Posted on 08/09/2006 5:53:19 PM PDT by summer
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Dear Fellow Democrat,
Ned Lamont -- that's the name of the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate from Connecticut. He defeated Senator Joe Lieberman yesterday in a hard-fought primary election.
There's been a lot said about this race and what it means for our party, so I wanted to get a few things straight.
One big issue in this race was the war in Iraq. Like the vast majority of Americans, Ned Lamont believes that "staying the course" will only drive America and Iraq deeper into disaster.
Lamont's courage and conviction on Iraq will make him a good Senator. But his positions on all the important issues -- on Iraq, but also balancing the budget, getting every American health insurance, and solving the energy crisis -- will make him a great Senator. These are not just the values of the Democratic Party, they are mainstream American values, and they are Ned Lamont's values.
After his loss, Joe Lieberman announced his intention to run as an independent. That's the wrong thing to do.
Ned Lamont won fair and square. We have a process, and those who participate in it should respect the outcome. Joe Lieberman should respect the Democratic voters' decision. He has to do what all of us who have lost an election have done: support the winner.
Our party is united on a new direction for our country. Joe Lieberman has been nominated for Senate by Democratic voters three times, and has served admirably for 18 years. But this moment in our country's history demands that we be unified.
This race wasn't about ideology. Ned Lamont succeeded because of participation politics -- he talked plainly and honestly with the people of Connecticut, and his campaign engaged in the kind of neighbor-to-neighbor organizing that has reinvigorated our party across the country.
Over a quarter-million people voted in the Democratic primary in Connecticut yesterday. Among those taking part in that exceptionally high voter turnout were tens of thousands of people who are new to our party. Voters included Republicans and Independents joining the Democratic Party and others registering for the first time and choosing to be Democrats.
That bodes well for our chances not just in Connecticut but everywhere that people like you have been working to build this party from the ground up.
We've got to be unified through November.
Thank you,
Howard
I thought the most exciting part of the CT primary was that many more people voted than usual. I hope that happens in the upcoming elections, too.
FYI. :)
Dean is a tool. Lots of states allow registered Republicans to vote in Democrat primaries. Connecticut is one of them. I suspect many of them voted for Lieberman. I heard yesterday that the Netroots effort only chalked up a small number of independents to vote for them. They didn't even focus on prospective new voters.
Here in FL you have to be a registered member of that party to vote in its primaries -- I thought that was true for CT, too. No?
RE posts #5 & #6 - Do you know the story in CT with regard to primaries?
I suspect many Republicans may have registered as Democrats, to vote FOR Lamont, knowing how badly a Lieberman Independent run (and win) would hurt the Democratic Party overall....
Well, like I said, many states allow for Republicans to vote in Dem primaries and vice versa. Here in Montana you can choose which party you want to vote for, regardless of which party your registered with.
That may be true.
Interesting. Thanks.
Re your post #9 - But I don't think that's true for CT. I think CT is like FL with respect to its primaries. Yet, I can believe some Repubicans registered and voted for Lamont, knowing a Lamont win would result in Lieberman's independent run. And, a split for Dems.
As Ann Coulter wrote today, Lamont is going to unite the "cut" and the "run" wings of the Democrat Party.
In Northwest Florida it means screwing your contituents at every turn with bad backroom deals. The only thing that keeps them going is the outright uselessness of the Northwest FL Republican party.
I know all these pundits are giving Lamont a hard time, but I also know: the war does tire many people. Turning on the news night after night only to see how many more were killed in the Middle East does make some voters depressed. It would not surprise me if more anti-war candidates won in certain races. However, Dems fighting amongst themselves is going to turn off some voters, that's for sure. I think their 2008 primary process for prez will get very messy now that Lamont won.
LOL...
Yeah, I think that's the significance of Lamont's win. The Dean wing of the party is in ascendancy. I think Hillary's chances in '08 just took a hit.
I agree that people get antsy watching nothing but violence on the network news. That's one reason I don't watch network news. But I think it behooves the Administration to continue to press the case for our involvement in Iraq, and to trumpet the progress. If all we heard was the unrebutted MSM take on events, we'd all slit our collective wrists.
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