This is of note as Pingree should win Tom Allen's vacated seat as he takes on Susan Collins in November. Collins is backed by Lieberman. Chellie is also supported by some fine folks and is a staunch opponent of the Iraq debacle
Pingree defeated centrist candidate Adam Cote in a crowded field, taking 45 percent of the vote to Cote's 26 percent, with 57 percent of precincts in.
Pingree, who fell to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in 2002, will face Iraq veteran and former state Sen. Charles Summers (R), who led a two-way primary with 59 percent of the vote and the same amount of precincts reporting.
Allen easily won his primary and will face Collins in the state's Senate race.
Well, almost. Below is an internet ad by the republican frontgroup Partnership for Public Service, led by Samuel J. Heyman of Westport CT. Lieberman (and the moderate Dem Jane Harman of California) are front and center in their effusive praise of this Bush enabler.
And a reminder that the bipartisanpalooza for Collins is tonight in Washington D.C. (Lieberman Helps Collect Cash for Collins). Graphic courtesy of Kath25 at Dailykos, which tparty linked to below.
This is good stuff. Tom Allen is hanging Joe Lieberman around Susan Collins' neck:
Joe knows exactly what he's doing in supporting Collins: attempting to retain any shred of his own continued relevance by keeping the Democratic majority in the Senate as slim as possible in what is looking, once again, like a very tough cycle for GOP incumbents across the board.
And Allen knows exactly what he's doing in tying Collins to Joe: making sure that this "moderate" Republican owns the Bush-Cheney-Lieberman war that she's done nothing to oppose (see this NPR report on the Allen campaign this weekend), and that the Democratic Party stays strong and united against the Lieberman-GOP nexus. It's exactly the approach that Maine Dems hinted at when they "welcomed" news of Joe's endorsement of Collins back in April.
Yes, Lieberman is ridiculous, but he's also needs to be toxic.
So do what you can to help our Democratic friends up in Maine re-defeat Joe once again. (And keep an eye on the tubes for more on this effort in the coming days.)
Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) is never going to win any popularity contests among his party's liberal base -- a fact he seems decidedly unconcerned about despite his 2006 Democratic primary loss to Ned Lamont.
WTF? D-Conn? I thought we were beyond this! And Lieberman is decidedly unconcerned? Please, he is consumed with getting back at the Democrats because of his loss.
Not only has Lieberman endorsed Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine.) -- one of Democrats' biggest targets in the 2008 cycle -- but he's planning to co-host a fundraiser for her on June 21 in Washington, D.C.
The event, which will be held in a Capitol Hill location still to be determined, will feature Lieberman and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) -- a very rare bipartisan fundraiser. Attendees are being asked to raise $3,000; $2,000 would come in the form of a political action committee donation while the other $1,000 would be a personal contribution, according to an electronic invite for the fundraiser obtained today by The Fix.
"Let's try to make this a bi-partisan tour de force," reads the invite.
Lieberman's willingness to work openly for Collins's reelection will surely not sit well with Democratic strategists who want Rep. Tom Allen (D) to oust the two-term incumbent. For Lieberman, his support of Collins is payback. She was one of a handful of senators who campaigned for him in the general election following his loss in the Democratic primary to Lamont. (He ran for and won reelection as an independent.) Lieberman and Collins also serve together as the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in the Senate.
"Democratic strategists" should know Lieberman would do something like this. This is his modus operandi -- sticking shivs into Democrats nationwide as he perpetually relives his 2006 grudges. The only reason he still caucuses with the Democrats is because he can read the tea-leaves. Democrats are well-positioned to expand their Senate majorities in 2008 and 2010, and a party switch would've ensured Lieberman's long-term irrelevance. As is, he relishes being the contrarian on the Democratic side, even if he is now just an indepenent.
Congressman Tom Allen just filed the paperwork today to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Susan Collins. He's going to do an official announcement tour around Maine later this month. Tom will be Maine's next Senator.
The Allen campaign just launched its website today too.
In 1996, when Susan Collins first ran for Senate, she promised the people of Maine that she'd only serve two times. In typical GOP fashion, she lied. She's going to run for a third term. But, she won't get it.
This is going to be one of the premiere races in 2008. Susan Collins has staunchly stood by George Bush every day, especially on his war in Iraq, for which she voted in 2002. Last year, she campaigned for Rick Santorum. She cast the deciding vote to bring Trent Lott back in to GOP Senate leadership. And, all anyone needs to know about the pro-Iraq war record of Susan Collins is that pro-Iraq war Joe Lieberman supports her. She's already endorsed pro-Iraq war John McCain for President. That's the company she keeps.
Tom can -- and will win. Maine is a blue state. Tom has represented the first Congressional District, which includes Greater Portland, since 1996. He's a proven vote getter. In the 2006 election, Tom got 60% of the vote without running one t.v. ad meanwhile, the Democratic Governor was re-elected with only 38% of the vote in a four-way race. Approximately 72% of the media market in Maine comes out of the Portland-Auburn stations, which comprise the southern part of the state. A good chunk of voters in the Second District, including the very blue city of Waterville (hometown of the venerated George J. Mitchell) was in Tom's District until the last re-districting (in 2002). Collins best election was in 2002 -- the best GOP year ever, and she got just 58%.
(Maine turns Sour-Joe lemons into lemonade: this is how to make an endorsement you're never going to get work to your advantage. - promoted by mattw)
From CongressDailyPM: Maine Dems Welcome Lieberman Endorsement Of Collins
Maine Democrats say the endorsement of Republican Sen. Susan Collins by Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman underscores a central argument in their challenge of the two-term senator next year: the war in Iraq. A political adviser for Democratic Rep. Tom Allen -- an unannounced but likely candidate against Collins -- said Lieberman's support for the war and Collins' support for the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., tie her to the Bush administration's politically unpopular war policy. "I think the Lieberman endorsement is significant. For us, it's a gift," the Allen adviser said. "It paints a picture of Susan Collins with people like Lieberman and McCain, who support the war."
Joe, you are a complete asshole below:
Collins raised $837,000 in the first quarter, including a $5,000 donation from Lieberman's leadership PAC, and ended March with $1.2 million on hand.
And from Steve Abbott, chief of staff for Collins:
Collins' productive working relationship with Lieberman on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is a model of bipartisanship and demonstrates her moderate positions.
After reading the above, I laughed when I read the first comment:
Lieberman will be a big help. They improved Homeland Security by having Republicans and Democrats sit boy-girl dinner-party style instead of across the aisle from one another.
Gee, the next comment is from someone named Dan who was a Lieberman voter:
Lieberman needs to remember what state he "represents." He has not been home (that I know of) since the election, and has no represented the views of my state at all. I voted for him, believing his lies. Now, I'm going to go public with a little bit of a scandal: that Joe doesn't have a real address in Connecticut.
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