How Did We Get Here? Part 3

Third in the series.
Jump to Part one; Jump to Part two

May
June
July
August

May

May 20th, 2006

Alan Schlesinger is nominated at the GOP convention, as Paul Streitz can't manage the votes to force a primary.

May 24, 2006

Ned Lamont's blog gets underway. Lamont issues a call for debates. The Lieberman campaign's response is acerbic. Meanwhile, Lieberman has begun attacking Lamont for his personal wealth.

May 25th, 2006

Lamont challenges Lieberman to a spending cap for the campaign, the Courant reports. Lieberman demurs.

May 29th, 2006

Lieberman is spotted marching with Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-5th CD) in a Waterbury parade.

June 4th, 2006

Lieberman attacks Lamont's wealth through a television advertisement.

June

June 8th, 2006

Quinnipiac shows Lamont closing in. He trails Lieberman 55%-40% among likely primary voters.

June 12, 2006

A Lamont ad calls on Lieberman to back the primary winner.

June 13, 2006

Former state party chair John Droney advises Lieberman to run as an independent. He has harsh words for Lamont supporters. Rumors continue to circulate about Lieberman leaving the party.

The AFT endorses Lamont.

June 14, 2006

The CEA endorses Lamont. The two teachers' unions are the first major unions to support the challenger.

A Rasmussen poll shows Lamont only six points behind Lieberman. Lieberman leads 46%-40%.

June 16th, 2006

Lieberman drags out an updated version of the infamous Bear Ad from 1988. In it, Lamont is portrayed as a high-voiced, pink-shirted bear cub doing what the Weicker bear tells him. It's a terrible ad, and receives a lot of criticism.

The Lieberman campaign, saying “We look forward to seeing the Greenwich Multi-Millionaire take a break from his attack politics to address some real issues,” accepts

Lamont's challenge to debate. The debate will be on July 6th.

June 17th, 2006

Lieberman refers to the campaign against him as a jihad in an interview with David

Broder.

June 19th, 2006

Lieberman vows to remain in the primary.

George Jepsen endorses Lamont.

June 20th, 2006

Lieberman says Lamont would be too polarizing if elected.

SurveyUSA shows Lieberman's approval at 46% among Connecticut Democrats.

June 21st, 2006

Lieberman announces plans tovote against resolutions calling for troop withdrawals.

Lamont expresses confusing support for both resolutions.

June 22nd, 2006

Lieberman runs ads claiming credit for saving the sub base.

Ann Coulter encourages Lieberman to become a Republican.

June 23rd, 2006

Lieberman's campaign accuses Lamont of flip-flopping on Iraq.

June 25th, 2006

Dick Morris predicts Lieberman will lose.

June 26th, 2006

Paul Bass attacks Lieberman for using some of his material out of context.

Lieberman, in response to a new ad which portrays Joe Lieberman's words coming out of George Bush's mouth, "attacks ad-man Bill Hillsman.

June 27th, 2006

The AFL-CIO of Connecticut endorses Lieberman.

June 30th, 2006

The Courant reports that Lieberman's troubles are making his Senate colleagues uncomfortable.

July>

July 2nd, 2006

Lieberman is booed at a Bridgeport parade.

July 3rd, 2006

Joe Lieberman, at a press conference in front of the state Capitol, announces that he will begin circulating petitions for an independent run in November. He will need to collect 7,500 by August 9th.

July 4th, 2006

The "Kiss Float" makes its first appearance in the Boom Box Parade in Willimantic.

July 5th, 2006

Sen. Hillary Clinton says that Lieberman is "on his own" if he loses in August.

July 6th, 2006

The Courant reports that several of Lieberman's Senate colleagues, including Biden, salazar and Boxer, will be campaigning for him.

The one and only debate between the candidates is seen nationwide on

MSNBC and C-SPAN. Lamont holds his own against Lieberman's withering attacks. The general consensus is that Lamont looked unsteady at first, but gradually improved. Lieberman, on the other hand, looked either angry or determined, depending on who you asked.

July 9th, 2006

An out-of-control car runs into a crowd at SailFest in New London, injuring a Lamont staffer but missing Lamont himself.

Lieberman releases an ad which contains a fake Ned Lamont bumper sticker.

July 10th, 2006

Lieberman's new independent party, should it be necessary, will be called Connecticut for Lieberman.

July 11th, 2006

State Rep. Diana Urban (R) enters the race as an anti-war independent.

July 12th, 2006

Gambling problems begin to dog Alan Schlesinger, as Gov. Rell and state GOP chairman George Gallo call for him to withdraw. He stays in the race.

July 14th, 2006

Gallo suggests that Jack Orchulli could replace Schlesinger on the ticket.

July 15th, 2006

Lamont reports $1.9 million raised with $276,976 on hand for the 2nd Quarter, while Lieberman reports $1.3 million raised with $4.3 million on hand. Lamont contributed $1.1 million of his own money to the campaign during the quarter.

July 17th, 2006

Norwalk's DTC passes a resolution demanding Lieberman support whoever wins the primary.

July 19th, 2006

Lamont says he will match contributions made online to his campaign.

A group of pro-Israel Democrats expresses support for Lieberman.

July 20th, 2006

A Quinnipiac Poll shows Lamont ahead of Lieberman 51% to 47%.

July 22nd, 2006

A Rasmussen poll shows Lamont ahead 51% to 41%.

July 24th, 2006

Nancy Johnson has kind words for Lieberman, and harsh words for Alan Schlesinger, who continues to remain in the race.

Bill Clinton comes to Waterbury to stump for Lieberman. Clinton himself is a hit, but his appearance doesn't seem to help Lieberman much.

A much reported incident takes place between bloggers Spazeboy and Jane Hamsher and Lieberman campaign staff, who refuse to let them into the event.

July 26th, 2006

Willington's DTC asks Lieberman to drop his independent bid should he lose the primary.

July 27th, 2006

Lieberman announces that he'll be campaigning by bus all across Connecticut. He will call the bus tour "Joe's Tomorrow Tour." The tour is cloaked in secrecy--with schedules not available until less than 24 hours before some stops, and is plagued by low attendance and confusion. Worse, the "Kiss Float" follows Lieberman's bus wherever it goes. The tour is largely regarded as a failure.

July 28th, 2006

Lieberman counters the infamous "kiss" button (which shows George W. Bush planting one on Lieberman at the 2005 State of the Union) with The Hug. Uh.

July 29th, 2006

Lamont is endorsed by the New York Times. The Courant endorses Lieberman.

July 31st, 2006

According to the Lamont campaign blog, Lieberman had agreed to debate Lamont again, but then backed out.


August

August 1st, 2006

Lamont appears on the Colbert Report.

Reports abound on the low attendance of Lieberman's bus tour.

August 2nd, 2006

Blogger Jane Hamsher of FireDogLake posts a picture of Lieberman in blackface, then quickly takes it down. The Lieberman campaign reacts with outrage.

It is learned that absentee ballots sent overseas weren't sent on time, which could delay the

results of the primary for weeks.

August 3rd, 2006

A Quinnipiac poll shows Lamont leading Lieberman 54%-41%, his largest lead of the campaign.

Lieberman staffers provoke a scuffle at a Lamont event in Meriden.

August 5th, 2006

A Day/J-I poll shows Lamont leading Lieberman 53%-43%.

August 6th, 2006

Lieberman makes a closing argument for the primary in East Haven.

August 7th 2006

Quinnipiac shows Lieberman catching up, but Lamont is still ahead 51%-45%.

August 8th, 2006

Primary Day! The Lieberman website crashes, and stays down for the entire day. Theories abound as to why this happened, and some suggest that the Lieberman campaign is faking the whole thing.

In the end, it doesn't matter. Lamont wins, 52%-48%. In his concession speech on August 8th, Lieberman vows to continue the fight as an independent. The race for November begins.