A new day: Lamont wins

Ned Lamont has defeated Joe Lieberman in the Connecticut Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate. This is a big deal.

Kudos to everyone who voted and volunteered in this effort. I want to particularly give a hat tip to kos and the MyDD crew who believed this was possible from pretty much the day the 2004 election ended. The closeness of this primary result reiterates something learned in the recent Oakland Mayoral primary; our efforts made a difference, perhaps even a critical difference. That's a big deal, too.

There is absolutely no way any Democrat should support Senator Lieberman in his run as an independent candidate. The Democratic voters of Connecticut have spoken. If Democrats nation-wide have any respect for...uh...democracy, it's time to rally around Ned Lamont. Mr. Lamont won this primary fair and square. It could easily have gone the other way. It didn't. Senator Lieberman shouldn't have the luxury of having it both ways.

Further, there are too many races, and too little time till election day 2006 for a squabble with Joe Lieberman to distract us and drain our limited resources. If Senator Lieberman wishes to serve his country in the future as a Democrat he should listen to the calm voice of reason and clear the way for Ned Lamont now.

There is no time to waste. This result is one more sign that a new day in American politics is upon us. There are no guaranteed outcomes. And there are no easy answers. But a wall built on power, cynicism and business-as-usual took a mighty blow in Connecticut tonight.

Tonight those of us who have ridden waves of hope through previous election cycles can once again believe that our hard-fought view-point...united by a bedrock belief in progress, open government and reason...can prevail. There is hope in Connecticut tonight and that hope is contagious.

That is no small thing. Democrats owe it to themselves to build and sustain it.

We know that if we prevail that some will say a wave of popular sentiment will have carried us through to victory. But we helped build that wave. We had a hand in shaping it. And I am convinced that wave will not settle till it has touched all 50 states.

Comments

Unknown said…
There is absolutely no way any Democrat should support Senator Lieberman in his run as an independent candidate.

This is the next immediate issue. Anyone who doesn't come out in the next day or two and say they'll support Lamont is suspect, IMO.

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