Ned Lamont: Good Night, & Good Luck

BW readers, I have been silent about the Lamont-Lieberman race on this blog. It was a race that a few months ago, was supposed to be an easy win for Joe Lieberman.

But the more Joe L kept talking that the situation in Iraq was better, the worse it got for him. His message turned off so many people who had planned to vote for him, but now are switching their vote.

To borrow from a post just made a few minutes ago by Scott Galindez in Truthout:

Is Lieberman Producing for Democrats?

Ned Lamont doesn't have to win on Tuesday for a loud message to be sent to the Democratic Party leadership. That message is that rank and file Democrats want an opposition party in Washington that doesn't rubberstamp the policies of the Bush administration.

For Ned Lamont to be leading against a powerful incumbent who is not embroiled in scandal is already a victory. Joe Lieberman cannot blame a messy scandal for his poll numbers. This campaign is about the issues that the voters of Connecticut care about.

To me, it was wrong of Joe L to blame the bloggers. He has himself to blame for wanting to side with neo-conservatives/PNAC'ers in wanting to stay and fight in Iraq instead of calling for a withdrawl of troops over time, just as JRE did say over the weekend (albeit, it's not the first time he has said this).

But if Joe L wants to blame it on the bloggers if he loses, so be it. Time will tell if netroots activism will finally get a candidate we want to win. It didn't work for Howard Dean, but the political climate has changed in 2.5 years. We are tired of this war and we are sick to death of making more enemies over there with each passing day.

I don't doubt that Ned Lamont will have a learning curve if he wins the primary and the general election to become a Senator. He will have to resist corporate lobbying interests, which will be difficult. Things he cares may not make it back his home state, Connecticut, especially if the Dems cannot take back the Senate. Bush will veto most bills that support the greater good and not just the corporate special interests. And that will be tough for his constituencies--as well as others.

Unlike many Dems I hang out with in blogs and chat rooms, I tend to support the candidate over the party. In this instance, I cannot support Joe Lieberman, even he pulls off a HST of 1948. I won't be bitter since I don't live in Connecticut. But if Ned Lamont wins, as polls say he should be able to (but then the pollsters said Kerry/Edwards ticket would be the winner), it is a victory for the American people who are out there blogging, working hard for less pay, and need health care--and a smackdown for greedy corporate interests--such as energy companies who are ripping off Americans because conflicts in the Middle East are causing the prices to go up, and executives keep rewarding themselves with big parachutes.

I endorse Ned Lamont on the eve of the primary. Good Night, and Good Luck.

Tags: Ned Lamont, Joseph Lieberman, Connecticut Senate race 2006, Iraq, corporate interests, netroots, John Edwards, JRE, bloggers, Benny's World