Wolf in Democrat's Clothing

Let me shock you by saying that I'm fairly agnostic on Ned Lamont's campaign to challenge Joe Lieberman in a Connecticut primary for US Senate. Lieberman is wrong on the war and is all too willing to bash other Democrats in the public square, and Lamont has every right to challenge him. I think primaries are generally pretty good because they keep incumbents honest and highlight major issues important to the electorate. Heck, if I was a Connecticut voter I'd probably go with Lamont. But I'd also support whoever comes out of the primary, as getting back the Senate is simply too important.

But my support for whoever wins the primary is not shared, apparently, by Joe Lieberman himself:

I hope there's not a primary. I'm confident if there is one, I'll win it, but I'm not gonna rule out any other option for now....

I don't know how you can call yourself a Democrat and then say that if you lose the Democratic primary, OR EVEN IF THERE IS ONE, you'd still run. That's a complete lack of respect for the voters in your own party. Also, as The Swing State Project points out, it's a virtual impossibility:

Submission to town clerk or Secretary of the State.
(a) Each page of a nominating petition proposing a candidate for an office to be filled at a regular election shall be submitted to the appropriate town clerk or to the Secretary of the State not later than four o'clock p.m. on the ninetieth day preceding the day of the regular election.

This means that independent candidates have to submit petitions by August 9th, 2006. It just so happens that the Connecticut primary is on August 8th. In other words, if Joe loses the primary, in order to run as an independent in the general, he'd have to file petitions the very next day.

This is all but a literal impossibility. Joe would have to collect petitions while still running in the Dem primary. Can you imagine such a spectacle? It would be beyond unheard of for a sitting senator to do such a thing. The only real way Lieberman could run as an indie would be if he abandoned the Democratic Party (save your jokes) well in advance of the primary. Otherwise, he's just talking smack. If he loses the primary, he's done, finished, tostada del dia.

Unless he drops out of the race before the primary. If he looks at the polls and sees a tight race, I could see this happening. And that possibility, which is the height of arrogance, makes me want to support Lamont in a race I was perfectly content to let play out.