Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) has announced he will speak at the Republican National Convention this year. Lieberman has been unabashed in his support for the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Senator McCain this year (there has even been talk that Lieberman might be McCain's running mate!) and by choosing to address the GOP Convention it appears Lieberman is ready to accept his new colors.
For those who may not remember, this is significant because Lieberman was the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee in 2000 (Al Gore's running mate). Lieberman's subsequent rightward tilt however (notably his unyielding pro-Iraq War stance) cost him the Democratic primary election in 2006 when Ned Lamont led grassroots Democratic activists in revolt. Lieberman only just managed to keep his seat (he won less than half the votes) by running as an "Independent Democrat" in a three-way race in the general election.
Despite his embarrassing loss in the Democratic primary, Lieberman has so far continued to caucus with the Democrats, and his vote has been crucial. Without his support, the Democrats would lose their razor-thin majority in the Senate. But since this Fall the Democrats are expected to gain enough seats in the Senate that Lieberman's vote will not be required to maintain control of that chamber, Lieberman's final ouster from the Democratic caucus is all but certain.
Good riddance, I say.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Lieberman's Coming Out Party
Posted by Dr. Strangelove at 10:15 AM
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4 comments:
If I lived in CT, I'd vote for a recall.
When was Leiberman last re-elected? If it was anytime recently then who the hell is voting for him? If it was less recently then what are his chances of getting re-elected next time he's up?
Lieberman was re-elected in 2006.
To answer the question of "who the hell is voting for him?" Here is a link to the exit poll from the election in 2006 that returned Lieberman to the Senate for another 6 year term. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/CT/S/01/epolls.0.html
The short answer is that Republicans elected Lieberman. He got 70% of the Republican votes and only 33% of the Democratic votes. Keep in mind he was facing an insurgent candidate among the Democrats who really wasn't a top shelf candidate. You can bet that if Lieberman runs again in 2012, the Democratic party will target him for defeat. Obama in particular is said to be absolutely livid with him.
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