Monday, August 14, 2006

Joe Lieberman: The Manchurian Candidate

I feel like elaborating on my thoughts about this guy, especially after an appearance by Ken Mehlman on the Sunday chat shows in which he professed a preference for Joe Lieberman over the Republican candidate for Senator.
First of all, the spin is that Lieberman going independent is bad for Democrats. That's stupid. We have nothing to lose. Worst case scenario is Lieberman wins, goes back to senate, votes with Republicans. WE ALREADY HAVE THAT. We wouldn't be losing a Democratic seat, we'd be losing a Republican seat with a D on it. Joe has been the Zell Miller of the senate.
On the other hand, Republicans want him in there. They can't put much support behind him because he's not running as a Republican. The real Republican candidate is much weaker, has some kind of scandal dogging him (sorry, can't recall the scandal or his name) and could very well lose because the state leans Democratic. Still, RNC campaign funds must go to him.
Or he could drop out, and they get a candidate who is a failed Democrat and who said mean things to Dick Cheney in the 2000 debates. And of course there's the whole Jewish thing, which was probably a factor in Lieberman choosing to be a Democrat in the first place.
Joe Leiberman is, most of all, a wild card. He's the element that nobody wants in any race. And while he could do some damage to Democrats by staying in, it seems to me he's much more dangerous to Republicans. If Ned Lamont is nimble enough, he can kung-fu this challenge into a tidal wave of Democratic victories in a number of states beyond his own. He's been handed some great material.

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