Lieberman: The Republican Candidate in CT

An excellent article in HuffPo today by RJ Eskow destroys the myth of the "moderate" Joe Lieberman and makes a shrewd analysis: Lieberman is a Republican proxy, carrying water for Karl Rove in a blue state. Excerpts from Eskow's trenchant analysis:

With the National Republican Senatorial Committee's all-but-endorsement of his campaign, it's now pretty much official that he's conducting a GOP "proxy war" in Connecticut. The message needs to be: Joe Lieberman - along with his allies Dick Cheney and Karl Rove - is no "moderate." He's well to the right of Republican moderates, much less those other Democrats in the "Gang of 14."

Compare Lieberman's war stance with that of Chuck Hagel, and contrast his long-term advocacy of warrantless wiretapping with the positions taken by Sens. Snowe and Specter.

If Lieberman's more conservative than these Republican Senators, how can he be described as a "moderate Democrat" by any but the totally clueless?

Here's how Democrats can educate the voters on Lieberman's hard-right GOP stance in four simple sentences:

1. He supported the religious extremists when they tried to intervene in the Schiavo case - an action opposed by 70% of all Americans.

2. He wants more troops in Iraq, while 60-70% of Americans want an end to the war.

3. He doesn't support the Fourth Amendment. Period.

4. He's running a gutter campaign using sleazy tactics, with the active participation of the Rove/Cheney dirty-tricks gang.

That's the argument Lamont's supporters need to make. While Ned shares his positive vision with the voters, other Democrats need to hammer this message over and over again. Lamont doesn't need to win Republican votes. He needs to starve Lieberman of Democratic votes. Tepid endorsements from fellow Dems won't do: he needs fighters.

Amen to that last line. Let's get the Big Dog, Bill Clinton, into Connecticut (and Pennsylvania and Ohio and Missouri and Nevada, too, for that matter) to campaign for the Democratic nominee. Fight Lieberman's right-wing coordinated campaign by using his own tactics against him. Remember: in the new SUSA poll, Bush is down 32% to 66% in Connecticut. Sixty-six per cent disapproval!! Wrap Bush around Lieberman's neck like a diseased python, and watch Old Joe melt into the floor like the Wicked Witch of the East.