenly you see the spark of intelligence coming back to his eyes: you know that is just that, a spark, but you also know that maybe there is way out. And madness is what has descended on the UsA under the Bush administration a contagious madness that has struck down so many of the good things that once were synonym with your nation: the war and the foolish international politics, the incredible arrogance that has led to negate fundamental right as the ones coming to the Geneva convention, the abomination of Abu Graib and Guntanamo (and I really cannot warp my mind around the fact that the people who let this last two things happen where not chased out of town with the maximum contempt… but I digress), the killing of thousand of USA soldiers and Iraqui without any clear reason or target (…no stupid neocon plan need to apply here…) and the list can go on and on.

You may say that I am leaping too much meaning and significance on a simple democratic state primary: well maybe but if I cannot have may faith back in the strength of the progressive and liberal side of the world from the Democratic party where should I go looking for that? In the action of people like Bush, Cheney and the rabid right wing side of the political aisle in general ? I have seen it happening here in Italy where with difficulty and with lot of changes still waiting to happen, a more progressive political approach was finally chosen by the majority (if barely) of the people. I am looking forward to see it happen in USA so that I can finally find myself at ease when looking up to the actions of what used to be the society symbol of the western society.

Gosh ! I have slipped in rant mode again.. Damn! I should watch myself more carefully !

;-)

Ok so thank to all of you Firepups (especially Jane, Christy, TRex, Pachacutec and the rest of the band) : great work with the site but most of all with the great community !

” Siete meravigliosi ! Continuate cosi’ perche’ e’ cosi’ che si fa la differenza e si lascia un segno nella storia ! “

And now please kick Joe’s **s in the general election !!!!

Question: can -we- rejoin the community of civilized nations? The world is watching…

Christy (#94): rub, rub, rub, rub, can you feeel it? jane must decompress. insist upon it. she’ll listen to you, i think.

L/J Aquaria (#99) what goes around, comes around, eh? Bill can make him understand though, if joe will take his advice. the waves of kharma just washed over joe last night. did he really expect any different?

Message to Bill Clinton: As you admonished the Deaniacs at the Harkin Steak Fry in 2003. You fell in love with Joe, now fall in line with Ned.

The American people are damned tired of wearing the blue dress for BushCo.

me to me (#116)

you mean, “poison his position as a candidate for dog catcher”, don’t you?

Lieberman democrat? Contradiction in terms.

Ned is the dem daddy now. There can be only one.

wild and vicious dogs would rejoice if Joe were elected dogcatcher — he’s so incompetent that he cant even manage a stable website!

Breaking: MSNBC reporting from Ned Lamont’s Unity Rally…including report that Chris Dodd will be tere

Lie berman = party of one

POO

gleex @ 117

Take a look at the stories and polls, the MSM does not get it – of is yet again forcing poop on people.

oh, they get it alright. they just want to piss in the punch bowl and hope ms. jane q. doesn’t get it. they play plenty dumb when it suits their purpose.

Scuse this OT, please, but could anyone who was around at the time please try to help me understand what this was about? Thanks.

Nauges Gris @ 231
August 9th, 2006 at 3:11 am

Forgive me for any offenses….I apologize to those who might have misunderstood me…..

“Music embodies feeling without forcing it to contend and combine with thought, as it is forced in most arts and especially in the art of words. If music has one advantage over the other media through which a person can represent the impressions of the soul, it owes this to its supreme capacity to make each inner impulse audible without the assistance of reason… Music presents at once the intensity and the expression of feeling. It is the embodied and intelligible essence of feeling, capable of being apprehended by our senses. It permeates them like a dart, like a ray, like a mist, like a spirit, and fills our soul.”

FJL

Goodbye EJK my Rose

new Jane thread

Joe Lieberman hugs a Big Pharma Lobbyist, just before telling Democrats to go Cheney themselves.

YEAHHHH.. i was veryhappy to see Ned won.. I remember earlyon when Franken and Sam Seder gave him some run.. Way to go Ned.. none of the teevee heads gave u a chance.. Sad to hear about cynthia Mckinney but things are always harder in the south hahaha!!!!

*ilson, after that blowout last night, I, for one, am keeping all the leftover Purina for me.

tas.ty. too. if. i. hold. my. nose. hard. enough.

A check from Hillary Clinton’s HILLPAC is being cut to Ned Lamont for five thousand dollars. She’s the first one to be counted on and make good on her promise to support the winner of the Connecticut primary. We can only hope that the rest of the Democratic Party stands behind Ned in his bid to win the Senate seat.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/

egregious – thankyou for kimba’s epu –

it. is. that. important.

Thanks to all who made it a good day to wake up in America. Get the sleep and good food you deserve and be well.

DefJef(144). Personally? Ned’s personal appearances plus commercials and mailings. Those have to be followed up wth a lot of calls and canvassing. A lot of voters in CT–in
fact a surprising amount, particularly the elderly and poor –have no web access or limited access (like if they can get to the library, etc.) That’s really the only way to ensure reaching voters. The blogs like FDL provided great coverage, morale, support, mojo and communication and a lot of great ideas and energy IMHO.

DefJef @ 144

My source of “inspiration” was FDL and Kos, but I am not a voter in CT. I wonder how the voters were “reached”? Was it their genereal discontent or did the blogs grease the way for the truth to be told?

Connecticut Dems have been disgusted by Lieberman since 2000 when he decided to hold his seat while running as a VP candidate. It’s been clear for some time that Lieberman is for Lieberman. He alienated a lot of local politicians and CT constituents. So this truly was a grassroots rebellion.

Blogs, etc. helped considerably in terms of building support and gaining attention. Even today, there’s an article on CNN.com (written by Crowley et al) that focuses entirely on Lieberman and his claims about horrible left-wingers and hardly mentions Lamont at all.

Ned Lamont’s victory reminds me of something the unforgettable Barbara Jordan (my all-time hero) said when Ann Richards first campaigned for governor of Texas:

The people are back!

Let’s make that our mantra from now through 2008.

jr @ 11

I don’t post very often, but I just had to relate this story:

My 7 year old son watched the Lieberman faux-concession speech with me, and asked me to explain. I didn’t know what to say. We try so hard to get him to follow the rules, and here’s this man on TV blatantly rewriting the rules as he goes along.

I think everybody needs to ask the question:

WHAT DO WE TELL OUR CHILDREN, JOE?

I don’t believe Joe can be shamed.

And Jane you are far more generous (and tired, no doubt) toward than I feel I can be. I do not trust him at ALL. He showed his true colors in 2000 when he ran for his senate seat while running for vice prez. I’m sure everyone knows that had he won the vice presidency (another topic) he would had his senate seat re-assigned by A Rebulican governor. He’s a self-interested prick to the nth degree. Just what I think.

*ilson46201 @
150

wild and vicious dogs would rejoice if Joe were elected dogcatcher — he’s so incompetent that he cant even manage a stable website!

but,but……we’re wild and viscious, aren’t we? are we not dogs?

thin, pale and a bit cranky…

ms. hamsher, are you trying to seduce me? :^)

seriously, great job to all. but going forward we must continue to push back against the notion of the angry lefty bloggers. this is simply untrue.

what are the netroots? like minded people with an internet connection. that’s it. this isn’t political, it is a technological revolution that will be here forever. what did pols and pundit think would happen when huge swaths of the population became wired together and could exchange ideas and organize around common principles and raise money? this is all just another step forward in mass communication which has always had an effect on politics. calling us the angry bloggers is the start of another gop-serving meme like the “liberal media”. let’s knock it down now before we’re stuck with it for the next thirty years…

Do you think the blogs brought national focus to the Ned Challenge which would have largely been ignored and forced Joe to actually run in the primary instead of just taking a pass?

I do believe the blogs have had a tangible impact, but I can’t quite identify it.

Even if it isn’t actual votes, perhaps it will be a wake up to other candidates and races around the country.

But Ned had big bucks… and so we still have a way to go where John Q Citizen can mount a challenge to an incumbent. No?

Someone who is close to the action needs to be writing a book on this Senate race. Many great lessons that need to be shared.

lotus @ 158

*ilson, after that blowout last night, I, for one, am keeping all the leftover Purina for me.

tas.ty. too. if. i. hold. my. nose. hard. enough.

lotus,

just stay out of the street, o.k.?

Yes dab, it seems there was a gradual conversion. starting way back, some of the older folks started taking issue with Lieberman over Clarence Thomas. The musically inclined took issue over censorship and so on and so on. Lieberman really planted the seeds of his own political demise in CT starting waaaay back.
Oh I forgot triangulation with blog and media important too.

I don’t post often here, and when I do finish one of my hunt and peck efforts I find that the point I wanted to make has been made by the time I hit post. Usually better said by several others. I do read nearly all of the comments although I’m so far behind that I rarely come to a post with fewer than a hundred comments. This site has grown fast and is having problems keeping up with the load, much like the the orange site in the run up to the 2004 elections. I still read dozens of blogs a day but find myself coming back to FDL to dwell among the regulars, albeit at my usual remove.

When the site is down do to traffic I realize there are many here who are like me, unheard, rooting from the sidelines as it were.

I just hit the PayPal button and sent FDL a decent (for me) contribution, hoping it will go towards site upgrades. I hope that all of you here reading this will do the same. Remember that ideas and community bring us, but the infrastructure can’t be ignored. I hate it when I open the tap for a cool glass of water and get only a hollow sounding gurgle. Please chip in and YaY for FDL.

alittlemusicalityplease @ 164

Ned Lamont’s victory reminds me of something the unforgettable Barbara Jordan (my all-time hero) said when Ann Richards first campaigned for governor of Texas:

The people are back!

Let’s make that our mantra from now through 2008.

two finer democrats never existed.

CT Dem Unity rally, live on CSpan now

-ck- @
122

RE: electronic voting machines

I almost forgot to vote in the primary yesterday, and made it 15 minutes before the polls closed. (nothing much on the ballot, but still)

Anyway, they had the new Sequoia electronic touch screen voting machines, with permanent paper ballot record — it was way cool!!!

They checked my precinct, gave me an electronic card, and the screen brought up only the races I was eligible to vote on. And then, the best part — it printed all of my vote selections on paper, and asked me to confirm that it was correct before it registered the vote.

The new generation machines are very good — if we can just past the hack-tackular Diebold crap.

…and where does the paper receipt go after you’ve voted? Are there paper records for you and the election board? Any machine can be hacked so that they’ll display and print out what you punch in, but they will register something else in the tally.

Optical scan, if you HAVE to use a machine to count your votes, is the best possible solution thus far, IMO.

HopespringsATurtle @ 165

jr @ 11

I don’t post very often, but I just had to relate this story:

My 7 year old son watched the Lieberman faux-concession speech with me, and asked me to explain. I didn’t know what to say. We try so hard to get him to follow the rules, and here’s this man on TV blatantly rewriting the rules as he goes along.

I think everybody needs to ask the question:

WHAT DO WE TELL OUR CHILDREN, JOE?

I don’t believe Joe can be shamed.

And Jane you are far more generous (and tired, no doubt) toward than I feel I can be. I do not trust him at ALL. He showed his true colors in 2000 when he ran for his senate seat while running for vice prez. I’m sure everyone knows that had he won the vice presidency (another topic) he would had his senate seat re-assigned by A Rebulican governor. He’s a self-interested prick to the nth degree. Just what I think.

true, but we show our true values when we know when to stop. he’s dead meat now. if he realizes it after a few days and crawls off to his hope we’ve done the better thing by not kicking him while he’s down. if he starts up the new campaign,”the p.o.o. party”*, then we start kicking him in the shins ’til he says uncle.

*party of one (somebody said a few posts back)

jeffreyw@172 – as you might have noticed, several of our esteemed colleagues have dumped the W from their names and replaced it with the *.

Welcome, bien venito, and may you continue to poke your head out from behind the lurker curtain. Thanks for putting your money behind your enthusiasm. Love your infrastructure analogy.

Connecticut (Sec. of state?) on CSPAN – Forty-three percent turnout in CT! Woohoo! (Did she say the “party of death” of the “party of depth?”)

i meant “crawls off to his hole”

I think it would be presumptuous to say that Jane was the reason Lamont won – however, had Jane not done her thing, Lamont would not have won. Thank you Jane for leading the charge against the neocons – one victory at a time.

Glen Greenwald has Joe on the money in Salon:

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/

Please read it.

Congratulations Ned Lamont! Thank you very much Jane and Christy for showing us there is still hope for our democracy! The other thing I learned is that websites cost $$$, so like Pach mentioned, I’m gonna show FDL the money!

if you haven’t seen it, a little video joy from ConNEDticut Bob

http://ctbob.blogspot.com/2006…..-some.html

Christy, do get a massage. Jane, you too. Both of you please, take care of yourselves.
I’d really like to see you take a couple-3 days off to recharge…float down a stream in an innertube, eat empanadas, watch the Muppet Show, sleep, whatever makes you de-stress. Get The General and some other bloggers in here to cover.
(OK, so now you know what makes me de-stress, lol. ;-)

http://americablog.blogspot.co…..ty-as.html

National politics and national pundits aren’t going to sway Connecitcut voters so folks keep your focus on people in your state and in your backyard.

I don’t think many in Lisbon, Voluntown, or Ansonia care much about what the talking heads are droning on about.

angie,60:”Blumenthal just on msnbc talking about the alleged hack attack and the fact that his office is taking it very seriously.”

Not to be picky, but as a Joe supporter Blumenthal needs to immediately recuse himself from any investigation by his office of an alleged hack attack on the Lieberman website, and we need to further insist that any references to the investigation call it either an “alleged hack attack,” or “an unplanned outage of service.” There is no irrefutable proof so far that it was indeed a hack attack or DOS. We need to point out that Blumenthal may be putting the cart before the horse. He needs to first find out whether in fact an attack took place, not assume that in fact there was, and he only needs to find the guilty party.

I recommend to Jane/Christy that FDL post a thread on this issue of whether Blumenthal can conduct an impartial investigation, given his closeness to Lieberman.

Their might be some who think we are kicking a dead horse on this service outage issue, but I disagree. Lieberman chose to make it a central issue and for Lamont supporters to ignore it is dereliction.

Remember, Lieberman’s vote count includes Repubs who switched sides to try to keep him in it — I was told by a Republican town committee member from New Britain that thousands switched registration to vote for Joe.

So his real support among Dems is even less than the vote tally shows.

Jane,

I totally feel you. I haven’t been sleeping or eating much either, and have been a bit cranky for the past few days, especially considering that I’ve been simultaneously elated. I’m not sure even your kind non-CT readers understand what we’ve just gone through energetically. It’s been a dogfight. Get some rest. I know I’m ready for some R&R.

I’ve posted my own mildly contrarian take on last night’s events at Zuky for folks who can’t stop feeding on Nedrenaline, in which I write:

As successive poll-data reports appeared on News 12 Connecticut on the TVs above the bar, the tavern roared with applause. When Lieberman took the podium for his concession, it was handshakes and hugs all around. And as Lamont delivered his victory speech, the bar-room grew silent. I sat in that wooden booth and soaked in the moment. It’s been an intense ride, and frankly I’m going to just bathe in the glow of this victory for at least a few days before hitting the grindstone again. I’m going to sit in my yard and barbecue. I’m going to look at the trees and the clouds and feel good about living in the great state of Connecticut.

Peace.

What is a Lieberman Democrat?

A Republican!

You know Lieberman’s not been a good Democrat for at least six years. When he was the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee he hedged his bet and remained a candidate for Senate in Conn. Now that he has announced his independence from the party he should be stripped of all his Senate committee appointments. Lieberman is no longer a Democrat.

Go Lamont!

Colin McEnroe and Lowell Weicker both think that if Lieberman continues in the race it will only be in league with the GOP and I agree that it is his only chance. Is Joe willing to go that far to stay in the Senate? Or will enough pressure be brought to bear on him today that it will offer him a reality check and enlighten him to the fact that his brand of politics is obsolete?

Wanted to thank all the FDL people who devoted themselves to this victory! We need some help in Colorado. Anyone ready for a different kind of experience in a beautiful place?

The thing that’s bothering me is why is this man hanging on to this Senate seat like it’s the end of the world? Doesn’t he have talent, skills, experience to make it in the real world?

I think he must. He must have huge connections after doing this work for so many years… What about doing something with Jewish charities? What about sitting on the board of a few of those corporate entities who filled his war chest with millions over the years?

I wonder if he has some kind of mental health issues. Do you think? It’s sad that he doesn’t understand that the people of CT have spoken for change. Is he so dependent upon the power that he feels from making decisions for others? Does he understand that people want something different?

Joe, Joe. I’m so sorry for him. He really doesn’t get it.

I saw Lieberman on CNN this morning, where he tagged Lamont as a “Maxine Waters Democrat.” Nothing like pandering to the racists, is there?

victoria2dc,
he has delusions of hauteur. I mean of grandeur. The hauteur is real.

Tim Burke @ 191

I saw Lieberman on CNN this morning, where he tagged Lamont as a “Maxine Waters Democrat.” Nothing like pandering to the racists, is there?

HoJo’s just trying to appeal to the Sean Hannity wing of the Democratic Party!

I am neither a Lamont Democrat or a Lieberman Democrat. I am an Andersen Democrat.

The question is whether the candidates I support are for me, not whether I am for them.

The thing that’s bothering me is why is this man hanging on to this Senate seat like it’s the end of the world? Doesn’t he have talent, skills, experience to make it in the real world?

Maybe its not a senate thing, but a Bush thing. Perhaps its not just a kiss, but Bush is “Under His Skin” to wit:

Ive got you under my skin
Ive got you deep in the heart of me
So deep in my heart, that youre really a part of me
Ive got you under my skin

Ive tried so not to give in
Ive said to myself this affair never will go so well
But why should I try to resist, when baby will I know than well
That Ive got you under my skin

Id sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of having you near
In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night
And repeats, repeats in my ear

Dont you know you fool, you never can win
Use your mentality, wake up to reality
But each time I do, just the thought of you
Makes me stop before I begin
cause Ive got you under my skin

Discovered Jane et al during Fitzmas. Lamont over Lieberman is even better. Can it be that people really do have power, one vote at a time, in our democracy? YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!

Dear firedoglake,

I do not know Jane, Christie, T. Rex and all of the excellent posters on your site, but I can only say that they have my deepest heartfelt thanks and kudos for their courageous and unrelenting expose of Joe Lieberman and their superb efforts in supporting Ned Lamont’s campaign. Not only that, but you were the first and onlynews source/blog to bring attention to Ned and the issues. Only much later did the MSM pick up on it.

As a downtrodden liberal full of seemingly impotent rage and frustration with my own party, It was like seeing the Lone Ranger ride in to rescue me. What can I say? “Thank you masked man, thank you. Thank you masked man!”

I know the fight is not over. I know that we must keep on keepin’ on. Thanks for leading the charge.

Lieberman is no longer a Democrat — he’s a Scab.

RUN, JOE, RUN!!!!!!!

Are you a LAMONT DEMOCRAT or a LIEBERMAN LAME DUCK?

Hoping that arm-twisting causes Joe to withdraw sooner, rather than later. Or that the Democratic leadership strips him of his committee assignments, if he’s now willing to be a Democrat and support his party’s nominee!

“Irate Moderates” — what a great ring, but not nearly rare. How soon can we fire up the button and bumper-sticker machines?

LJ/Aquaria @
21

From today’s NYT editorials(nailing it, for once):
. . . that rare phenomenon, irate moderates . . .

thanks jane & redd for your truly inspiring coverage.

me to me @ 143

kerry is spot on;

“I’ve worked with Joe Lieberman since our days in college together,” Kerry said in a statement today, “and I respect his many contributions to our public life. But the Democratic Party stands for something, and the Democratic Party in Connecticut has made a choice.”

“The events of the past months make even more clear,” Kerry added, “the differences Democratic leadership would make for our country on Iraq, in making America safer, in having an economy that works for everyone, and in achieving energy independence. That’s who we are as Democrats, and that’s what we’ll be fighting for. It’s time for all Democrats to come together to support Ned Lamont. It’s time for Democrats to unite.”

Would be VERY instrumental and COURAGEOUS if Kerry himself declares what a buffon he was to support the war. Problem I don’t trust or like Kerry either. So he has not shown ANY backbone. I hope the Dems are not thinking of offering him up again as our nominee. NO WAY! man is too rich to be in touch with anybody but the brahmins, which course Hillary is dying to be inducted.

Gang problem is we DON’T a horse to ride. I rode Dean but he self-destructed.

me to me @
46

mark my words

lieberman will run as mccain’s vp candidate

I said it, I didn’t say it first, but I’m calling it now

Unless McCain runs as Lieberman’s Republican VP candidate! How long after he’s been stripped of his Democratic committee chairs do you think it will take for Lieberman to switch sides? The Republicans don’t really trust McCain not to “pull a Goldwater” on them, and Joe’s now beholden to the Republicans, after all.