Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Lieberman Concedes, Vows to Run as Independent

Senator Lieberman just condeded the primary, but he has not conceded the race.

Claiming that his 4% loss to Ned Lamont was better than any of the pundits predicted, and was in fact a victory of sorts, Lieberman vowed to go on to November, to the roaring acclaim of his supporters.

Lieberman, perhaps, finally found his voice in this campaign when he called for a "new politics of unity and purpose," free of partisanship and attack politics. It's time, he said, for a "new campaign to unite the people of Connecticut," no matter their party.

"If you're disappointed with the ugly tone of politics," he said, "Go to my website... when it's un-hacked." The crowd laughed. "Are you with me?"

And of course, the crowd was. Well: most of them. I spied not a few worried faces on my way out of the hall. But by and large, they were there for him.

So tonight, a loss became a victory for Joe Lieberman. He won his way free of a party that has rejected him. And what will he do, now that he doesn't have to claim that he's really a Democrat any more?

"Tomorrow," Lieberman said, "is a brand new day."

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

uh, joe referred to himself as an 'independant democrat'...so apparently he still thinks he's one.

he can't even be gracious in defeat.

sore loserman, indeed.

Anonymous said...

If he runs as an independent, he'll split the democratic ticket and a Republican will win.

He's not that stupid. He must know this will happen. Why could he possibly want a Republican to win the Senate seat?

Possible answers:
1. Just to keep Lamont from winning - why not?
2. Closer "affiliations" with the administration than anyone realizes.

In the event that the second answer is at least approximately correct: IRS, take notice. After the election, soft money income will be on the rise in Connecticut.

Anonymous said...

What republican is that almintaka?

Anonymous said...

this will be the ultimate revenge against Weicker for Lieberman to win as an independent as well

Anonymous said...

I thought Malloy gave a very beautiful speech just now. He talked about unity, about how far this race had taken him, and how we need to move forward.

Now DeStefano is yelling policy points at a tiki bar.

Anonymous said...

As a West Hartford Democrat, I cannot tell you how happy I am to see Scott Slifka get beaten this badly.

He sold us out to Blue Back. And tonight he took the fall from the rest of the party. Hard.

Anonymous said...

"We may not be a perfect city, and I'll be the first to admit that."

Jodi Rell, you have Campaign Flyer #1.

Anonymous said...

...here comes Slifka.


This is ak-ward
CLAP CLAP CLAPCLAPCLAP
This is ak-ward
CLAP CLAP CLAPCLAPCLAP
This is ak-ward
CLAP CLAP CLAPCLAPCLAP

Anonymous said...

This is slifka's one moment of fame, and he has blown it like a true amatuer...

Anonymous said...

painful to watch....

Anonymous said...

slika's absolutely awful....glassman must be thinking 'how did i not beat this guy by more???!"

Anonymous said...

sheesh....YOU LOST!!!!....concede the race, congratulate glassman...and get the hell outta here.

Anonymous said...

Gong gong gong gong

Anonymous said...

As a progressive Dem in WH, I am enjoying this speech.

Keep going Scott. A camel in Alaska is less confused than this.

Mary treated this like a race.
Scott treated this like a summer vacation.

I also noticed that Slifka as of yet hasn't mentioned Glassman. Wonder why?

Anonymous said...

And now, News 12 has had enough of Scott Slifka. Goodbye.

Anonymous said...

ruined the whole evening for jds

Anonymous said...

LMAO...he took so long they cut him off....TOOL

Anonymous said...

three incumbents were defeated tonight in primaries.

The closest one was Lieberman.

It appears being a RINO or hitting a Capitol Hill cop is more of a problem than getting kissed by Bush

Anonymous said...

ROY O is now 0 for 6...nice job Roy....maybe the politicians will finally realize that Roy is just a suit.

Anonymous said...

I'll say this once and I'll say it again. Ned Lamont's political staging tonight was amateurish. He's not going to win Lieberman Dems and Indies with pictures of him framed between Sharpton and Jackson. And frankly, Maxine Waters still thinks that the CIA invented crack. I don't know what to make of that.

I would not have had them on the stage. Every photo tomorrow will hurt him with the key demographic.

Anonymous said...

FatGuy in MS - I appreciate that Lamont is willing to stand with his base in victory despite what you say.

Black voters support the Democratic Party so overwhelmingly that there's no good reason to make prominent black leaders hide outside the photo. They helped, and they earned it.

Anonymous said...

Wolcott Buy,

Worked for Lauttenburg.

rrrr..

Anonymous said...

Joe Lieberman now shows us his true stripes -- despite all of his BS rhetoric about principle and non-partisanship, blah, blah, he is about one thing -- himself.

He decries Lamont's negative campaigning after spending the campaign denouncing him for votes on a freakin' board of selectman and for being wealthy.

That's the way he's always been. Mr. Principle has spent his career flip-flopping on issues while at the same time claiming to be standing up for what's right.

Kevin Rennie's column in the Sunday Courant was the first time the mainstream media called him on his constant "calculation" for political gain.

Joe is about Joe. Always has been and always will be. Maybe the people of CT will finally see through it this time and send him packing in November.

Here's hopin'.

Anonymous said...

Scotty too Hotty Slifka......Your the Weakest Link......GOODBYE

Anonymous said...

To "anonymous" who asked, "what Republican is that?"

Duhhh, Alan Schlesinger. As the NYT reports in today's editorial, he's a weak candidate; BUT:

1. Even HE can win if the Dems are split by Lieberman's candidacy.
2. The Good ol' Repuhs might convince him to step down and make way for a stronger candidate. Why not? In this country, the Repuhs can do anything they want.
3. If Son of Smokin' Joe really is in the bedroll with the Repuhs, HE is the Repuh in the next election.

What th' hey, pahdnuhs - if our very own Comrade Uncle Joe does defy his own party to run against a Dem, then he's a Repuh all right.

Git them T'Bonds a-rollin', Repuh Hide !!!!