We don't have that many interesting primary fights going on as of late, but the one in Connecticut is one that I think a lot more people need to sit up and take notice of. As most of you know, incumbent Joe Lieberman is facing some stiff competition from Ned Lamont. The prodigious folks at politics1.com have Lieberman ahead by only six percentage points. This race also contains an interesting aspect as the liberal blogosphere is in the race and is noted by most of all, the Daily Kos and their dislike for Joe Lieberman.

Questions for debate.

1.)If Lamont wins, will we see a turning of the tide in regards to anti-war candidates becoming more prominent or willing to run?

2.)Is there room for the Joe Liebermans of the party in the democratic party?

3.)Who will hurt the democrats more in '08-the Joe Liberman types, or the Ned Lamonts?

4.)To what extent has the blogosphere influenced this campaign and what does it portend for future campaigns?

1. I don't think Lamont is going to win. I'm confident that Joe Lieberman is still fairly popular with Connecticut voters and they aren't going to follow the lead of a loud group of far-Left activists.

2. There had better be. I don't like Lieberman's coziness with the President, but on most issues, Lieberman is a pretty middle-of-the-road Democrat. While he may be bland, dull and colorless, he appeals to middle-of-the-road Democrats and certainly to Independents who don't want every Democratic Senator to have a 100 percent adversarial relationship with a Republican President. In Ohio we have a Democrat in Ted Strickland who has the support of the NRA. In Pennsylvania, the challenger to Rick Santorum, Bob Casey is pro-life. With the exception of the Zell Millers of the world, there has to be room in the Democratic Party for moderates and even conservatives.

3. I don't know enough about Lamont to say he'd be bad for the party. I understand he's wealthy and he's never held any political office, but he's justified in challenging Lieberman if he feels he's become out of touch with the folks back home. Lieberman is still leading in the polls, but Lamont is gaining momentum and prompting speculation that Lieberman may drop out of the August primary and run as a independent in November.

4. Well, certainly the MoveOn.org and DailyKos folks dislike Lieberman and have bolstered Lamont. Still, the majority of voters don't pay any attention to bloggers who tend to be the activists who can start fights, but not necessarily win them. Until the bloggers are successful in knocking off politicians they don't like, their power is still more theory than reality.

Apparently, Lieberman is taking Lamont's challenge seriously enough to consider running as an independent.

AP) Facing a stronger-than-expected Democratic primary challenge and sagging poll numbers because of his support of the Iraq war, Sen. Joe Lieberman said Monday he'll collect signatures to run as an unaffiliated candidate if he loses next month's primary.

"While I believe that I will win the Aug. 8 primary, I know there are no guarantees in elections," Lieberman told reporters on the steps of Connecticut's statehouse. "No one really knows how many Democrats will come out to vote on what may be a hot day in August."

Lieberman said he will still be running as a Democrat even if he's not the party's nominee and plans to remain part of the Democratic caucus in the Senate if re-elected.

Lieberman running scared?

I saw that article as well, thanks for posting nighttimer. It is odd that he would undertake such an effort if even his own polls showed him a tadbit ahead. Interestingly enough, the Lieberman-Lamont debate will be televised by C-SPAN tomorrow!.

as of today Lieberman is down by 13 percent... yeeeeeeee haaaaaaa

As we know Lieberman announced before he was down he would run as a independent if he was the loser. This alone proves he is a loser... I believe this is what has caused his major drop. bad bad move and he did it himself.

this is great for the party unless he does this spoiler tactic. He has been a democrat his career and to say he is going to be a sore loser and hurt the democratic party says it all. Good riddens. get lost.

His way of working has put us in the worst position of the recent history of our party. We need some pit bulls like Dean out there. I hope Lamont can step up to the plate. Have heard him speak many times, and you have to admire a guy willing to go up against a NAME.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6080300597.html

Lamont Leads Lieberman by 13 Points in New Poll
Democratic Senator Shifts Strategy for Tuesday's Primary as Antiwar Foe Soars

By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 4, 2006; Page A05



Seems the blogisphere is getting hit so you were right on, a campaign worker not official in the Lamont camp put some doctored photos up and was asked to remove them and they were removed. so nice advance premonition on this one.