Joe Lieberman

Last week I was busy and didn’t have a chance to toss in my $.02 on Joe Lieberman. Here are some of my pent up thoughts on the Senate election campaign going on in Connecticut.

First off – I think this will prove to be disastrous for the Democrats. Having Lieberman lose the primary but win the general election as an Independent is the worst of both worlds for the Democrats. Consider the following:

- Ned Lamont really is a lightweight, empty suit. Now he can’t campaign as “I’m not Joe Lieberman” but instead will have people listening to him and gauging how smart a representative he’d make. My guess is that Lamont implodes. Count on a number of really bad gaffes between now and November.

- The Netroots, anti-war folks won the primary – now what? One of Joe Liberman’s biggest accomplishments this year was to save the submarine base in Groton from being closed. The people of Connecticut know that. How long before one of Lamont’s advisers argues that the base should be closed because nuclear subs have no place in the race for world peace. The anti-war folks will really start to turn off the people whose priorities are domestic and who figure out that Lamont really has nothing to offer other than he’s anti-war.

- Has there ever been a candidate more invisible than the Republican candidate in this race? Seriously. I can’t even remember the guy’s name.

- If Lieberman wins in November (and I expect him to win in double digits) – it frees him from some of the positions and relationships that he was obligated to take as the Democratic nominee. Lieberman used to be pro school vouchers but had to change his stance when he was added to the ticket in 2000. Now if he returns to being a pro school voucher champion – it will weaken the influence of the teacher’s unions. The same could be true of other issues like abortion. Lieberman could be free to be truly independent. An Independent like Lieberman could really do more harm to the special interest groups than any legislation.

- If Lieberman wins – he blazes a trail for others to follow. What if other Democratic candidates say “screw it – I won’t kow-tow to the extreme left anymore – I’ll just run as an Independent”? Pretty soon there may be a new Centrist Democrats Party and the old Democrats run by the far left will be as relevant as the Whigs. This isn’t likely to happen but chances are a Lieberman victory will move the Party more to the center and weaken the extremist lefties. All they would have accomplished would be to lose a Senate seat for the Democrats. Thing is – the Netroots folks will view the whole thing as a victory. That’s the big danger for the Democratic Party. The Netroots folks really aren’t big D Democrats – they’re anarchists.

- If Lieberman loses in November – I wouldn’t be surprised if he is offered up as a replacement for Donald Rumsfeld to head the Department of Defense. I don’t think Lieberman will lose but if he does – the above scenario is not unlikely.