It's time for a change. Joe needs to go.
We need fresh ideas about Iraq.
Not the tired same-old same-old politicians that swollowed Bushisms hook
line and sinker.
Throw this bumb out of office.
---
Lamont Leads Lieberman by 13 Points in New Poll
Democratic Senator Shifts Strategy for Tuesday's Primary as Antiwar Foe
Soars
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 4, 2006; A05
HARTFORD, Conn., Aug. 3 -- Democratic challenger Ned Lamont, riding
strong antiwar sentiment, has surged to a significant lead over
embattled Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) heading into Tuesday's
Senate primary, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released here
Thursday.
The poll showed Lamont ahead of Lieberman by 54 percent to 41 percent,
underscoring the challenger's clear advantage.
Facing a likely defeat, Lieberman has scrapped plans for a massive and
costly get-out-the-vote operation on primary day, according to several
Democratic sources. Instead, he will shift some of his resources into
more television commercials designed to highlight his accomplishments
for the state, in hopes of boosting his battered image.
The three-term incumbent and 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee
announced earlier that he will run as an independent in November if he
loses on Tuesday to Lamont, a millionaire Greenwich businessman with
limited political experience. But a landslide loss to Lamont could
complicate Lieberman's hopes of winning a fourth term in a three-way
general election contest.
Many Democratic leaders have endorsed Lieberman in the primary, but most
of them have said they will back whoever wins the nomination.
Lieberman, a leading centrist Democrat and one of the Senate's most
prominent advocates of bipartisanship, seemed invincible until a few
months ago. But he has suffered from his strong support for President
Bush's conduct of the war in Iraq, in a state where opposition to the
war and the president runs high. And he has alienated some voters, who
complain that he has neglected his home state over the years.
Lamont, a former Greenwich selectman but a newcomer to statewide
politics, has derided Lieberman as "Bush's lapdog" and has soared in the
polls with the help of an agile, well-financed campaign and strong
backing from progressive bloggers. In a hard-hitting televised debate
last month, Lamont assailed the incumbent for ignoring reports of rising
violence and instability in Iraq, and for cheering on Bush "when he
should have been asking the tough questions."
Lieberman sought to portray Lamont as a fringe candidate with little
grasp of the military and geopolitical stakes in Iraq, but the tactic
did not appear to work with Connecticut's large pool of Democrats.
Lieberman's struggle has drawn national attention because it illustrates
the power of antiwar activism in the Democratic Party and because of its
potential implications for other races in the November midterm elections.
Significantly, the new poll findings show that Lieberman received no
boost from a high-profile visit by former president Bill Clinton, who
came to Waterbury on July 24 to vouch for Lieberman's Democratic
credentials and urge Connecticut Democrats not to reject him because of
his support for Bush's war policies.
Lieberman, who used Clinton in television ads after the visit, said this
week that he considered the rally a turning point that rejuvenated his
candidacy. Instead, the poll shows Lieberman continuing to lose ground
to Lamont. In June, Lieberman led Lamont by 55 percent to 40 percent. A
second poll released just before Clinton's visit found Lamont edging
into the lead, 51 percent to 47 percent.
Lieberman spokeswoman Marion Steinfels played down the significance of
the new poll. "Our view is it's a fluid race, that no one really knows
what's going to happen," she said.
Another campaign adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in
order to discuss strategy, said the public poll tracked internal
campaign surveys. "The race has been headed in that direction for a
while," the adviser said. "It's a fairly accurate reflection of where
the race is."
The Lieberman campaign, fearing that low voter turnout in the primary
would favor Lamont, had plans to build a get-out-the-vote operation
bigger than any seen in a state race in Connecticut. But in the face of
discouraging polls, campaign officials concluded this week that the
money likely would be wasted.
Lieberman plans to spend the remaining days of the campaign making a
positive case for himself through television ads and a series of media
interviews, according to campaign officials. He has decided not to
attempt to discuss the war in his final commercials.
Lieberman began a bus tour of the state late last week, but there has
been little sign of a resurgence as he has campaigned in diners, senior
citizen centers, retail outlets and construction sites. Lieberman has
implored Democrats to nominate him for a fourth term because of the work
he said he has done to save jobs and bring money to the state. But
opposition to the war and seeming indifference to Lieberman among many
rank-and-file Democrats has overwhelmed those efforts.
With five days remaining in the campaign, the Quinnipiac poll painted a
gloomy picture for Lieberman and his team. Lamont "has begun to broaden
his base," said Douglas Schwartz, director of the Quinnipiac poll. "He's
increased his support among moderates and those with less than a college
education."
Lamont led among virtually every category of voter, except those with
incomes below $30,000 and those who consider themselves moderates.
Lieberman held narrow leads -- within the poll's margin of error -- in
those categories.
Lamont held a commanding lead among college-educated Democrats (57
percent to 39 percent) and gained the advantage among those without a
college degree (51 percent to 43 percent). Lieberman had hoped to rally
support among blue-collar and working-class Democrats, but the poll
suggests that Lamont has broken through among those voters as well.
Among self-identified liberals, Lamont leads 66 percent to 31 percent.
Lamont has built his lead almost entirely on dissatisfaction with
Lieberman, according to the poll. Among Lamont supporters, 44 percent
said Lieberman's support for the war was the main reason they were
backing the challenger, and another 50 percent said it was one of the
reasons. Almost two in three Democrats backing Lamont said their support
was more a vote against Lieberman than a vote for Lamont.
The Quinnipiac poll surveyed 890 likely Democratic voters July 25 to 31.
The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
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