Democratic Party primary, Connecticut United States Senate election, 2006

The 2006 Connecticut Senate Democratic Primary was held on August 8, 2006 and pitted three-term incumbent Senator Joe Lieberman against cable executive Ned Lamont. Connecticut is a stronghold for the Democratic Party and Senator Lieberman's seat was not considered competitive and unlikely to switch parties. [ [http://www.cookpolitical.com/races/report_pdfs/2006_senate_ratings_dec3.pdf 2006 Senate Ratings] . Cook Political Report. December 3, 2004. Last access date August 18, 2006.] However, Senator Lieberman had created opposition to his re-election among progressive Democrats due to his stance on many progressive issues, his continued support for the Iraq War, and perceived closeness to the George W. Bush administration. Lamont won the primary with 52 percent to 48 percent. Lieberman then decided to run for the newly formed party Connecticut for Lieberman in the succeeding general election, and won the senate seat over Lamont and Republican Alan Schlesinger.

Democratic Primary Results

Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (US)
candidate = Ned Lamont
votes = 146,587
percentage = 51.79%
change = N/AElection box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (US)
candidate = Joe Lieberman (Incumbent)
votes = 136,468
percentage = 48.21%
change = N/A

Opposition to Lieberman

Lieberman's critics object to what they call Lieberman's lack of commitment to the Democratic party; [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/04/nyregion/04lieberman.html?ex=1309665600&en=b7084acf5ed65d2e&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss Lieberman Plans Independent Bid if Primary Fails - New York Times ] ] his opposition to affirmative action; [ [http://www.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/080800wh-lieberman-record.html The Record: Senator Often Stands to Right of His Party ] ] his opposition to a Connecticut state law that would require Catholic hospitals to provide emergency contraception to rape victims; [ [http://www.yaledailynews.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=32333 Yale Daily News - Activists clash over proposed 'Plan B' bill ] ] his opposition to same-sex marriage; [http://www.connecticutchoicevoice.com/ connecticutchoicevoice.com ] ] his membership in the bipartisan Gang of 14; his support of Florida governor Jeb Bush in the Terri Schiavo case; [ [http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/1712.article Florida Baptist Witness: Publishing Good News since 1884 ] ] his initial willingness to compromise on Social Security privatization; [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/07/politics/07lieberman.html?ex=1267938000&en=9c4ea5f10f7a9786&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland/ The New York Times > Washington > On Social Security, Lieberman the Centrist Ruffles Democratic Feathers ] ] his alliances with Republicans [ [http://www.swingstateproject.com/2006/06/ctsen_lieberman_3.php Swing State Project ] ] and attacks on other Democrats; [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/20/AR2006062001439.html Lieberman Vs. the Democrats ] ] [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5138-2001Jul16.html Democrats Criticize Their Own - and Bush (washingtonpost.com) ] ] [ [http://www.nebraskademocrats.org/blog/59/what-lieberman-can-learn-from-ben-nelson Nebraska Democratic Party: What Lieberman Can Learn From Ben Nelson ] ] and Lieberman's rhetoric, which is believed by many Democrats, including Paul Krugman and former John Kerry advisor Ari Melber, to often support Republican talking points. [ [http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2005/03/joenertia_ii.html Grasping Reality with Both Hands: Economist Brad DeLong's Fair, Balanced, and Reality-Based Semi-Daily Journal ] ] [ [http://www.forward.com/articles/lieberman-democrats-have-no-place-in-an-oppo/ "‘Lieberman Democrats’ Have No Place In an Opposition Party - Forward.com" ] ] [ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003046421_harrop08.html The Seattle Times: Opinion: Bush's pet Democrat is in trouble ] ] Paul Bass, in the "Hartford Courant", argues that Lieberman's voting record is not representative of his actions. [ [http://www.courant.com/news/local/northeast/hc-pbass0604.artjun04,0,7611693.column] Dead link|date=March 2008]

Lieberman has been criticized for an editorial he wrote for "The Wall Street Journal", in which he suggested that criticism of the President and the war put the nation in jeopardy. He declared "we undermine presidential credibility at our nation's peril." [ [http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-black18jul18,0,7362225.story?coll=la-opinion-center] Dead link|date=March 2008]

Opposition to Lamont

"New Republic" senior editor and "liberal hawk" Jonathan Chait, who is critical of Lieberman on a variety of issues, writes:

I can't quite root for Lieberman to lose his primary. What's holding me back is that the anti-Lieberman campaign has come to stand for much more than Lieberman's sins. It's a test of strength for the new breed of left-wing activists who are flexing their muscles within the party. These are exactly the sorts of fanatics who tore the party apart in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They think in simple slogans and refuse to tolerate any ideological dissent. [cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-chait7may07,0,3857801.column?coll=la-news-comment-opinions|title=Don’t let the left defeat Lieberman|last=Chait|first=Jonathan|date=2006-05-07|publisher="Los Angeles Times"|accessdate=2008-09-26]

Kevin Drum, in "The Washington Monthly", objects to this characterization of Lieberman's opponents, writing:

Chait calls the Kos/Atrios wing "left-wing activists." But this is a serious misreading.... They aren't especially left wing. Markos in particular specifically prides himself on caring mostly about winning elections, not fighting ideological battles. Now, there's no question that the left blogosphere is vaguely in favor of all the usual liberal goals: progressive taxation, decent healthcare for everyone, tolerance for minorities, and so forth. And, yes, they're loudly in favor of these things.... But to compare it to the left-wing radicals of the early 70s is to misunderstand it completely. Netroots favorite Howard Dean is no lefty radical, and at a policy level most of the high-traffic liberal blogs are only modestly to the left of the DLC. [ [http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_05/008764.php The Washington Monthly ] ]

Many Democrats have argued that a primary race against Lieberman will divert energy and attention from other contested Senate races; Lieberman and Lamont are spending millions of dollars on a primary for what would be a safe Democratic seat. Because of Lieberman's high favorability ratings in Connecticut, some strategists consider the commitment of significant resources toward defeating Lieberman to be dubious.Fact|date=February 2007 Democratic Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's request to Lamont not to run was rebuffed.Fact|date=February 2007

Lamont's opinions regarding Israel's recent military campaign in Lebanon have been criticised. Hartford Courant columnist Kevin Rennie wrote on August 13:

Lamont's is a frightening point of view that ignores decades of determination by Islamic terrorists to kill Jews. The means have become more lethal and sophisticated, but there is nothing new in the purpose. To blame George W. Bush for the missiles flying from southern Lebanon into northern Israeli towns betrays a malignant partisanship by Lamont that ought to alarm voters on most spots of the political spectrum. [ [http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/columnists/hc-rennie0813.artaug13,0,5201794.column?coll=hc-utility-opinion Topic Galleries - Courant.com ] ]

Primary political ads

Lieberman

Lieberman campaign ads are the work of Carter Eskew, who previously functioned in that role in Lieberman's first campaign in 1988. [http://connecticutlocalpolitics.blogspot.com/2006/04/lamont-hires-bill-hillsman.html Connecticut Local Politics: Lamont Hires Bill Hillsman ] ]

*"Bear cub" - On June 16, 2006, Lieberman released a web-based ad on his campaign site aimed at Lamont's support from Lowell Weicker. The animated ad is a sequel to a 1988 spot portraying Weicker as a sleeping bear - this time, Lamont is Weicker's "bear cub." The narrator of the ad asks, "Remember Lowell Weicker? Well, bears never forget. He's never gotten over losing his Senate race to Joe Lieberman, but instead of coming out of hibernation, he's sent his bear cub, instead. Ned Lamont." On its initial release, the ad received a negative response from many political bloggers, some characterizing it as amateurish. [ [http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2006/06/post_239.php New Haven Independent: The Bear Is Back ] ]

*"No More Joe" - Lieberman released an advertisement that aired on Fox News on July 9 and CSPAN during the first Lieberman-Lamont Debate. The ad argues that Lamont stands for little more than opposition to Lieberman. In service of this point, the Lieberman ad displays "an invented bumper sticker and fictitious website address, making them appear to be part of his primary challenger Ned Lamont's campaign." [ [http://www.factcheck.org/article403.html FactCheck.org: A Bumper Sticker Con in Connecticut ] ]

*"Bill Clinton" - Lieberman began airing an ad on Connecticut broadcast television stations featuring footage from his rally with former President Bill Clinton in Waterbury on July 26. [ [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/blog/2006/07/political_video_of_the_day_ii_2.html The RCP Blog ] ]

*"Unity" - On August 11, Lieberman began running an ad on Connecticut TV stations outlining his rationale for a third party run, stating he wanted to bring a "unity of purpose" back to Washington. [ [http://www.courant.com/news/local/statewire/hc-12115915.apds.m0559.bc-ct--connaug12,0,5249613.story?coll=hc-headlines-local-wire Topic Galleries - Courant.com ] ]

Lamont

Lamont campaign ads are the work of Bill Hillsman, who has previously produced ads for Governor Jesse Ventura and Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, Denver, Colorado Mayor John Hickenlooper, and Texas Independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman.

*"Right Now" - In his first television commercial, Lamont is shown talking on a sofa in a well-appointed home while supporters peer through his window and eventually storm the house.

*"Messy Desk" - Lamont released a humorous ad mocking the frivolity of many of Lieberman's negative attack ads: "Meet Ned Lamont," begins a foreboding narrator, "He can't make a decent cup of coffee, he's a bad karaoke singer, and he has a messy desk." Lamont later chimes in, "Aren't you sick of political attack ads that insult your intelligence? Senator Lieberman, let's stick to issues and pledge to support whoever wins the Democratic primary."

*"Wishing Well"
*"Where's Joe?"
*"Who's Joe?"
*"The Issue"
*"Go for It, Mr. Lamont!"

Lieberman allegations of website attack

From midmorning August 7th to well past August 9th, Lieberman's official campaign site joe2006.com was taken offline; officials from Lieberman's campaign claimed "dirty politics" and "Rovian tactics" on the part of Lamont's supporters, and more specifically, a sustained Distributed Denial of Service attack that, according to the Lieberman campaign, has left the site down for several days. [cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/08/08/lieberman.website/|title=Lieberman blames Rove-like tactics for Web site disruption|last=Yoon|first=Robert|date=2006-08-08|publisher=CNN.com|accessdate=2008-09-26]

On Wednesday August 9th, 2006, the Lieberman website was updated with the following message among a white screen:

Update On The Attack On The Lieberman Campaign Website

For the past 24 hours the Friends for Joe Lieberman's website and email has been totally disrupted and disabled, we believe that this is the result of a coordinated attack by our political opponents. The campaign has notified the US Attorney and the Connecticut Chief State's Attorney and the campaign will be filing a formal complaint reflecting our concerns. The campaign has also notified the State Attorney General Dick Blumenthal for his review.

We call on Ned Lamont to make an unqualified statement denouncing this kind of dirty campaign trick and to demand whoever is responsible to cease and desist immediately. Any attempt to suppress voter participation and undermine the voting process on Election Day is deplorable and has no place in our democracy. — Sean Smith

Tim Tagaris, Lamont's Internet communications director, denied the charge and attributed the downtime to the fact that the Lieberman campaign had chosen an inferior web host, or ISP, and was only paying $15/month to operate its site (in comparison to the $1500/month being spent by the Lamont campaign). [ [http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-blog0809.artaug09,0,3246904.story?coll=hc-headlines-local Topic Galleries - Courant.com ] ] [http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/8/8/181016/9275 Daily Kos: CT-Sen: Here is the filing for web hosting ] ] [ [http://www.wonkette.com/politics/top/lieberman-campaigns-website-woes-own-damn-fault-192917.php Joe Lieberman: Lieberman Campaign's Website Woes Own Damn Fault ] ] He then offered to help bring their servers back up, along with providing a link to a cached version of Lieberman's site on their blog. [ [http://nedlamont.com/blog/1000/well Ned Lamont | Well ] ]

Markos Zuniga, of Daily Kos also posted that he was able to telnet into the IP address where the Lieberman campaign's website existed, which would be impossible if a DDoS attack had occurred.

Richard M. Smith, an Internet security consultant in Brookline, Mass., said Lieberman's website was the victim of a denial of service attack, though he said that the Lieberman campaign "went a little cheap" by using a "low-budget hosting service." [ [http://www.wfsb.com/news/9662312/detail.html Lieberman's Site Falls Victim To Overloading - Connecticut News Story - WFSB Hartford ] ]

On August 8th, Lieberman contacted the Connecticut attorney general's office and asked for a criminal investigation by state and federal authorities. Connecticut's Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, in an official press release, said that he plans to investigate the website hacking, stating: [ [http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?Q=318546&A=2426 Attorney General: Attorney General To Investigate Hacking Of Lieberman Campaign Web Site ] ]

I have received a complaint from Sen. Lieberman's campaign asking my office to investigate the hacking of his campaign web site. I will investigate potential violations of anti-hacking provisions of our state computer crimes laws that are specifically within my jurisdiction. I will also work with the State Elections Enforcement Commission, and state and federal criminal authorities concerning possible violations of state election statutes, and federal election protections and other laws. We will seek civil and criminal penalties, where appropriate.

On December 20, 2006, a joint investigation by Blumenthal's office and the U.S. attorney's office cleared the Lamont campaign of the hacking accusations. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor stated, "The investigation has revealed no evidence the problems the Web site experienced were the result of criminal conduct." [ [http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-hackers2dec20,0,2766414.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines Home - The Advocate ] ]

On April 9, 2008, the Stamford Advocate reported that the FBI had concluded that Lieberman's website crash was the campaign's own fault. "The server that hosted the joe2006.com Web site failed because it was overutilized and misconfigured. There was no evidence of (an) attack," an FBI email said. [ [http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/localnews/ci_8859029 FBI probe: Lieberman campaign to blame for crashing own Web site - The Advocate ] ]

Other related website outages on Primary Day

DailyKos.com, MyDD.com, and FireDogLake.com, all liberal websites that covered the Connecticut primary extensively, all went down on Primary Day due to traffic spikes related to the primary. DailyKos estimated that at one point in the day, they were receiving 2,000 hits per minute. [ [http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/8/11/12659/4086 Daily Kos: CT-Sen: More stupidity on the "hacking" incident ] ] [ [http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/8/10/201858/453 Daily Kos: CT-Sen: Lieberman election-day traffic spike ] ]

Opinion Polls

Endorsements

For Lieberman

Individuals

*Civil rights movement leader U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a Congressman from Georgia, endorsed Lieberman for both the Democratic primary and the general election. [ [http://www.nbc30.com/news/9496790/detail.html Lieberman Campaign Files Forms To Run As Petitioning Candidate - News Story - WVIT | Hartford ] ]
*Republican Congressman Christopher Shays. [ [http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=4571485 WTNH.com, Connecticut News and Weather - Lieberman gets unlikely nod from Republican Congressman ] ]
*Senator Barbara Boxer campaigned for Lieberman on July 24, 2006. [ [http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2231205 ABC News: ABC News ] ]
*Former President and fellow Yale University alum Bill Clinton campaigned for Lieberman at an event held in Waterbury on July 24, but continued to stress that he, like his wife, would support whichever candidate won the primary. [http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/07/20/lamont_leads_lieberman_in_latest_poll/ Lamont pulls even with Lieberman in latest poll - Boston.com ] ]
*Senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Mark Pryor, Frank Lautenberg, Evan Bayh, Tom Carper, Dick Durbin, Diane Feinstein, Ken Salazar, Ron Wyden and Ben Nelson all endorsed Lieberman in the primary. However, Senators Mark Pryor, Ken Salazar, Tom Carper, and Ben Nelson were the only Democratic Senators who endorsed Lieberman's independent run.Fact|date=June 2008
*Former Georgia Senator Max Cleland, a wounded Vietnam War veteran, campaigned with Lieberman at a rally in East Haven on August 6.Fact|date=February 2007

Organizations

*Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund has endorsed Lieberman. [ [http://www.defendersactionfund.org/releases/071706b.html Defenders Of Wildlife Action Fund Announces Endorsements For The 2006 Campaign Season ] ] [ [http://www.joe2006.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=185&Itemid=28 www.joe2006.com] Dead link|date=September 2008]

*AFL-CIO and affiliated labor organizations endorsed Lieberman. [ [http://www.ctaflcio.org/?zone=/unionactive/view_article.cfm&HomeID=39927 Connecticut AFL-CIO ] ] [ [http://www.joe2006.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=184&Itemid=28 www.joe2006.com] Dead link|date=September 2008] However, Connecticut AFT, the second largest AFL-CIO union in Connecticut, endorsed Lamont (see below).

*Planned Parenthood Federal PAC endorsed Lieberman on June 30, 2006. [ [http://www.joe2006.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=163&Itemid=28 www.joe2006.com] Dead link|date=September 2008]

*NARAL Pro-choice America PAC, which lobbies for reproductive rights nationally, has endorsed Lieberman. [cite web|url=http://firedoglake.com/2006/07/12/can-someone-explain-this-to-me/|title=Can Someone Explain This to Me?|last=Jane|first=Hamsher|date=2006-07-12|accessdate=2008-09-26] However, Carolyn Treiss, head of Connecticut NARAL, supports Lamont. [ [http://www.firedoglake.com/2006/05/15/naral-ct-head-backs-ned-lamont/ Firedoglake - Firedoglake weblog » NARAL-CT Head Backs Ned Lamont ] ]

*Human Rights Campaign, one of the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equal rights organizations in the United States, has endorsed Lieberman. [ [http://www.joe2006.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=76&Itemid=28 www.joe2006.com] Dead link|date=September 2008]

*U.S. Chamber of Commerce. [ [http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=5231210&nav=menu29_2 WTNH.com, Connecticut News and Weather - Nader slams Lieberman over U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsement ] ]

Newspapers

*"The Hartford Courant", the state's largest newspaper, endorsed Lieberman in its July 30 edition. [ [http://www.courant.com/news/local/statewire/hc-29165321.apds.m0778.bc-ct-eln--jul29,0,3213359.story?page=1] Dead link|date=March 2008]
*The "Connecticut Post", the state's third largest paper, serving the Bridgeport area. [ [http://www.courant.com/news/local/statewire/hc-29211236.apds.m0790.bc-ct-eln--jul29,0,4729880.story?page=1&coll=hc-headlines-local-wire Topic Galleries - Courant.com ] ]

*"The New York Post". [ [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/nypost/access/1082384311.html?dids=1082384311:1082384311&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jul+24%2C+2006&author=&pub=New+York+Post&edition=&startpage=026&desc=RE-ELECT+LIEBERMAN New York Post Online Edition: News ] ]

*The Greenwich Time. [ [http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/opinion/editorial/scn-gt-editorial8.4aug04,0,6624167,print.story?coll=green-editorial-headlines Home - Greenwich Time ] ]

*"The Washington Post" published an editorial offering some praise of Lieberman, [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/29/AR2006072900680.html Mr. Lieberman's Strength ] ] but did not use the word "endorse" or otherwise explicitly call for his re-election.

*The "New Haven Register", the state's second largest paper, endorsed Lieberman on August 6.Fact|date=February 2007

For Lamont

Individuals

*Congresswoman Maxine Waters.
*Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur.
*Former President Bill Clinton and wife Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton endorsed Lamont in the general election despite their support for Lieberman in the primary.

*Senators Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, Barack Obama, Tom Harkin, John Kerry, Frank Lautenberg, Bob Menendez,and Chris Dodd supported Lieberman in the primary but supported Lamont, the official Democratic nominee. [ [http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/8/9/12553/20000 Statement from Reid and Schumer] ]

*Senator Russ Feingold, who did not endorse during the primary, announced his endorsement of Lamont in the general election while on "Meet the Press".

*2004 Democratic Presidential candidate and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Wesley Clark. [ [http://securingamerica.com/node/1314 A Message from Wes Clark] ]

*Former Senator and 2004 Democratic Vice Presidential nominee John Edwards campaigned for Lamont. [ [http://www.nhregister.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=17053734&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=8 Edwards to Stump for Lamont - "New Haven Register"] ]

*Former U.S. Senator and Governor Lowell Weicker, who was unseated by Lieberman in 1988 and had been considering running as an independent, gave Lamont his endorsement. [ [http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/op_ed/hc-weicker0517.artmay17,0,7812888.story Topic Galleries - Courant.com ] ] Weicker served in the Senate as a Republican from 1971-1989, and as Governor as an independent from 1991 to 1995.

*Michael Schiavo, husband of Terri Schiavo, campaigned for Lamont. [ [http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/state/hc-27154247.apds.m0504.bc-ct--senajul27,0,6851339.story?coll=hc-headlines-local-wire Home - The Advocate ] ]

*George Jepsen, former Connecticut Senate Majority Leader and former Chair of the Connecticut Democratic Party.
*Carl Feen, Lieberman's first finance chair, and Irv Stolberg, former Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives.

*Christopher Donovan, Majority Leader, Connecticut House of Representatives. [cite web|url=http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/7/29/10164/7867.|title=CT-Sen, More on Lieberman-Lamont|date=2006-07-29|accessdate=2008-09-26]

*Mary Ann Handley, Deputy Majority Leader, Connecticut State Senate. [http://www.ctn.state.ct.us/ondemand.asp?ID=2123 Connecticut Network, Ct-N Media On Demand ] ]

*Denise Merrill, Co-Chair, Connecticut General Assembly Appropriations Committee.

* Lieberman's former college roommate David Wyles. [ [http://www.journalinquirer.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=985&dept_id=458252&newsid=17013780 Journal Inquirer - Letters to the editor - 08/04/2006 - Lieberman's college roommate would pick Lamont ] ]

* Actor Danny Glover campaigned for Lamont the week before the primary. [cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-08-06-lieberman-race_x.htm.|title=Democrats Split Endorsements |date=2006-08-06|publisher="USA Today"|accessdate=2008-09-26]

* On primary night, black activists Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton shared the stage with Lamont. Some commentators questioned whether their support would be an asset in a general election. http://www.suntimes.com/output/novak/cst-edt-novak13.html

Organizations

* MoveOn.org endorsed Lamont's Senate campaign in an "Online Primary", [http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=66514] with Lamont winning 85% of the vote and Lieberman winning only 14%.

* Democracy for America, a political action committee founded by Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean and run by his brother Jim Dean, endorsed and began collecting donations for Ned Lamont. Howard Dean ran against Joe Lieberman in the heated 2004 Democratic presidential primary race, and Lieberman criticized Dean for sealing some of his official papers when he left his office as the governor of Vermont.Fact|date=February 2007 Jim Dean is a Connecticut resident.

* The National Organization for Women, which refused to endorse Lieberman in his three previous runs for the Senate, endorsed Lamont. The same applies to the pro-choice group Connecticut Choice Voice. [ [http://www.now.org/press/05-06/05-16.html/ NOW PAC Endorses Ned Lamont for U.S. Senate in Connecticut ] ]

* Democratic National Committee - The DNC remained neutral until after Lamont won the democratic primary. After his win, Howard Dean, the Chairman of the DNC, called for Lieberman to exit the race and said the DNC would support Lamont. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/09/washington/09cnd-senate.html?_r=1&hp&ex=1155182400&en=386129a0dcd5f147&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin Democrats Rally Behind Lamont, Isolating Lieberman - New York Times ] ]

Newspapers

*"The New York Times". [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/30/opinion/30sun1.html?ex=1181793600&en=16cd3c8a812d26ae&ei=5070 A Senate Race in Connecticut - New York Times ] ]

*"The Hartford Advocate" published an editorial by Alistair Highet, the newspaper's editor, critical of Lieberman and of the "Courant"'s endorsement. [ [http://hartfordadvocate.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:162481] Dead link|date=September 2008]

Neutral

There are many Democratic Party officials and organizations that remained on the sidelines during the primary contest, stating only that they will support the Democratic nominee. Some of the most notable examples include:
*Al Gore declined to endorse Lieberman, his 2000 vice presidential selection. [ [http://politicalwire.com/archives/2006/06/19/gore_refuses_to_back_lieberman.html Gore Refuses to Back Lieberman - Political Wire ] ]
*Connecticut gubernatorial candidate John DeStefano, Jr. endorsed Lieberman but campaigned with Lamont. [ [http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2006/08/stuck_between_a.php New Haven Independent: "Pro-Joe" DeStefano Stumps With Lamont ] ]

Timeline

*May 2, early in the race, Lieberman led by 46 points according to a May 2 Quinnipiac Poll, but by August 3, the Quinnipiac Poll showed Lamont leading by 13 points over Lieberman in the primary. That poll indicated a commanding lead for Lieberman in a hypothetical three-way race between Lieberman, Lamont, and Schlesinger. [ [http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x19276.xml] Dead link|date=September 2008] Some Democrats, believing that a contested Democratic primary would drain resources from other races and that Lieberman would help other Democratic candidates on the ballot in November, discouraged the Lamont candidacy prior to the Democratic state convention and backed Lieberman. Former Democratic State Chairman John Droney compared the Lamont challenge to "cannibalism" [cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/19/nyregion/19lieberman.html?ex=1305691200&en=78db6249d8e75c76&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss|title=Lieberman's Support for War Leaves Him Embattled on Left |last=Yardley |first=William |date=2006-05-18 |publisher="The New York Times" |accessdate=2008-09-26] and Senator Harry Reid asked Lamont not to run. [cite web|url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110008373|title=Kos Celeb - Meet the man who's gunning for Joe Lieberman.|last=Taranto|first=James|date=2006-05-13|publisher="The Wall Street Journal"|accessdate=2008-09-26]

*May 19, Lieberman received 67 percent of the vote at the state Democratic convention, and Lamont received 33% of the vote, thereby qualifying for an August 8 Democratic primary.

*May 20, Connecticut Republicans nominated former Derby, Connecticut, Mayor Alan Schlesinger to run in the November election.

*June 12, Lamont began airing radio ads promising to endorse Lieberman if he lost the Democratic primary, and challenging Lieberman to do likewise and foreclose an independent run for the Senate.Fact|date=February 2007

*June 16, Lieberman released a web-based ad on his campaign site aimed at Lamont's support from Lowell Weicker. Produced by political consultant, Carter Eskew, the animated ad was a sequel to a 1988 spot portraying Weicker as a sleeping bear - this time, Lamont is Weicker's "bear cub." The narrator of the ad asked, "Remember Lowell Weicker? Well, bears never forget. He's never gotten over losing his Senate race to Joe Lieberman, but instead of coming out of hibernation, he's sent his bear cub, instead. Ned Lamont."

*July 3, Lieberman announced that he would file papers to appear on the November ballot should he lose the August 8 primary stating::

I'm a loyal Democrat, but I have loyalties that are greater than those to my party, and that's my loyalty to my state and my country.

He stated that he would continue to sit as a Democrat in the Senate even if he was defeated in the primary and elected on an unaffiliated line, and expressed concern for a potentially low-turnout August 8 primary. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/03/AR2006070300873.html Lieberman May Run as Independent ] ]

*July 6, a debate between Lieberman and Lamont took place. MSNBC characterized Lieberman as "combative," "super-aggressive and sometimes rude" [ [http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13740130/ Lieberman comes out swinging - Hardball with Chris Matthews - MSNBC.com ] ] "often interrupting Lamont" to which Lamont retorted, "This isn’t Fox News, sir." In the debate, Lamont refused to explain why he would not release his federal and state income tax returns, as Lieberman has done. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/07/AR2006070700029.html Lieberman, Lamont Spar in Conn. Primary Debate - washingtonpost.com ] ]

*July 9, Lieberman released an ad which, according to an e-mail to constituents, parodies one of Lamont's ads and features a fake bumper sticker claiming that "all Lamont has to say is 'No More Joe.'"FactCheck

*July 10, the Lieberman campaign officially filed paperwork allowing him to collect signatures for the newly formed Connecticut for Lieberman party ballot line. [ [http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ct--senate-connecticu0710jul10,0,3190813.story?coll=ny-linews-print] Dead link|date=September 2008]

*July 24, former President Bill Clinton campaigned with Lieberman in Waterbury::

[We Democrats] don't agree on everything. We don't agree on Iraq...the real issue is, whether you were for it or against it, what are we going to do now? And let me tell you something, no Democrat is responsible for the mistakes that have been made since the fall of Saddam Hussein that have brought us to this point.

I don't have anything against Joe's opponent. He seems like a perfectly fine man. But I know that on the issues that I believe are critical to our future, Joe Lieberman's past is good evidence of his future...He is a good man, a good Democrat, and he'll do you proud.

*July 28, Lieberman started airing a TV ad featuring Clinton's endorsement. Since Lieberman's loss in the Democratic primary, however, both Bill and Hillary Clinton have announced their support for Lamont.

*August 1, an email was sent out by College Republicans with the subject "Unconventional Primary Campaign Opportunity (Lieberman)" [ [http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/8/2/14247/70377 Daily Kos: CT-Sen: College Republicans organizing for Lieberman ] ] :

Incumbent Senator Joe Lieberman (Democratic Primary)

Lieberman is facing a tough primary fight versus far-left anti war activist Ned Lamont.

----

August 4-9th Primary Campaigning:

Elissa Harwood '09 (Not A Club Member) has organized a series of buses departing on Friday August 4 from Washington DC (6:30 Foggy Bottom Metro) and NYC, destination: Hartford, CT

People interested in campaigning for Lieberman in the Democratic Primary will have lodging accommodations paid for (by his campaign), as well as food and transportation.

Buses would bring you back on August 9th.

*August 8, Lieberman conceded defeat in the primary to Lamont, losing by 48 percent to 52 percent.

References

External links

* [http://www.nedlamont.com/ Lamont campaign site]
* [http://www.joe2006.com/ Lieberman official campaign site] Dead link|date=September 2008
* [http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-chait7may07,0,3857801.column?coll=la-news-comment-opinions/ "Don't let the Left defeat Lieberman", Jonathan Chait, LA Times, July 18, 2006]
* [http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-black18jul18,0,7362225.story?coll=la-opinion-center "Why the Left is Furious at Lieberman", Duncan Black (Atrios), LA Times, July 18, 2006]
* [http://www.courant.com/news/local/northeast/hc-pbass0604.artjun04,0,7611693.column "Hartford Courant" article opposing Lieberman's campaign]