June 16, 2006
Lieberman and the GOPA common response to the story about Joe Lieberman possibly running as an Independent is the suggestion that he come over the to GOP. Frankly, I don't see this happening. The Democratic Party may abandon Lieberman, but if he did have to run as an Independent and did win, he'd still caucus with the Democrats anyway.
I'm surprised that more than one person has made the suggestion. I've seen it made on a number of blogs and it baffles me. Conservatives in particular show no enthusiasm for RINOs, and yet, Lieberman, who may support the war in Iraq, still takes the liberal position on many issues and was the Democrats VP nominee in 2000, would just be another RINO.
UPDATE, by Mark Noonan (7:46pm PDT) : According to Rasmussen, Lieberman might actually be in some trouble in the Democratic primary:
Senator Joe Lieberman (D) might be better off skipping the Democratic Primary and running as an Independent this November. The latest Rasmussen Reports survey of the Primary Election shows Lieberman leading challenger Ned Lamont by just six percentage points, 46% to 40%. The survey was conducted Monday night, June 12.These results should be viewed as a clear sign that Lamont is gaining traction. Our last survey found Lamont at the 31% level of support (that itself was a stunning figure at the time).
Still, some caution is in order. The sample is very small (218) meaning the margin of sampling error is very large (nearly 7 percentage points). Additionally, determining Likely Voters for a Primary is one of the most challenging tasks in the polling business. It is worth noting that the most likely of our Likely Voters were a bit more inclined to support Lamont than the overall sample.
In the General Election, Lieberman wins handily as either a Democrat or an Independent.
Will the Democratic left defeat Lieberman and/or force him out of the Democratic Party? If they do, does this mean that the Democratic Party is bound to become completely and overtly socialist? Very weighty quesitons, and only the vote count will tell the tale.
Posted by Matt Margolis on June 16, 2006 01:06 PM
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Comments
The difference between Lieberman and, say, Lincoln Chafee, in the RINO debate is that Lieberman isn't going anywhere, his re-election is all but assured, and having him cross the aisle would be a hugely symbolic victory. It would send a message to moderates that there is no place them within the democrat party. It would mean a step to the right, and every step is a victory.
With Chafee, we have someone who is still far too liberal. But the answer is not to make him a democrat. The answer is for him to either move to the right, or if that won't happen, find a replacement candidate who is slightly more conservative (a far right candidate will not win in RI, but we could certainly elect someone a little more conservative than the current incumbent).
Lieberman: move slightly to the right, become a "moderate" Republican.
Chafee: move slightly to the right, become a "mainstream" Republican.
See?
Posted by: Gullyborg ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.gopbloggers.org/nav-commenters.gif)
at June 16, 2006 02:01 PM
I don't have as many problems with RINO's as some. I would wholeheartedly accept Lieberman into the Republican party. I care about control of both the Senate and House and with one more Republican it can do nothing but help to hold onto all those important committees.
Posted by: Capitalist Infidel at June 17, 2006 04:16 AM
I would rather see Senator Lieberman remain a Democrat like Zell Miller. This country needs honest Democrats, and although I disagree with most of his stances on the issues, he remains true to his ideals.
Also, like Zell, Lieberman never left the Democratic Party...the Democratic Party left him.
Posted by: Macker at June 17, 2006 10:20 AM
Lieberman's not getting a fair shak from his own party, but I hope he remains a DemocRAT, and I hope he's reelected. We could use more like him on the other side of the aisle. It's too bad we can't replace our RINOs with conservatives...
Posted by: keefer at June 17, 2006 06:25 PM
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