Login Here
Tim Tagaris has filled in a bit of the back story on the Connecticut Senate race and the Lamont campaign in a DKos diary. For those of you who have been asking questions and second-guessing campaign strategies and trying to figure out who did or did not do work for or against Lamont or Lieberman, this is a great place to start reading.
Tim Tagaris and Tom Swan and a whole host of other folks worked their butts off for Ned Lamont. And they deserve a lot of thanks from all of us for what they were able to help Ned to do in changing the election conversation on the problems in Iraq. Tim finishes this way, and I wanted to second what he says here:
This was the finest team I have ever worked with ... anywhere. Tom Swan is the kind of leader I would follow off a cliff, knowing that I was going off the cliff. Murphy, Rose, Melita, Peter and the field team built the very formidable organization Democratic Party leaders had only feared was possible when CCAG started looking for someone to challenge Joe Lieberman. The Communications staff was a joy. And let me add a note about the unfortunately way-too-much maligned Stephanie Cutter. She was fantastic. She sharpened our message and provided a professionalism to the communications staff not even remotely approached before her arrival. The local bloggers ... well, insert every possible positive adjective to describe the appeciation I have to have worked with that crew. Sirota: I would literally go into war against any candidate with this guy around knowing we had a shot and were fighting the good fight. National bloggers like Jane, Stoller, Markos and Atrios (and countless others) did heroic work in helping to shape a national narrative constructed by press invading the state from across the country.And then there is the candidate. Ned Lamont is one of the most earnest and sincere men I've ever met who had the courage to stand up to an 18 year incumbent within his own party when no one else would. The Senate would have been an immeasurably better place with his presence. He had the courage to run against Joe Lieberman when no one else would ... and he deserves all of our thanks.
To stand up and be counted can be a very difficult thing. To do so by putting yourself directly on the line is some serious courage.
Share This 
Spotlight
Tagaris!
Couldn’t be prouder of Ned and his team.
Christy!
FDL!
NED!
Was just there perusing the post-mortem…
He loves Teddy’s “JFK was my brother, and Joey 2Face is no JFK.” take.
—
As an aside, try imagining Teddy’s ire or whatever it is he feels having Arlen ‘Magic Bullet’ Specter chair Sen. Juciciary AND bending over for any/all Buch/Cheney extra-Constitutional finagling?
I would seethe every time the gavel struck.
——-
PS-J2Face will go w/Dem caucus. He has to. (Watch Homeland $$ flow to CT. That was one Ned poke that stuck, and will be addressed.) BUT, when he votes R. I expect at least one of Snowe/Collins/Specter to cross back over (thaey now are free to vote as they see fit.) Cancelling out Joey 2Face.
Just mho.
I just read that diary over at Kos, and based on it, Clark is now my favorite for 08.
big thanks to the Lamont team.
has there been any indication whether Ned will run for public office again?
Christy
I left a big FWIW post EPU’d below (#108 under “A Whole Lot Of Oops!”), on how it ‘felt’ for us during the campaign. (OH, with connections to a bunch of friends & family around the country and, thru them, to many others ;->).
Just curious how it jibes with others’ experiences, but too long to be worth repeating up here.
These analysis sessions you’re holding are a big big help to us non-pros. Soooo much wisdom here at the lake! THANKS to everyone!
Taking on Joe Lieberman was an audacious move, and one that Lamont and his team deserve tremendous credit for. If that election had been held under the rules in most states, Lamont would probably be the U.S. senator from Connecticut. Unfortunately, they had to play the game by Lieberman’s rules, thanks to the laziness of the national news organizations and the Democratic Party establishment. Being audacious usually means there’s a big risk of losing, but it sounds like many of the folks involved have no regrets. That’s good, because we’ll need them next time.
Sagacity @ 5
I have been a huge Clark fan from the start. There are several problems though. Last cycle he was fundraing off the Clinto connections. This cycle they will suck all the money away from him.
Also, I’ve heard his family is not on board with the idea.Damn shame. He seems to be the real deal.
At a post-mortum at Naples Pizza last Thursday (which I almost didn’t attend because I was still so tired) I had the opportunity to talk to Tim about the campaign and some of the reasons we hadn’t won.
For all of us there, a feeling of disappointment were still looming large, but there was also an undercurrent of pride; both for having accomplished as much as we did, and for doing it with humor, honesty and good sportsmanship.
Tim was very straightforward and didn’t try to sidestep any of my questions. I’m sure it was still somewhat painful for him to list the reasons he thought we lost. He didn’t shirk any responsibility; in fact, I think he assumed too much blame from what he was saying. He’s wrong about that…he really did a stellar job.
But that’s Tim for ya. He won’t sit around saying that other people are responsible for things not going right; he’ll try to figure out a way he can work harder to make them right.
It was a true pleasure and an honor to work with Tim. I doubt any campaign has ever had someone as their Internet coordinator who was so accomodating to the bloggers and made us feel welcome and provided us with such incredible access. I hope I get the chance to work with him again.
Agreed entirely, this post by Tim is enormously courageous, and incredibly helpful to the rest of the progressive community.
One of the biggest single differences between this NextGen Democratic Party and the old-school is transparency, as well as accountability. We demand both, we give both.
And Tim’s post is all that. It’s open source democracy, where we need to be, in full sunshine.
Bravo, Tim.
Whew. Glad that steam was let off. I for my part was really frustrated by local CT political types (like Dianne Farrell) who were ambivalent at best toward the Lamont campaign. It’s hard to describe the “loyalty to my friend Joe” that actually comes out sounding like guilty craven opportunism. That hurt the campaign. When volunteers were sent to certain unnamed local headquarters it had a bad effect.
Cujo359 @ 8
there’s some talk in the DKos comments about a “sore loser law”, starting here
punaise @ 6
I haven’t heard anything, but I hope he will. It’s for damned sure that they don’t come much better in this day and age.
We need a team like that in Illinois to give the frighteners to our own Joe-Bama… not to mention Emmanuel as well.
punaise @ 13
Hmmm. Any thoughts on the constitutionality of a law like that? I see the appeal, but I could see a sore loser law challenged on First Amendment grounds.
EvilDrPuma @ 16
I gather several states already have them. from that comment thread:
All you have to do to enact a sore loser law is change the filing date for an independent challenge to BEFORE the primary date, and make it clear you can only be filed as one party at a time.
That would eliminate the problem. CT is working on it.
OT, but if anyone has a chance please listen to Talk of the Nation on NPR with Lynn Neary and let me know if I’m the only one whose head wants to explode…
looseheadprop @ 9
I’d like to see him replace Pryor in ‘08.
punaise @ 17
Yes, I read that comment, and something about it lurks uncomfortably in the back of my mind. The existence of sore loser laws doesn’t guarantee their constitutionality, either. What I can imagine happening would be a ruling that while the Constitution does not guarantee the integrity of any political party apparatus, it does guarantee free speech and petition, which might be interpreted as including political candidacy without much handwaving.
I’m not saying I’m against sore loser laws, and I’m certainly in favor of the attitude they attempt to codify. I just wonder whether something like this will survive judicial scrutiny.
Connecticut Bob @
18
BINGO!
There should be a 50-state effort to get similar legislation passed ASAP, IMO!
Connecticut Bob @ 18
Okay, I can see that standing up to a challenge.
big shout out to CT Bob!
punaise @ 6
I asked Tim that question on the Kos diary. He doesn’t see Ned making another political run. He didn’t go into any detail.
Connecticut Bob @ 18
This approach I like. A law banning people from running for political office no matter the reason I would have a problem with.
Rayne @
11
Well said, and right on the mark.
Millineryman @ 26
Sure. The law should be unnecessary. HoJoe&Friends should have been too ashamed to run as independants. He didn’t have the party’s nomination. So running again exposed HoJoe for what he really is. . .
grayslady @ 25
thanks for the info. that’s too bad - many political leaders (good and bad) don’t get elected on their first attempt. maybe it’s just not his ambition.
there would be a huge netroots network of support in place if he did decide to pursue office. for his courage in taking on JoeLiarman, I’d support Ned even if he ran for dogcatcher.
It is really disappointing to see how the democratic establishment behaved to Ned. I am most dissapointed reading about Obama. That confirmed what I was thinking: That Obama is a low weight and he should not be considered a serious presidential candidate for 2008.
I’d support Ned again too. His campaign gave us hope and allowed us in CT to open up and air our grievances against the lies and the torture and the war. It made me proud to say he would not be taking money from lobbyists. Truly, we had a good man to support. He should give us another opportunity to do it again.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Obama. Lamont should have been a natural ally of his in putting a new, fresh, and optimistic face on the Democratic Party. In a lot of ways, it would have been a no lose situation for him. Backing Lamont because he’s a “good man” would have resonated and would have firmed up Obama’s credentials as a man with ideals, above the crass political calculation. But, of course, that is exactly what he is, a calculator to make Bill and Hillary proud.
I read with a certain amount of karmic glee about Obama’s “unusual” real estate deal in the post last night. This puts him in a real (no pun intended) bind. You see so far he has been all atmospherics and no substance. A stain even a little one is especially harmful to him because if you live by your image, you die by it. What’s worse it plants the seed in the public’s mind that Obama is just another (i.e. corrupt) Illinois politician. This is not good. Obama has no substantial accomplishments in the Senate to offset it. He has no idealistic stands like a backing of Lamont to mitigate it. So the stain will remain. It may prove to be a little one but we all know where one stain shows up others inevitably follow. The bloom is coming off the rose, the suit of shining armor is showing some rust. It always does. Too bad about that, but that’s a little something you should have included in your calculations, Obama.
I think Team Lamont failed because of an over reliance on Bill Hillsman, and lack of focus when it came to undercutting Joe Lieberman.
I beleive the Bush-morphing-into-Lieberman was the most potent ad they produced — had they put that one (or others like it) into heavy rotation, the outcome might have been different.
The only Hillsman campaign I’ve seen was Hickenlooper for Mayor — three ads, and the first two won the election.
Suit and Change were brilliant — humorous and entertaining, but they also captured every key reason why brewpub owner Hickenlooper was the best choice to replace Mayor Webb.
Suit and Change clicked on the micro, macro, and meta narrative levels — Suit made fun of Hick’s outsider status, while neutralizing his inexperience; Change offered relief for Webb fatigue, while supporting continuity where it mattered. (Webb’s endorsement helped too.)
Bad Coffee might have been entertaining for true believers, but it did nothing to sell those who were unconvinced.
And this is the key to the limits of Bill Hillsman’s magic — it only works when the context of the ads is in sync with the product being sold.
Marion in Savannah @ 19
Why what happened? I said earlier today that liason and williams are part of the reason I no longer contribute to NPR. I should have put conan, the host of totn on that list.
Hugh @ 32
I hope you’re right, Hugh. But I think the MSM will give him a pass on this because he’s “such a nice guy” and “inspirational”. Like they do with McCain and most of the other Rethugs.
Blue Wind @
30
Unlike you, I was not disappointed. I expected it. Obama’s mentor in the Senate was Joe. If you look critically at him, Obama has all the makings of Holy Joe v.2.0. He is something we most certainly do not need.
A Clinton- any Clinton - no. Obama - no. Wes Clark - yes.
Tagaris cites Bill Clinton’s comment on Larry King as a key point, but I think the most damage was done when Clinton campaigned for Lieberman before the primary and allowed fliers and robo-calls to go out using his endoresment. He should have stayed out of the primary. That would have lowered Lieberman’s primary numbers and created more pressure for him to bow out.
Instead, Clinton created the conditions under which Lieberman’s independent run became more viable, and everything else went down hill from there. Once he’d endorsed Lieberman, he could hardly come out and say, on Larry King or anywhere else, that it would be a mistake if CT chose Lieberman in the general, without making himself look foolish.
This was all predictable (and predicted by Jane and others), so the Clintons must be assumed to have understood what Bill was doing from the beginning. Hillary and Bill participated in a clever strategy to help pro-war, pro-corporate Lieberman defeat an anti-war candidate, because that’s the result that would help Hillary the most. It was Hillary’s strategy, Bill’s execution, while Hillary pretended to help Lamont after the knife was already in Lamont’s back.
CT was unique in some ways, but IMO, a major lesson of the Lamont campaign is that we have to defeat/discredit the anti-democratic, pro-corporate forces within the Democratic party before decent people like Lamont can be elected. In fact, in hindsight, it might have been a good idea for Lamont to question the motives of Clinton endorsing Lieberman, especially when Clinton declared, before the primary, that voters should not make their decisions based on this tiny little issue of the Iraq war. That should have been the signal for Lamont to question the whole Clinton line, and show that it was just another example of how inside the beltway thinking was hurting the country.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....34076.html
Link to important Feingold piece on the lame duck congress and what the goopers are gonna try to ram through- worth a read.
Breaking News:
Rescue workers have successfully separated Time Magazine’s Mike Allen from Karl Rove by using the jaws of life.
-GSD
This congressional lame duck has the H5N1 bird flu and should be quarantined pronto.
-GSD
IMO, a big factor was the movement of Republican voters from Schlesinger’s column over to Lieberman. Add in the name-brand-only ‘indies’ and diehard Democrat Liebermaniacs…Inertial momentum, or Joementum, if you prefer.
And I blame Clinton.
;>)
One takes their victories where they can. If not for Lamont and all those who worked on his behalf to see him elected, we might be looking at the next two years being the same as the last 6.
Frankly, I don’t think the planet had 730 days to spare.
I hope ALL the bloggers who met with Big Dog realize that he is full of SHIT, and EVERYTHING he said that day was garbage…How about telling us ALL, the “OFF THE RECORD” nonsense. Expose him!. I am SO OVER the Clintons and my partner used to work for the dog. The diary over at Kos also puts the LOSERS Reid and Schumer in the light that they deserve. A big DARK light. It is time to rid our party of ALL the DLC crooks like Schumer and Reid, after reading that diary I am not so sure how happy I am we have the senate with wimpy Reid as the leader LIEberman throwing tantrums and Schumer doing AIPAC’S dirty work. Ge trid of all the trolls I say!
GSD @ 39
LOL Good one, GSD.
MayDaze @ 42
GSD @ 39
Oh GSD this is so darn funny! I saw Allen on KO last week (?) and he was pitiful.
The thing that I found most distressing about Ned’s primary victory was how close it was.
Ned Lamont was a near perfect candidate, Team Lamont ran a near perfect campaign, while Joe Lieberman screwed up worse than anyone could have imagined — with all that, Ned still only won by 3 points. It should have been a blowout instead of a nail biter.
In the general, Lyin’ Joe was back on his game, and Team Lamont never got traction.
Of T,
I heard they were going to try this again.
Lawsuit filed in Germany against Rumsfeld for war crimes
dpa German Press Agency
Published: Tuesday November 14, 2006
Berlin- Eleven former prisoners of the US armed forces on Tuesday filed a lawsuit in Germany calling for outgoing US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and other American officials to be investigated for war crimes. Backed by human rights groups, the 11 ex-prisoners say they were tortured at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison and the US prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba on the orders of Rumsfeld and other top members of US President George W Bush’s government.
snip
http://rawstory.com/news/2006/.....42006.html
Hugh, if you’re still here:
Elections over, have gas prices risen much?
What scarecrow @ 37 says.
The Clintons are, most of all, ambitious pro-corporate hacks. Lamont, and the whole netroots movement, scared them. They know we will be the force that derails Hillary in ‘08 and this was a pre-emptive strike.
But, they may have made a mistake here. To quote the Bard:
That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold,
What hath quenched them hath given me fire
- Macbeth, Act 2 scene2
Actually, there were political analysts and even some people here IIRC that forecast this race from the beginning (if Joe decided to stay in it).
This was predicated on 3 notions.
1) That Joe could garner a substantial number of Republican votes. The Republican candidate was in fact weak, had problems, and was unceremoniously dumped by the state and national organizations.
2) That Joe could retain some Democratic votes based on inertia if nothing else. He did.
3)That big name national Democrats would not campaign actively for Lamont and against Joe. The simple truth of the matter is that they had already signaled in the primary that they were going to sit this one out.
I think Lamont ran an excellent campaign but no campaign is perfect. If he had won, everyone would be saying how brilliant it all was. Now that he lost, a lot of people are saying the reverse. The reality is that this was always something of a long shot. Lieberman may be an awful candidate and an awful person but he had the deck stacked in his favor from the start.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15627434/
Interesting article on why the auto industry is counting on the dems to save their asses–Auto Workers Union and management singin out of the same hymnbook.
There are times when “corporate” interests and “labor” interests are exactly the same- when it comes to saving a whole industry and the jobs they bring—there is no reason to cut the baby.
scarecrow @ 37
She’s a power addict. I once had an addict impart this gem- A thief will steal your wallet, but an addict will steal your wallet and then help you look for it. Which in my opinion is the number one reason to oppose her in 08. We need to get back to the represent part of representive democracy.
How Mike Allen can claim to be a journalist and not a campaign operative is beyond me.
Perhaps Time Magazine will send him to another beat now that the jig is up.
Media Matters has a scathing piece about him and the rest of the Rove worshippers.
-GSD
Also, Rudy Giuliani is making his pitch for the evangelical vote in 2008 in this piece.
Also, Dipshit Delay has screwed Texas out of any chairmanships because of his unethical gerrymandering. Not only that but his use of only Republican lobbyists for state tourism promotions looks to be a real boner too.
Big state, no power, thanks to Tom Delay.
MayDaze #48
I had thought to post this later today but gas prices hit their low on November 7. I don’t know if there was anything special going on that day or not. *g* They have increased every day since and the national average has increased 3.3 cents in the last week.
Hugh- agree- it was a long shot from the beginning if Joe was willing to run as an indie- he was- and at that point the thing was over. Don’t think havin more dems stumpin for Ned would have made much difference. At least we didn’t (I hope) lose the seat.
Hugh @ 55
You can bribe some of the public all of the time, but you can’t bribe all of the public any of the time.
Remember “Baby” from Jim Henson’s “Dinosaurs?”
Do the voice:
NOT OBAMA!
OT, but on the subject of Democrats willing to stand up for what’s right, even when most other Dems are turning their backs…
I just received my copy of Jimmy Carter’s Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.
Have you ordered yours?
Hugh @ 54
Why am I not surprised? Thanks, Hugh.
In one of my few e-mails to KO, I asked that when he’s recycling the NBC pundits for Countdown, that he please leave Mike Allen out of the mix. Allen actually pants and wiggles in his chair and makes all sorts of faces when he’s slobbering about Bush and his lackeys. How can those TIME people tolerate Allen AND Klein? Who is running that place?
John Edwards was the first to call and support Lamont. He also went and campaigned with Lamont.
It seems that Tim is having a selective memory day? Or he just has something that he doesn’t like Edwards about.
Sen.-elect Jon Tester of Montana looked a little overwhelmed on his first day.
“It hasn’t soaked in yet,” he said. “Maybe it will never soak in.”
The Capitol police weren’t quite ready for Tester, a farmer with a throwback flat top haircut and fingers missing on his left hand from an old accident with a meat grinder. They asked him to empty his pockets for inspection.
“Just like at the airport, you put it all through?” Tester asked.
The officer nodded, then recognized the newcomer and waved him through.
rwcole @ 55
Judging from some shit I heard on the Situation Room yesterday, I would say Joe has put himself up on the slave stand and said let the bidding begin.
I’ll throw in the towel if it’s even hinted Senator-elect Tester is involved in a shady deal.
I’m gettin a real kick out of Tester–organic farmer from the big sky comin ta take on Washington. If there was ever a story beggin to be written- this is it. Hope the capital reporters jump all over it and keep reporting. It’s gonna be fun.
Heard a bit about Tester the other day- he used to referree football games- and his neighbor asked him a few years ago “Jon- ya gettin in shape fer the season?”
“Nope” said Jon, “I’m goin into politics- can’t afford ta have half the county pissed at me about an off-sides call..”
The guy thinks ahead. He became president of the Montana senate in a year or two after his first entry into politics.
There’s a leader gang!
Tester is as big as a barn- and teaches music. Ya gotta love it.
ralphbon @ 59
thanks for the reminder… should order it with my pre-order of the “an inconvenient truth” dvd.
p.s. for folks who want a teaser… check out this speech carter gave at the council on foreign relations in march of this year.
OT:
Think Progress:
Should’ve ‘criminalized those policy differences’ when you had the chance…Wimp.
scarecrow @ 37
Good cop/bad cop, with bad cop as executioner. But they are one coordinated team, the Clintons.
rwcole @
56
Well, the fact that Joe was willing to run as an indie and the fact that the codependent Dem leadership was willing to grant full seniority rights to a one-off political party, Con for Lieberman.
The one question I have right now: Did Reid and/or Schumer step back from this race as quid pro quo for Lieberman caucusing as a Democrat?
rwcole @ 65
Here’s a little tidbit already.
Matt–Well yer probably never gonna get a straight answer to that question from the party’s involved
But in all probability- dem leadership figured that Lieberman was goin to win as an indie- and knew that if they fought him- he’d caucus with the goopers- so they stayed fairly nuetral to save the seat.
That’s just a guess- but it seems to fit the facts- neither party ever had to SAY anything.
Matt Browner-Hamlin @ 72
I don’t know if anybody has tried to prove it. I just thought it was a given.
darkblack @ 70, the incivility has been coming from 41’s party and a great deal from his son Jorge. Dad has not gained any wisdom in his old age.
(I’m thinking one of the investigators should get a list of the Saudis who flew out of the country after 9/11.)
sorry for the Oftopic, but has anyone seen or heard from *ilson?
dk2 @
62
dk2, I think you misread Tim’s diary.
Bold is mine.
dk2, Tim acknowledges that Edwards did come to CT. His concern is the level of support Edwards provided. Ned needed Edwards to reinforce that Lieberman4Lieberman was NOT a Democrat. Edwards refused. On top of that, Edwards refused to come “back.”
Clusterfuck meets with automakers and gets his ugly mug on teevee yet another day. His campaign to prove that he’s not a lame duck continues unabated.
darkblack @
41
Looking at Karl’s “critical mass” of discontent suggests the analogy of a chain reaction of an atomic discharge.
The high energy trigger was Neds primary victory over Lieberman in which he annihilated HoJoe’s obfuscation about being a Democrat.
The implosion of Rove’s political core resulted in a secondary, analogously explosive event as the electorate woke to find the kick-ass Democrats had fissioned the nucleus of the GOP political amalgam in such an effective manner.
Only Rove’s ensuing, highly focused wargasm was able to extinguish the local effects of the initial blast (to the detriment of all other goopers).
So, while staunching the initial compression event, the over-kill was insufficient to blanket the entire battlefield and the goopers succeded only in expending their war chest.
Now they are simply the radioactive fallout from an another un-won conflict.
darkblack @ 70
Yeah, whatever. Democracy gets to be such a pain in the ass when the public participates, doesn’t it?
Politics would be a lot more fun without the voters.
Absolutely right, Christy.
Tim - That’s an excellent diary. Very informative, and very helpful. Thanks for being so forthright. I look forward to Tom Swan’s take on Reid and Schumer’s actions (and lack thereof).
Reid and Schumer are starting to remind me of Colin Powell and Tony Blair before the invasion of Iraq - when they were probably the only two people in the world who could have stopped the war: Powell by resigning, Blair by speaking out in opposition. So too with Reid and Schumer and their lack of institutional party discipline leading up to (via warnings) and after the primary with regard to Lieberman’s anti-party behavior. Their actions alone may have cost the United States Senate a super honest and most worthy and patriotic member. Instead Reid and Schumer gave us their version of the Iraq violence, in the form of LiebermanForAIPACandLikudForEver.
rwcole @ 83
If your name is “Bush.”
Did Poppa voice rate the beauty of number one son’s attacks on democrats? Ugly and adversarial- like THAT?
Ignorant fuckhead!
Once George leaves for Viet Nam, close the fucking doors (skies) and don’t let him back into the country!
Jack
Puma- well I was adopting poppa Bush’s persona for a minute.
Keepin president terrorist out of the country would be the best thing we could do for homeland security.
Is Clusterfuck goin ta VietNam to learn that cuttin an runnin ain’t always as bad as ya think?
rwcole @ 87
Wow. If I could do that, I’d run to a shrink.
Sally @ 77
neokneme @ 81
EvilDrPuma @ 82
Combined response:
‘Oh my goodness gracious, yes’
;>)
I’m thinkin’ a bunch of ‘oppo’ research not flung during the campaign is coming out now so as to smear the newly empowered majority and hamstring them defending themselves rather than doing their jobs.
USAToday poll has 2/3 ‘want DEM CONTROL’ - that’s what they voted for. This is a backdoor to roll the election restults back. And stymie everything, including IRAQ.
One think is abundantlu clear… encumbantcy offer way too many favors to collect.
Career politicians who doll it out like JoMo can call in the favors when they need to.
This is a tremendous hill to climb for a new fresh face without any baggage or any record. Encumbancy also gives one a record and it is amazing that JoMo’s record did not alienate him from enough dems to make him a loser.
He was / is a repub in dem’s clothing and had many of the fundy jews / zionists with him regardless of his party and his other bs.
In a more favorable senate climate the “other” dems might have supported ned with enthusiasm, but I suspect they felt it better to hedge their bets… it would be a dem anyway and essentially acted like the unpricipled creeps that most politicians are.
If JoMo had said he was a repub the other dems would have supported ned with gusto.
It was pure Machievelli… but then… isn’t it always?
It would be awful if GWB and his entourage were dumped over North Vietnam. Awful….
rwcole @ 89
Thirty-five years later, Dubya finally thinks the ‘Nam is safe enough for the fortunate son.
Is Bush delivering a message to Ho Chi Minh (sp)?
2007 is when we head for the streets and impeach
him for impersonating a Prez…
Jack
Sally @ 93
…awful late, that is.
I have thought this too. IMHO, Ned’s lack of any prior elected office made this option too risky. If Ned had started criticizing Big Dawg, it would have opened the door to ads from Lieberman4Lieberman replaying the criticism; as if to say, who does Ned Lamont think he is, criticizing Bill Clinton and me?
Ned was not a perfect candidate imo. He was just the only one with the guts and committment to take on a three term political animal like Joe and strike fear into the hearts of vichy Dems everywhere.
Big props to you scarecrow for all you did for him.
edp, never too late for that crowd. Or, better late than never.
there is a new thread, by the way
Maybe the Vietnamese will let Clusterfuck get into an F102 and take a couple of victory rolls over Hanoi–ya know—- the ones he was too chickenshit ta take when the war was still goin on.
Goes ta VietNam in broad daylight- and sneaks into Iraq in the middle of the night hidin behind a rubber turkey—-he’s a brave one–Georgie Bush!
Jacqrat @ 78
You know, I’ve been wondering the same thing. Thought he’d be home by now.
BTW, just wanted to let all the plamemaniacs know that there’s been a whole bunch of new filings lately. JOM has them.