Party Snubs Lamont at JJB

I heard it was more than "scattered boos" (0.00 / 0)

A friend who was there wrote that he was loudly booed and

"he needed to hush the crowd 3 times because they weren't interested in his speech."

I predict that if Ned wins the nomination, those presently supporting Lieberman will break all speed records running to embrace Ned.

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by: connecticut yankee @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 06:52:52 AM CST

Obama sells out (4.00 / 2)

I had such high hopes for Barack Obama after his inspiring keynote address at the Democratic National Convention...I contributed to his campaign as a CT resident and truly believed he would be the savior of the Democratic party...our great hope...the shining light in the darkness of a right-wing Congress.

Looks like I was way off. How can Obama endorse Lieberman while at the same time attacking Bush for the war in Iraq?

The man sold out. I'm going to call Sen. Obama's office today and say something like, "As a Connecticut resident who gave to Sen. Obama's compaign, I couldn't be more disappointed by his endorsement of Joe Lieberman, the biggest Democratic supporter of the war in Iraq, an apologist for torture, an apologist for illegal wiretaps, and an apologist for those who wish to destroy the separation of Church and State. It is the greatest shame to see a progressive hero like Sen. Obama support the likes of Joe Lieberman when he should be supporting Ned Lamont. Connecticut deserves better!"

"If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."--James Madison

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by: sufi @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 08:05:18 AM CST

Obama (0.00 / 0)

We should all make calls and send letters along the lines of Sufi's suggestion. The role of the Democratic Party should be to support Democratic candidates and causes. If Obama and his Washington colleagues considered the poll numbers showing Lieberman's huge popularity among Republicans, the delegate counts that have been announced by local DTCs, and the Connecticut press' love affair with Ned Lamont, they would understand that CT Democrats want a change. At the very least, let us have our own primary and then support the candidate that WE choose. Follow the example of Howard Dean and announce that you aren't going to take sides in a primary. But, the rest of the party leadership doesn't really care what kind of senator CT Democrats want. They care about the size of Joe Lieberman's bank account and those of his wealthy friends.

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by: Neal Fink @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 10:37:37 AM CST

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Simplistic view (4.00 / 1)

Obama accepted the gig months ago. Of course he would support a fellow colleague [sic], otherwise he would not have attended.

It's more revealing [to me anyway] that Obama would bring up "The Elephant in the room". A smart political move there. Lieberman probably would have shied away from the topic, and indeed he didn't mention Lamont or his own primary race at all, speaking in generalities about party unity, with wishy-washy language.

So Obama comes off as both forthright and a diehard party loyalist. Joe comes off as weak and vacillating, unable to confront his own issues, or to capitalize on the situation. Now admittedly it would have been quite a trick to do so in a room where you're uncertain of the response but that alone speaks volumes.

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by: Scarce @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 10:57:31 AM CST

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okay, fine (0.00 / 0)

Okay, fine...I'm not suggesting that Obama should have bashed Lieberman at a dinner Lieberman invited him to...but did he really have to go as far as explicitly stating "I am absolutely certain Connecticut is going to have the good sense to send Joe Lieberman back to the U.S. Senate." I didn't think he needed to go that far...he could have just said something polite instead of explicitly endorsing him like that. Maybe, Obama should have just given Lieberman a big fat smooch on the cheek while he's at it.

It was just disgraceful for the Democratic brass to give a great candidate like Ned a lousy seat right next to the kitchen...as far as I'm concerned, they might as well have put Ned IN the kitchen.

I was really hoping that Obama would have endorsed Lamont for this senate campaign. I guess that's not going to happen. BUMMER.

"If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."--James Madison

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by: sufi @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 11:10:47 AM CST

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No Sitting Democrat in Washington is going to endorse Lamont (0.00 / 0)

and that's fine. But they should take the high road, state that primaries are an integral part of of the system, and don't take sides.
Please read this (shameless plug for my own blog.)

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by: Neal Fink @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 11:21:02 AM CST

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great blog posting (4.00 / 1)

Alright, I agree with the points you made on your blog so ...all of you should read it at http://withoutapurpose.blogspot.com/2006/03/endorse-democratic-process.html


"If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."--James Madison

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by: sufi @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 11:36:52 AM CST

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Different read on that quote. (0.00 / 0)

Full quote

Oh, I don’t know, I know that Ned’s been a contributor of mine in the last two cycles, in 04 and 06, and I’m very appreciative of his support and friendship. You know, it’s always difficult in a party to see primaries take place. But this is a really critical issue, and there needs to be a nationwide discussion about what happened previously in Iraq and what has to happen going further into the future, and Joe’s going to have to do that.

When she says "it's difficult in a party to see primaries take place," I read it as her saying that it's unfortunate to watch Democrats who usually unite against the Republican Party fighting amongst themselves. I agree with that; it's a brother-against-brother sort of struggle, where everyone has to take sides and fight those who are normally their allies. It is difficult; I don't think anyone here is jumping out of their chair saying, "Yay, after all these years, we're finally on the other side from Dodd and Blumenthal!"

It looks to me like Diane is supporting your belief that primaries are an essential part of the system. She's saying that Iraq is a critical issue and Joe is going to have to explain his position to Connecticut Democrats.

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by: Matthew Gertz @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 12:03:02 PM CST

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Sorry, this is in response to Neal (0.00 / 0)

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by: Matthew Gertz @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 12:04:08 PM CST

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I think she's equivocating, as usual (0.00 / 0)

She's never taken a stand on anything, until she sees which way the wind blows.

If, as she said, she "was tricked" into announcing her support for Lieberman, she should say so.  But right now, she's stating that she supports him on "most issues" except the war.  Does that include the Alito filibuster?

She could say that she wants to remain neutral when there's a primary, as Howard Dean has.  But the Party bigwigs are supporting Lieberman, so she is, too.

I'll bet she'll be the first to rush to Ned's side when he wins the primary.

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by: connecticut yankee @ Sat Apr 01, 2006 at 11:50:33 AM CST

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Sorry, I don't agree (0.00 / 0)

Obama could have made nice remarks about Lieberman, even talked about why he chose Lieberman as his Senate mentor. But he could have stopped short of making an endorsement. Again, if Dean can say that it's not his place to take sides in primaries, why can't the rest of the party leadership follow his example?

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by: Neal Fink @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 11:16:46 AM CST

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The Senate is a club (4.00 / 1)

A restricted club. To Obama, Lieberman is an elder brother, in the fraternal sense. By endorsing him he pays his respects to the club, not just Joe Lieberman. To go there and not endorse Lieberman would have been seen as a snub.

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by: Scarce @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 11:26:15 AM CST

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But did Barack have to hug Joe??? (0.00 / 0)

I mean at least Obama didn't kiss him, but couldn't he have gotten by with just a firm handshake??

In my opinion Obama has already said good-bye to the world outside of DC. What a shame.

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by: TrueBlueCT @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 11:55:43 AM CST

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A Bunch of Playground Bullies (4.00 / 1)

Boy, the party leaders sure know how to play hardball. It's common knowledge that very high ranking Democrats have told Ned Lamont that he's not welcome. That his campaign and a primary are bad for the party. They said this to his face in no uncertain terms. Yet, somehow Ned didn't get the message. To the contrary, he made it part of his stump speech.

That was until last night when they gave Ned a crappy seat at their fundraiser and put his wife near the kitchen. Oooh, these guys are devious. How much do you think they paid to political consultants to come up with this brilliant ploy to destroy the Lamont campaign?

Maybe those nay-saying Senators couldn't get their point across, but now that they've manipulated a seating chart we should expect Ned to drop out by the end of the day.

At the next JJB dinner, I hope that Senator Lamont has the balls to request the same seat!

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by: Neal Fink @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 11:05:55 AM CST

Pettiness personifed (4.00 / 2)

Nancy DiNardo, Chairwoman Connecticut Democratic Party

On her orders, and Andrew Cascudo who organized the thing willingly obliged.

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by: Scarce @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 11:11:45 AM CST

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We should thank them though (4.00 / 2)

National recognition for their pettiness will only help the Lamont campaign. It already has with a huge donation push the past 24hrs.

The whinier, the more petulant these little people become the larger Ned Lamont becomes. At this rate soon Ned will be larger than life. Certainly larger than his opponent, the incredible shrinking Lieberman.

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by: Scarce @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 11:18:21 AM CST

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CT Dem Brass: Hostile to democracy (0.00 / 0)

Anyway, the CT Democratic establishment's treatment of Ned exposes their hostility to the basic democratic process. Even if they do not want Ned to run, the fact that they practically stick him in the kitchen at such an important event shows a real lack of respect. The CT Dem party brass doesn't want a debate and they don't want an informed and active citizenry that holds its elected officials accountable. They basically want to put King Joe on a throne.

"If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."--James Madison

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by: sufi @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 12:29:39 PM CST

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Politics as a business (0.00 / 0)

As they see it this is their business, their livelihood. Anything which jeopardizes that is dangerous and unacceptable.

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by: Scarce @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 12:56:12 PM CST

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You are so right. (0.00 / 0)

Feudalism or New Age Aristocracy is the preferred model for the CT Dem brass.  I see it in some members from my DTC too.

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by: Larkspur @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 13:05:51 PM CST

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Not aristrocracy, but... (0.00 / 0)

We live in a plutocracy--government by the rich.

"If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."--James Madison

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by: sufi @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 13:20:58 PM CST

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I wonder... (0.00 / 0)

Would even publically financed campaigns really stop that?

At the end of the day, you stil need people who are able to stop working for pay for a year an concentrate on campaigning. How many people can afford to do that?

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by: Matthew Gertz @ Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 13:26:33 PM CST

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