Joe lies. . . .
(Cross-posted from my other blog, guy2k)
First, Joe lies bleeding. For an 18-year incumbent with his party’s backing to blow a 45-point lead in four months is stunning. Forget the spin about the race tightening in the last week because one poll had Lamont up by double digits last week. Joe Lieberman lost a giant lead to a political unknown—bottom line.
Second, Joe lies like a rug. To actually reiterate the stupid “my website was hacked” accusation during his “concession” speech last night—a speech carried on national news networks—just shows that nothing comes before Joe. Not party. Not country. Not state. Not even the truth.
That this hacking story has even been allowed to run for 24 hours is a testament both to Lieberman’s vindictive nature and his campaign’s utter incompetence.
It’s also, sadly, a testament to the establishment media’s incompetence. Surely, most of these news organizations have a tech geek working somewhere in the building—why not go ask him or her how these things work instead of just repeating the Lieberman camp’s baseless whining? Or, just go check out the serious work done by some interested parties in the blogosphere. Or maybe publicly note that the Lamont camp posted a cached version of Lieberman’s site on the challenger’s website as a goodwill gesture, and also offered one of their techies to help get Joe’s site back up.
(There are too many stories on this to choose one. I recommend going over to Daily Kos, and clicking back in time to about 6pm EDT, Tuesday, 8/8, and work down from there. You will find how bloggers found the source of all of Lieberman’s technical woes. . . basically, Lieberman’s campaign bought the cheapest hosting service they could find. . . . Like many a lobbyist has said about Joe, you get what you pay for.)
Oh, but, Joe, to repeat the hacking lie for a national audience after you had lost your party’s super-heavy turnout primary—god, Fox News (your future employer, Joe) and the rightwing blogs are going to run this thing into the ground! Surely you knew that. But what do you care, it’s Joe first, party second. . . probably not even, it’s just Joe first.
But, lest we forget, Tuesday night in Connecticut was also a testament to a really well run campaign by Ned Lamont. A campaign that was not just about Iraq, but was not afraid to talk about it, either. To talk about how truly bad Iraq is—as a war, as a strategy in the “war on terror, and as a drain on domestic priorities. It is a testament to the voters of Connecticut, who came out in record numbers to say enough already to making nice with Bush and his rubberstamp Republicans.
And, finally, it is a testament to a strategy that I have been espousing for nearly twenty years (maybe more). Don’t try to outflank the Republicans on he right to re-capture “Reagan Democrats.” Instead, find issues that inspire all those voters that have stopped voting or have never registered. The ones who feel left out or cast aside by the right. The ones who would be traditional Democratic voters if they just had something to vote for. The ones whose bounteous numbers make those lost Reaganites look like a few grains of sand on the vast electoral landscape.
I think the Lamont campaign did that. I think the rest of the Democratic Party should do the same.
Go team!
(And there’s no Joe in TEAM.)
(Hat tip to Lili Taylor)
First, Joe lies bleeding. For an 18-year incumbent with his party’s backing to blow a 45-point lead in four months is stunning. Forget the spin about the race tightening in the last week because one poll had Lamont up by double digits last week. Joe Lieberman lost a giant lead to a political unknown—bottom line.
Second, Joe lies like a rug. To actually reiterate the stupid “my website was hacked” accusation during his “concession” speech last night—a speech carried on national news networks—just shows that nothing comes before Joe. Not party. Not country. Not state. Not even the truth.
That this hacking story has even been allowed to run for 24 hours is a testament both to Lieberman’s vindictive nature and his campaign’s utter incompetence.
It’s also, sadly, a testament to the establishment media’s incompetence. Surely, most of these news organizations have a tech geek working somewhere in the building—why not go ask him or her how these things work instead of just repeating the Lieberman camp’s baseless whining? Or, just go check out the serious work done by some interested parties in the blogosphere. Or maybe publicly note that the Lamont camp posted a cached version of Lieberman’s site on the challenger’s website as a goodwill gesture, and also offered one of their techies to help get Joe’s site back up.
(There are too many stories on this to choose one. I recommend going over to Daily Kos, and clicking back in time to about 6pm EDT, Tuesday, 8/8, and work down from there. You will find how bloggers found the source of all of Lieberman’s technical woes. . . basically, Lieberman’s campaign bought the cheapest hosting service they could find. . . . Like many a lobbyist has said about Joe, you get what you pay for.)
Oh, but, Joe, to repeat the hacking lie for a national audience after you had lost your party’s super-heavy turnout primary—god, Fox News (your future employer, Joe) and the rightwing blogs are going to run this thing into the ground! Surely you knew that. But what do you care, it’s Joe first, party second. . . probably not even, it’s just Joe first.
But, lest we forget, Tuesday night in Connecticut was also a testament to a really well run campaign by Ned Lamont. A campaign that was not just about Iraq, but was not afraid to talk about it, either. To talk about how truly bad Iraq is—as a war, as a strategy in the “war on terror, and as a drain on domestic priorities. It is a testament to the voters of Connecticut, who came out in record numbers to say enough already to making nice with Bush and his rubberstamp Republicans.
And, finally, it is a testament to a strategy that I have been espousing for nearly twenty years (maybe more). Don’t try to outflank the Republicans on he right to re-capture “Reagan Democrats.” Instead, find issues that inspire all those voters that have stopped voting or have never registered. The ones who feel left out or cast aside by the right. The ones who would be traditional Democratic voters if they just had something to vote for. The ones whose bounteous numbers make those lost Reaganites look like a few grains of sand on the vast electoral landscape.
I think the Lamont campaign did that. I think the rest of the Democratic Party should do the same.
Go team!
(And there’s no Joe in TEAM.)
(Hat tip to Lili Taylor)
posted by guy2k at 7:27 AM
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