Reactions to Lieberman loss

Just as I predicted, Joe Lieberman lost his primary in CT to millionaire moonbat Ned Lamont. Also as I predicted, it was closer than the polls indicated, roughly 3.3%. The third part of my prediction, that Joe will win the seat as an independent in November, remains to be seen.

Here are some reactions to the Lieberman defeat:

Brendan Loy wants a divorce from the Democratic Party:

the hard reality is that the voters have spoken, and their message was loud and clear: there’s no longer room for Joe Lieberman in the Democratic Party. And alas, tonight’s result will reverberate through the November elections and into the 2008 presidential campaign. It’s really much more than just a single primary in a single state; it’s a shot across the bow of moderate Democrats everywhere. And so, whatever further ramifications this result might have, there’s one thing it definitely means, one result that is officially cast in stone, as of today:

I am no longer a Democrat.

...In recent years, I’ve seen the “base” of the Democratic Party drifting away from sense and sanity, and at the same time, I’ve felt my own ideological compass pulled somewhat to the right by world events. Yet I remain profoundly uncomfortable with the Republican Party for a variety of reasons, and I’ve never much liked the idea of being an “independent,” considering it — with all due respect to those who wear the label proudly — something of a cop-out in many cases.

Well, if there’s no room in the Democratic Party for Joe Lieberman, then there’s no room in it for me.

So I’m done. I’m out. See ya later. Sayonara.

No doubt Brendan Loy will be seen as a Zell Miller pariah for having the gall to demand sanity from his (now former) party.

RCP thinks that Democrats are hosed because the election was close:

First, it almost guarantees that Lieberman will run as an independent and given the arc of the public polling it is very possible that Lamont peaked about two weeks ago. Lieberman's 48% makes him the clear favorite in the three-way. Republicans Chris Shays and Rob Simmons have received a boost in holding on in their vulnerable districts, two seats the Dems have to win if they hope to capture the House. And as much as mainstream Democrats may try to downplay this result as a Connecticut issue, the rejection of a three-term Senator who was the party's VP nominee only six years ago will have repercussions throughout the country and they don't help the Democratic Party.

"Be careful what you wish for, moonbats!" seems to be the prevailing theme.

PoliPundit thinks that the Dems' base has been hijacked by the left, which is good news for the GOP:

Lieberman is a very well known figure (the guy was their Veep nominee in 2000!) Lamont’s victory today will be the subject of much water-cooler talk. Obnoxious lefties will preen in their obnoxious way, and normal people will see that the Democrat party has been taken over by a cabal of loony defeatists. I wish this race had been held a week before the general election; it would have put the GOP over the top all over the country. Even three months before the general, it will do significant damage to Democrats all over the country.

Only if the GOP can capitalize off of "Nedrenaline" will they parlay this into more Dem "electile dysfunction"!

Ryan Sager says that partisanship in what should otherwise be a non-partisan primary did in Joe, and could do in the Democratic Party in a year where they seemed destined to make gains:

Lieberman didn't lose because he's not enough of a Democrat, of course (in fact, he's a very reliable one); he lost because he's not the right kind of Democrat.

Specifically, he's not the kind who hates Republicans with every fiber of his being. He's not the kind who will fling everything at the opposition, just to see what sticks. And he's not the kind who will do anything for his party, regardless of the effect on his country. In other words, he fancies himself more of a statesman than a politician -- and given the Democrats' fortunes at the polls in recent years, many on the netroots Left would prefer the latter to the former.

...Polls show voters not just mad at Republicans or mad at Congress generally, but actually ready to throw out incumbents on scale not seen for more than a decade. Opposition to the Iraq war has the Left energized, gas prices have swing voters in a foul mood, and immigration has the GOP base split. Thus, the netroots' No. 1 priority is: replacing a solid Democratic senator with a different Democrat?
...
Yet, somehow, Lieberman was priority No. 1. And if Lieberman pursues the independent bid he seems 100 percent committed to pursuing, Democrats will spend even more time and money fighting one of their own as November approaches.

Why? Lieberman has the answer: partisanship.

"The old politics of partisan polarization won today," Lieberman said in his concession/announcement speech. It's a politics, he said, that values insults over ideas, that labels every compromise a surrender, that calls every disagreement disloyalty.

Interesting, tons of other Democrats (including John Kerry, who, rumor has it, served in Vietnam) also supported the Iraq war, yet they haven't been attacked relentlessly like Lieberman has been. Were I a liberal, I might reflexively charge "anti-Semitism"! Then again, thankfully, I'm not a liberal. I actually love my country.

Finally, Dick Morris predicts that "Joe will rise again."

Those who would consign Lieberman to the dustbin of history need to realize that the Democratic primary in Connecticut is an affair that could be conducted in a good sized phone booth. About 140,000 people voted for Lamont. But the state saw 1,575,000 votes cast in the general election of 2004. Assume a lower turnout in 2006 (an off year), say 1 million votes, that still leaves 860,000 that can vote for Lieberman.

The Connecticut incumbent can, of course, count on the roughly 130,000 who backed him yesterday (aside from a few party regulars who might find it necessary to fall into line and endorse the nominee).

Then, with the Republican plagued by reports of huge gambling debts, Lieberman will strongly attract independent and GOP voters, plus moderate Democrats who weren't energized enough by the Lamont challenge to vote in the primaries.

In the general election, Lieberman can paint Lamont (a former client of mine) as the rich, light-weight dilettante he is (heir to the fortune of J.P. Morgan's partner) and can focus on the broad range of his legislative agenda. After all, Lieberman has taken the lead on issues ranging from campaign-finance reform to tobacco regulation to corporate-governance reform to tough action against terrorism to the battle against global warming. He'll look better and better, while Lamont will look like a one-issue challenger who is out of his league.

Freed of the confines of the Democratic primary, Lieberman can now appeal to independents, Republicans and mainstream Democrats who were not sufficiently motivated to participate in the primary, he can win.

I've hinted before that I won't be voting for the GOP in November, due to bloated spending, pisspoor budget management, weakness on immigration, etc. However, after seeing just how far off the reservation the Democratic Party's base is, and how much of a chokehold the moonbat base has on the Dems, I cannot allow this bunch of pinkos to be in charge of our national security...especially during a time of war.

I'm going to pinch my nose, and vote for the GOP...God help me. I just don't feel like Lamont and his nutroots Kossacks are giving me a choice.