CT-Sen: The Soap Opera Has a Twist

When we take back Congress (and if Ken Mehlman can act ridiculously confident then I can), it will be because candidates stood up and said NO to the pleading from Washington consultants that they not talk about Iraq, that they focus on bread and butter issues, that they shield themselves from being weak on terror, that they try to be Republican lite. The Washington consultant class has been truly, madly, deeply wrong about how politics is played nowadays at every opportunity. This little nugget about the Connecticut Senate race should amplify that statement with some evidence:

Lamont's primary victory drew national attention, but momentum in the Senate race began to change that night. Lieberman used his concession speech to launch his independent campaign, with a fierce blast at the partisan gridlock that has gripped Washington and a vow to use the general election to reverse the outcome of that day's balloting [...]

There followed a series of missteps. Lamont, who had run a skillful, grass-roots primary campaign, left for vacation and his campaign immediately began to flounder.

"We kind of went to sleep," said Tom D'Amore, a senior Lamont adviser. "We were led to understand, as naive as it sounds, that there were forces at work" trying to persuade Lieberman to give up his independent candidacy for the good of the Democratic Party. "They said, 'Don't come out and go too hard on Joe. Give us an opportunity.' " That never happened. Lieberman ignored pleas to quit the race and quickly swapped out his primary team of advisers for new consultants, including GOP pollster Neil Newhouse and Democratic ad maker Josh Isay.

Guess what, the DC Dems weren't able to get a guy who loses his party's primary and announces he doesn't agree with the results and will stubborn stay in the race THAT NIGHT to drop out. I mean, who could have seen that one coming?

As Lamont received a grudging acceptance from official Washington, he got a little heady and co-opted by it. That's over, and he's charging hard now, and I expect the polls to reflect that. Particularly because little Alan Schlesinger, liitle poker-playing Alan Gold, is not going quietly and following Karl Rove's script. Schlesinger not only won this week's first debate, but he made himself a factor in the race overnight, which only hurts Lieberman.

With a forceful debate performance, Schlesinger reminded voters, the media and possibly his own party Monday that Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman and Ned Lamont are not replaying their Democratic primary.

Schlesinger made the most of the cumulative 17 minutes allotted to each candidate, repeatedly asserting that he is the only Republican.

"Don't waste your vote on either of these liberal Democrats," Schlesinger said [...]

"I think we will begin now to make this a horse race," Schlesinger told reporters after the debate. Schlesinger may have been exhibiting what one of his heroes, Alan Greenspan, might call "irrational exuberance."

A more realistic assessment is that Schlesinger, long neglected by GOP donors and unable to escape single digits in the polls, might become a player in a race dominated by Lamont and Lieberman. Lieberman leads Lamont, 48 percent to 40 percent in the most recent poll, with Schlesinger at 4 percent.

With Lieberman relying heavily on Republican and unaffiliated voters in the general election, any gain Schlesinger makes in winning back a portion of the GOP base is likely to come at Lieberman's expense.

Not surprisingly, the Lamont camp was happy to talk up Schlesinger.

"He doesn't get a forum like this every day of the week," said George Jepsen, co-chairman of the Lamont campaign. "He spoke with great clarity."

Can anybody say "Ross Perot"? I'm sure Lieberman can, since his DLC-backed former colleague Bill Clinton basically has Perot to thank for his two-term Presidency.

Joe Lieberman is now in a Republican primary for the Senate, and he's pissed off that he should have to work to earn anyone's vote. But now that he is pressured on his right wing, he's catering to their interests by flipping on support for UN Ambassador John Bolton, whose renomination to the post is completely dead and buried to begin with (so it's convenient for Lieberman to use that one, since there will be no accountability on it). Matt Stoller analyzes:

For my money, this is Joe Lieberman slapping Chris Dodd and the Democatic Party in the face. Say what you will about Dodd, but this Dodd cares about John Bolton's nomination. Dodd was the whip on the vote, and successfully blocked Bolton's confirmation. Dodd played the good soldier to Lieberman's campaign in the primary, campaigning for him and starring in one of Joe's ads. Even before the primary ended and while Dodd was campaigning for Joe, Joe stopped taking Dodd's calls, and he wouldn't talk to him on primary night, sending an aide to deal with Dodd as Dodd stood outside Joe's hotel room. Joe hates Dodd because Dodd treated Joe like he deserved to be treated, as the loser of the Democratic primary.

In other words, Joe is angry and vindictive, and is starting his retribution early. Just today he reversed himself and said Democrats should win Congress (he demurred a few days ago), but that Democrats need to change their tone. Lieberman essentially threatened Dodd on Pajamas Media, a right-wing media site. And now on Bolton, Lieberman is just stabbing Dodd and the rest of the Democrats in the front. He's not even bothering to stab us in the back anymore.

So why would Lieberman adopt Bolton now, after rejecting him twice before? It's probably the same reason Joe is selling out net neutrality, going back on his promise to support it by offering to help Senator Ted Stevens in the lame duck session pass a bill that would in all likelihood get rid of net neutrality.

Spite.

So Lieberman's spitting in the face of liberals and Democrats. He's being attacked for his voting record from conservatives and Republicans. Just who is the constituency of the Connecticut for Lieberman Party, besides Joementum himself?

Less and less, maybe not enough for victory on Election Day.