Not A Democrat!

The news surrounding Lamont's victory is overwhelming. Bilmon as usual said a lot in little space this morning.

"The old politics of partisan polarization won today," said Lieberman.

Joe's right: A Republican got beat by a Democrat. Doesn't get much more partisan than that.

As I discussed yesterday many of Lieberman's most vocal cheerleaders are Republicans and that Lieberman is actually a creation of William F. Buckley and the National Review. He was on the ground floor of the planning for the ill fated invasion of Iraq as Honorary co-chair of "the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq."

You can also see it in the reactions this morning to his Independent run.
Can Karl help Joe?

According to a close Lieberman adviser, the President's political guru, Karl Rove, has reached out to the Lieberman camp with a message straight from the Oval Office: "The boss wants to help. Whatever we can do, we will do."

Meanwhile Democratic Leader Harry Reid and DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer have said that the Democratic Party will support Lamont

August 9, 2006
By: Phil Singer, DSCC

Democratic Leader Harry Reid and DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer issued the following joint statement today on the Connecticut Senate race:

“The Democratic voters of Connecticut have spoken and chosen Ned Lamont as their nominee. Both we and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) fully support Mr. Lamont’s candidacy. Congratulations to Ned on his victory and on a race well run.

“Joe Lieberman has been an effective Democratic Senator for Connecticut and for America. But the perception was that he was too close to George Bush and this election was, in many respects, a referendum on the President more than anything else. The results bode well for Democratic victories in November and our efforts to take the country in a new direction.”

Yes there is a certain lack of enthusiasm there and I'm not going to say they did the right thing because they did the only thing they could do. And Joe will have to depend on his Republican friends because few if any of his Democratic friends are going to support him. Reed Hundt at TMP Cafe has this to say

I've known Senator Lieberman for a long time, and owe him many debts of gratitude, so I don't take personal joy in his defeat. But I can't support his independent candidacy. The right step now for moderates, liberals, and progressives alike is to provide huge financial support to Ned Lamont. The sooner the money arrives the better.

I do believe this represents a major shift, the day of the neocons is coming to a close. Joe represents an ideology that resulted in a no win situation for the US in Iraq, and yes the same ideology has resulted in a no win situation for Israel in Lebanon. But there is more, it's a populist movement, the kind the aristocrats in DC fear the most. An insurgency at the grass roots level to take back the government.