Posted on 08/05/2006 10:55:07 AM PDT by Checkers
HARTFORD, Conn., Aug. 3 -- Democratic challenger Ned Lamont, riding strong antiwar sentiment, has surged to a significant lead over embattled Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) heading into Tuesday's Senate primary, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released here Thursday.
The poll showed Lamont ahead of Lieberman by 54 percent to 41 percent, underscoring the challenger's clear advantage.
Facing a likely defeat, Lieberman has scrapped plans for a massive and costly get-out-the-vote operation on primary day, according to several Democratic sources. Instead, he will shift some of his resources into more television commercials designed to highlight his accomplishments for the state, in hopes of boosting his battered image.
The three-term incumbent and 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee announced earlier that he will run as an independent in November if he loses on Tuesday to Lamont, a millionaire Greenwich businessman with limited political experience. But a landslide loss to Lamont could complicate Lieberman's hopes of winning a fourth term in a three-way general election contest.
Many Democratic leaders have endorsed Lieberman in the primary, but most of them have said they will back whoever wins the nomination.
Lieberman, a leading centrist Democrat and one of the Senate's most prominent advocates of bipartisanship, seemed invincible until a few months ago. But he has suffered from his strong support for President Bush's conduct of the war in Iraq, in a state where opposition to the war and the president runs high. And he has alienated some voters, who complain that he has neglected his home state over the years.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The polls suggest Lieberman losing the General is a real possibility. The poll I saw had Joe and Lamont each at 40% in the General (if Lamont wins the primary, I suspect the next poll will show Joe losing in the General to Lamont). The problem is, yes you guessed it, let's spell it out together - I-R-A-Q. Shays is going down too, I suspect, for the same reason.
Lieberman loses and Bush appoints him to a cabinet position.
Kos will go crazy!
If this isn't a head fake, I think it is a mistake. The moonbat crowd supporting Lamont is strong on shrillness and hysteria. But they are way short on actually taking the time and effort to vote. And political races, like war, are still won primarily on the ground. Besides, everyone already knows Lieberman and his positions.
Of course, a Lamont win may result in great cartharsis for moonbats. But it would further underscore nationally that the Democrats are the party of appeasement and cut and run. If there is no room for someone as liberal as Joe Lieberman, there is no room for anyone to the right of Hugo Chavez or Cindy Sheehan.
Ahhh...I see what you are getting at. You are suggesting that Loserman would have a better chance of not getting thrown under the train if he was wrong on multiple RAT issues instead of just one.
And that Republican voters ARE willing to give single issue candidates the benefit of the doubt. So much so that we are willing to extend that courtesy to mulitple-issue candidates.
What was your original point again?
Then its going to be a massacre across the board. A Democrat Congress...yuck!
The poll shows that a majority of Democrats will follow the whole of the party and cast off the individual for the "feel good" factor achieved.
NOT YET....CHCKENS ARE NOT WHERE AMERICANS ROOST...
DEMOCRATS WILL SELL THE COUNTRY FOR A CASE OF KETCHUP,
OR GO WITH THE LIBS...KERRY, KENNEDY, REID,ETC..IT
WILL BE A SAD DAY AND THE BOMB ASHELTER BUSNESS WILL
BE FLOURISHING, IF THE COUNTRY WANTS TO GO THAT ROUTE..jake
"Who are they polling?"
Leftists in San Francisco.
No way, dude!
"From Charlie Cook's forthcoming National Journal column: "Time is running out for Republicans. Unless something dramatic happens before Election Day, Democrats will take control of the House. And the chances that theyll seize the Senate are rising toward 50-50. "The electoral hurricane bearing down on the GOP looks likely to be a Category 4 or 5, strong enough to destroy at least one of the partys majorities. The political climate feels much as it did before previous elections that produced sizable upheavals, such as in 1994, when Democrats lost 52 House seats, eight Senate seats, and control of both chambers."
Who's Charlie Cook?
You forgot my orginal point? Not to worry...I did too.
Hmm... This scenario isn't that far-fetched. Lamont will win the primary, based on his masterful publicity-snatching. Say Rumsfeld "resigns" and Bush replaces him with a Senator who happens to support the war in Iraq, but is technically a DEMOCRAT. What do the liberals say then? The 2008 dominoes are setting up now.
LOL. It's for the best. Let's move on shall we?
No, the best case scenario is that the Dems' votes are split and a Republican wins. Senator Lieberman happily voted for amnesty (willing to sell out this country).
Indeed! Just ask John McCain and Lindsay Graham.
Say Rumsfeld "resigns" and Bush replaces him with a Senator who happens to support the war in Iraq, but is technically a DEMOCRAT. What do the liberals say then? The 2008 dominoes are setting up.
-
Never mind the 2008 dominos. Mind the 2006 dominos!
If something like that were orchestrated (immediately) after the CT primary next week, before Friday even - 90 days before the midterm elections; the potential is there to turn around the midterm elections.
Reagan Democrats could hold congress for the GOP.
Now if Bush would just stop talking about immigration.
Liberman might be liberal, but, unlike many other liberals in the Senate, he certainly is a man of his convictions and his love for his country in the midst of a war. Connecticut can thank Liberman for saving the submarine base at New London and Electric Boat too. It was on the BRAC list last year and the Navy really wants to pull its boat building down to Pascagoula where there are more modern facilities in place. Had Lamont been there instead, you could kiss a big chunk of the economy goodbye.
I'd start by targeting every "moderate" Senator in a Red State...Hagel is a good place to begin, so would be McCain and Graham.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.