Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) boards his campaign bus after voting in the democratic primary in New Haven, Connecticut, August 8, 2006. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)
Posted on 08/09/2006 12:48:53 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fueled by opposition to the Iraq war and anger at President Bush, liberal grass-roots and Internet activists on Wednesday claimed their most significant political victory -- the defeat of Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman (news, bio, voting record).
The three-term senator from Connecticut was repudiated on Tuesday by voters from his own party who chose Ned Lamont -- a relative unknown with a fierce anti-war message -- to represent Democrats in the November election.
"The winner is people-powered politics," declared the Daily Kos Web site, a sentiment that echoed throughout the liberal blogosphere.
Lamont, a millionaire businessman who has never held state or federal office, had almost zero name recognition and very little political experience when he entered the race.
But his vociferous opposition to the Iraq war and Bush's pursuit of it drew the attention of activists, bloggers and groups like MoveOn.org, which unleashed an army of volunteers who went house-to-house in Connecticut for months and made 80,000 phone calls in the days before the primary vote.
"What you're witnessing is the democratization of democracy and don't expect it to be pretty," said Carol Darr, director of George Washington University's Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet.
While Lamont's campaign was well-financed -- he spent more than $3 million of his own money -- groups like MoveOn and its more than 3 million members across the United States gave him traction.
"The candidates and the parties are about to see that they are no longer in control of politics," Darr said. "And I've got a front-row seat at the revolution."
'NETROOTS' EMERGES
Lamont's victory underscored the growing clout of grass-roots and Internet activists -- collectively dubbed "netroots" -- that first emerged during Howard Dean's Democratic presidential bid in 2004.
"Lieberman was handed a crushing defeat because ordinary people realize that Joe Lieberman and the Washington establishment he represents has for too long been allowed to sell out their constituents and this country as a whole," liberal blogger David Sirota wrote.
Lamont's unseating of Lieberman, a longtime supporter of Bush's decision to invade Iraq, provided a measure of anti-war sentiment among voters before the November 7 election, when control of Congress will be up for grabs.
Republicans, increasingly concerned about losing their dominance in the Senate and the House of Representatives, pointed to the anti-war activists who galvanized around Lamont as evidence that the Democratic Party is under the sway of its radical left wing and cannot be trusted with national security.
"What we saw last night was really an uprising of voters hungry for change," said Eli Pariser, executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action. "A revolt by voters who are tired of politicians who defend the status quo at a time when the status quo is failing America."
The bloggers and activists who helped claim Lieberman's scalp, are not through with the senator -- who will now run for re-election as an independent -- or others who backed the war.
Pariser said his group would give about $15 million to candidates and organizations interested in "changing the course" of the country.
"And our focus will be to make sure Lieberman does the right thing and steps aside now the voters have weighed in," he said. MoveOn members soon will start making telephone calls urging him to bow out gracefully.
Brilliant!
Personally, I wouldn't want to take credit for such a piddly turnout.
Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) boards his campaign bus after voting in the democratic primary in New Haven, Connecticut, August 8, 2006. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)
They will have their "Pogo Moment" come November.
U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-CT, smiles while talking to reporters in his Hartford, Conn., suite Wednesday afternoon Aug. 9, 2006. Lieberman was defeated by Ned Lamont for the party's nomination Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Bob Child)
The Dems casting out of Joe Lieberman is pretty interesting. At this moment, we
have three young democracies with elected leaders (Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon)
standing up against Islamo-fascism (with the help of western powers). Say what
you will, but you can certainly see a strategy here. 5 years ago, no
democracies in these countries, today three democracies.
Do the Dems truly and seriously want to throw all this hard work away? If not
the young democratic governments, who would the Dems support in the Middle East? The Taliban in Afghanistan, The Sad'r Malitia in Iraq, Hexbollah in Lebanon....?
Casting out Joe Liberman without an actual coherent alternative plan was a huge
political mistake in my opinion.
Let see they WIN a fight over a guy that votes with them 90% of the time in a Democrat voter only Primary?
Love watching the Stupid Leftists eat their own.
The left is way past anger, they are hateful & intolerant!
It wasn't the Internet, it wasn't activist, it was Karl Rove.
And despite all the angst and bombast they managed to win by less then 6,000 votes. Pretty pathetic showing no matter how hard they spin it.
Of course there is no mention of THE FACT that is was Joe's own rotten Dems who sank him...and they say it was the bloggers. Total BULL ^&*%. They threw "moderate Joe" over the side years ago.
It surely was. But 'Rats excel at those :)
In three months how will they explain they won the primary but lost still by majority vote to an Independent Lieberman?
What message should that give to the Democrat party regarding their stance on the war?
I'm going to laugh my self silly if Joe comes back on the Independent ticket and wins.
What a maroon. Does he think a blue-blood born-into-riches elitist like Lamont is really looking out for the common man? Give me a break.
Well, the Moonbats finally won one
Like shooting your own hunting dog to claim that you "got one", but....
Priceless. Liberal DEMs most 'significant victory' is vanguishing their own party's former VP candidate. REPUBS could never have removed a Liberman but the RATS got it done.
If only they could win some more victories as sweet as this one.
Look out John Edwards--your next. Oh wait--John Boy does not even have an office to lose.
Well then surely Bill Richardson or the the RAT Indiana senator can get the Liberman treatment shortly just for posturing to be included on the RAT ticket.
--
So will Joe.. ;-)
ap
Well, the big question should be:
"Should republicans welcome Joe Lieberman to their party, knowing full well he will be a RINO?"
Is that like BS on steroids?
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