Lieberman's office responds to pro-Lamont LTTE

by: saziz577

Sat May 13, 2006 at 21:10:38 PM EDT

Change needed, Lamont right guy to bring it

Far from being a "one-issue", candidate as your editorial suggests, Ned Lamont has carefully thought out positions on pretty much every issue of importance to Connecticut and the nation. You only have to attend one of his grassroots meetings to get that.

Whereas Joe Lieberman changes his positions on the issues with the direction of the wind. It is hard to tell where he stands at any one moment, except for Joe.

While in the past Lieberman may have "consistently voted with his party", his more recent policy stances move him increasingly to the political and religious right. See, for example, his views on the right of Catholic hospitals to refuse to dispense the "morning after pill" to rape victims.

His role as an apologist for the Bush administration on foreign policy and the war has some of us questioning his political affiliation.

And his determination to run as an independent should he lose the primary is pure crybaby politics.

Your editorial is right about one thing:  For too many years, Lieberman has treated the Senate seat as a baronial fiefdom--his by right. You only have to call his office ("sorry, all voice mailboxes are full") to get the picture: Lieberman is busy working--for Lieberman.

It's past time for a change. Voters need to ask themselves whether they would rather have a politician of "national stature" who wields his power primarily in support of his own political agenda, or a fresh face with new energy who sees himself as an agent of the people who elected him.

Lupi Phillips Robinson

North Haven

Afterwards, Lupi told me that a representative from Lieberman's office left a long-winded voicemail on her answering machine in response to her claim that "all voice mailboxes are full" at the Lieberman office. Essentially, the Lieberman rep sounded apologetic and said that Lieberman's office does their very best to get in touch with his constituents...and then at the end, the representative told Lupi to call back the Lieberman office--at its Washington DC number.

So instead of calling her back when she's home or giving her a local CT number to call, Lieberman's office makes concerned voters pay for long-distance phone calls if they want to get in touch with him.

This, coupled with the fact that Lieberman rarely makes public appearances in CT anymore, only confirms that Lieberman is out of touch with CT voters and doesn't make himself easily accessable to his constituents...
and the only reason he's making any pretense of responsiveness this year is because he faces a primary.

The truth is, as Lupi says, Joe only cares about Joe--and he feels his time is better spent in Washington and Baghdad than in Connecticut.