I wonder if the establishment Democrats are rallying behind Lieberman because they actually believe he's a good guy and deserves to stay in the Senate, or because they understand that this race is sort of the Battle of Bunker Hill for progressives--   the first big shot fired in a war to overhaul the party.

?

make sure you kill him.

It is a natural thing to rally around a team member and that is true whether your team is the Senate Demoratic Caucus or the Congresssional Black Caucus. This is particularly true if there is a good chance that team member will be on the team in the next season. Makes for better clubhouse chemistry.

And in this case, if the voters do cut Lieberman free he is likely to turn around and openly work for his real bosses, which is to say Connecticutt insurance companies. Chances are Mr. Lobbyist Lieberman will be handing out plenty of big corporate checks in years to come, and there is no reason for any Dem on the corporatist/DLC wing of the Party to piss him off prematurely and kill the Golden Cow before it even starts giving milk.

Joe ISN'T there when Connecticut servicemen need him (spread the word!!!):

Town Times
Middlefield, CT

Letters to the Editor

Lieberman supports war, not troops.

I am a registered Democrat and a soldier currently serving in Afghanistan with the 1-102 Infantry Battalion of the Connecticut National Guard. Last week I received some newspaper clippings in the mail that sparked my interest: Senator Joseph I. Lieberman has been successfully challenged and forced into a primary that will take place in August.

As some readers may have heard, in January my battalion was issued substandard equipment for our deployment to Afghanistan. Originally, we were issued M-16s rather than M-4 carbines, rifles with shorter barrels and collapsible butt stocks. As a politically active member of the battalion, I began to get in touch with Representative DeLauro and Representative Simmons, who both responded quickly and enthusiastically. Senator Dodd also responded quickly and gave me prompts on how to further validate my request for weapons.

However, I did not receive a response from Senator Lieberman's office. I continued to leave messages for both him and his military aide, now senior counselor, Fred Downey, who represented Sen. Lieberman at the Battalion's send off ceremony on Jan. 4. After several messages, I finally received a return phone call. However, I was not met with the same enthusiasms expressed by other legislators; I was immediately confronted with an inquisition that seemed to have the purpose of dispelling the belief that the battalion was ill equipped. Rather than listen to our specific concerns, the "benefits" of the M16 were highlighted and the advantages of the M4 were downplayed.

Lieberman's office left the impression that they believed we had the equipment we needed, despite the contrasting beliefs of soldiers in my battalion, some who have been on as many as five deployments. The others in Washington were not so quick to abandon us.

Lieberman has never hesitated to voice his support for the war, and recently voted against pulling troops out of Iraq, so where was he when over 500 of his own constituents were being sent overseas to fight on behalf of his great country? It appears the senator was so concerned with climbing the political ladder, he forget what his job is really about: the people.

When my absentee ballot returns to the States next month, Lamont's name, not Lieberman's, will bear the check when August 8 arrives, will you stand for the hypocrisy?

Sincerely,

Colin D. Halloran

The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of the 1-102 Infantry Battalion, CTARNG, the Department of the Army or the members thereof (disclaimer in the paper).

There's only one solution. Air an ad with Lieberman's floor speech bashing Clinton.

Its on now. This is crazy. First, Tv ads for Lieberman and now automated calls for him? I don't know you anymore, Bill Clinton. No more.

Well, folks, this is the Bill Clinton we've all come to know and love. Anyone who is in the least bit surprised by this now has first-hand knowledge of how fair-minded conservatives could have been bamboozled by George W. Bush.

This is about privilege--entitlement--and the foot soldiers who do their bidding are expendable and useful idiots.

Personally, I've adopted the strategy of voting against all incumbents except in very rare instances. The only way that I can see to get any congress critter to do the bidding of the people is high turnover--in this way, "we the people" limit their power by keeping them continually hungry for a little of our love...firing the SOB's is the only language these bast*rds understand.

Harlan.

 I only have one comment.

 Where was this coordinated Democratic blitz in October of 2004, when the candidate was John Kerry and the opponent was George W. Bush?