BUYERS REMORSE IN CONNECTICUT... BIG TIME

Many Connecticut voters are seething that Joe Lieberman lied to them, blatantly, when he conducted his "independent" camapign for Senate last year (having been defeated by Ned Lamont in the Democratic primary). Even with the tacit support of Bush, Cheney and Rove dog-whistling Republicans all over the state that Lieberman was their man, Lieberman still needed low-info Democrats to vote for him. By lying to the public about his affinity to Democratic positions-- especially on Iraq-- and with the help of Bill Clinton, the nonchalance of Chuck Schumer and the DSCC, and the active support from a small handful of reactionary Democratic colleagues, Lieberman pulled it off. Connecticut, one of only 6 states where Bush's disapproval rating is greater than 70%, elected Bush and Cheney's most loyal supporter.

And they're stuck with him... for six years. And there is no recall. Yesterday two newspapers in Connecticut that had each endorsed his re-election effort had some heavy second thoughts. The Connecticut Post castigated local Democrats for abandoning their party to work for Lieberman and, in effect, assisting in bringing control of the Senate back to the GOP. "Surprising no one, Sen. Joe Lieberman has announced he will campaign and raise money for his good friend Sen. Susan Collins, of Maine. Collins is a Republican, and if she wins next year, it could go a long way toward putting her party back in control of the Senate. Elections have consequences. Congress is this year finally holding hearings and trying to get answers from a White House that rules by executive fiat. President Bush will be gone after next year's election, but investigators will be sorting through the wreckage of his presidency for years. Restoring to power a party dedicated to looking the other way is bad for the country."

The Post writer, Hugh Bailey, is mortified at the grab for one party rule the Bush Regime pulled with the politicization of the Department of Justice and "the rest of the federal bureaucracy." He's is appalled by Lieberman's self-centered, career-long "it's-all-about-me" attitude, his proto-Republican stance and by his assistance to the GOP's efforts to regain power by re-electing the quintessential rubber stamp Collins over progressive Democrat Tom Allen.

We'll never know what kind of senator Ned Lamont would have made, but we can be sure he wouldn't have spent time and money campaigning for Republicans. Elections have consequences, and all local Democrats who stuck with Lieberman and turned against their own party should be reminded of what their support has brought them-- no oversight, no meaningful investigations from his committee and active support for Republicans.

If anything, the Stamford Advocate is even harsher on the faithless Lieberman, primarily by contrasting his gloomy, negative and awful political existence with the glittering constancy of Ned Lamont.

We think it says something for the character of the man, as well as continuing public support for the positions he represented as a candidate. It also might, in a small way, help show a jaded electorate that there are politicians who remain committed to their positions even after they suffer rejection from voters.

Since Mr. Lamont's defeat last November, he:

* in January agreed to become a visiting fellow at Harvard University's Institute of Politics, where he shared his political experiences with students and even enticed former members of his campaign staff to do the same;

* in February promoted opposition to increasing troops in Iraq by e-mailing supporters and participating in a statewide telephone conference;

* in March endorsed the presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, a fellow Connecticut Democrat;

* this month gave a speech to the Fairfield County Bar Association's Law Day gathering, discussing the importance of government checks and balances and of campaigns such as his in helping move lawmakers to action on important issues;

* and a few days later provided public support for Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., in congressional efforts to end the Iraq war.

And let me end with a little headline that got me really excited yesterday: Liebermen is considering quitting the government.