Connecticut Conundrum For The DSCC

The "strategery" of the Kos-sack crowd is becoming clearer with regard to this year's challenge to CT Sen. Joe Lieberman. Normally, when you have a race for political office, you're goal is to win. For the Left, who are fighting to assert their control and influence in the upper echelons of the party apparatus, their goal is twofold: drive Sen. Lieberman from the party (as an example to those that they deem "off the reservation") and force the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to commit its support to Ned Lamont should he win the party's nomination in the August 8th primary.

With Lamont's increased poll numbers, Lieberman has a decision to make as to whether or not he should officially bolt the party and put his name on the ballot as an "independent". Lieberman would have to submit a petition signed by registered voters on August 9th (the day after the primary) to qualify as an independent candidate for November. Clearly, he couldn't wait until then, so he'd have to make that decision over the next seven weeks (preferably sooner rather than later). The Left is already pressuring Lieberman to make his move and if he chooses the independent route, he will likely alienate a number of Democrats who feel he is "bolting" his party.

The truth, however, is that he is being forced in this direction. Were Lieberman to run as an independent, the Democrats would certainly lose a Senate seat. Lieberman is so popular among CT voters overall that he is projected to win easily against Lamont and Alan Schlesinger, the Republican. And as an independent, he would no longer have any reason to associate with his former party. Surely, he could wield more power and influence by allying himself with the GOP.

So where is the logic in this course of action?

Ah, there is the rub. This puts the DSCC in an awkward position. Sen. Chuckie Schumer, the Committee's Chairman, has already publicly backed Lieberman in the race. But they back him as a Democrat. What if he becomes an independent?

"In order to financially support an indie Lieberman, does the DSCC need to have the CT Dem Party officially endorse Lieberman's indie run? Can the state party do that if Ned Lamont wins the Dem primary? Of course, the DSCC could simply sit out, something they regularly do in senate races where they don't believe party outcome is in jeopardy."

Somehow I don't think the DSCC is going to get off that easy, though. Some Lefty powerhouse bloggers have already issued a call to arms. They want Schumer to go on record as saying that the DSCC will support whichever candidate gets the nomination - meaning Ned Lamont, who would be assured the nomination if Lieberman goes independent. If the DSCC continues to back Lieberman, they suffer the wrath of the netroots. If they were to back Lamont, they officially endorse a "retreat and defeat" candidate in a high profile Senate race who would end up losing anyway.

Either way, the GOP benefits from a weakened, divided Democrat party. So the Left is willing to pull a "D" out of the Senate count just to make a point. They go after a guy who reliably votes with his party 90% of the time but supports the GWOT - not for political gain, but because he genuinely supports it on principle. Now, they'll essentially push him into an alliance with the opposition.

Hey, whatever floats their boat.

Posted by: Gary at 10:40 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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