New Haven Independent

Lamont energized a crowd of about 100 people squeezed into Naples’ back room for a pizza and candidate meet-up organized by the area’s Democracy for America chapter, the grassroots independent Democratic group that grew out of the 2004 Democratic primary campaign and has agitated ever since for a challenger to take on pro-Iraq War Lieberman for the U.S. Senate.

Lamont’s appearance Wednesday night showed how far he’s come in just a month and a half on the campaign trail. On a visit to Killingly earlier in the campaign, he focused mostly on his opposition to the Iraq War. And while he showed command of the issues, he was somewhat stiff and detached before a sympathetic though small audience.

Since then — partly with the help of a staff of seasoned progressive activists, partly with the help of bloggers who have spread the word through wildcat videos and postings — Lamont’s campaign has emerged as a serious threat to Lieberman. The Greenwich millionaire has raised money from 4,000 donors spread out across the country. Lieberman has been uncharacteristically rattled and embarrassed in public appearances, delegate support for Lamont has materialized in towns throughout the state, and mainstream Democrats like the two candidates for governor have made subtle plays to his supporters.

At Naples Monday, Lamont spoke passionately about the war — but he spoke mostly about a wide range of other issues, from the environment to health care. (Click here for related story.)

And he was loose.

He told the crowd his original call to arms at campaign appearances: “We are gonna rock the boat, because the boat needs rockin’!”

Now he has a new message: “We’re gonna win. People want a primary. They want a change… Start rockin’ the boat!”

(Click here to read the text of the introduction delivered by event organizer Nathan Karnes, pictured.)

Lamont’s hoping to gather support of 15 percent of Democrats statewide at the May party convention to win a guaranteed spot on a primary ballot. Either that way, or through a petition drive, he plans to take on Lieberman in the Aug. 8 primary. Wednesday night he called that primary “a battle for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party. Who are we? Where do we want to go? We’re not going to win by being Republican Lite. We’re going to win by being real Democrats.”

What That Means

In his remarks to the audience, Lamont described the positions of a “real Democrat” (him) versus those of Lieberman and President Bush.

He called for universal health care and campaign finance reform. He tore into Bush’s energy bill, which Lieberman supported, for, among other provisions, paying Exxon-Mobil to drill for oil. Lamont compared that to “subsidizing fish to swim.” He also criticized the law for allowing the construction of a “floating liquified natural gas facility in Long island Sound” with no local say on its siting.

He promoted a three-part energy plan as an alternative: an “Apollo-like” government research plan into alternative energy sources; a return to early ’80s-era fuel mileage and insulation standards; and tax incentives for plug-in hybrids and other “good behavior.” He called for government as well to promote investment in “clean coal.” He said the U.S. could be “free of our dependence on fossil fuel before the next generation” if the country takes the goal seriously.

He criticized Lieberman for opposing a state bill to require all hospitals, including Catholic hospitals, to offer the morning-after contraceptive pill to rape victims. “I just thought it was unconscionable,” he said of Lieberman’s suggestion that the victims go to other hospitals. “Health care is a basic right — especially for rape victims who are in distress.”

Lamont did touch on the war, supporting John Kerry’s call Wednesday for the U.S. to set a deadline for pulling out of Iraq. Judging from conversations with supporters at Naples — who came from as far as Seymour and West Hartford and whose ages ranged from college to the golden years — the war remains Lamont’s most popular issue. Lieberman has been President Bush’s strongest Democratic supporter on the war. A majority of Connecticut residents polled have consistsently, like Lamont, opposed the war.

Blog Heaven

While he earned a couple of ovations during his brief speech, Lamont, as in Killingly, didn’t always give the answers quesitoners wanted to hear. He fielded repeated questions aimed at having him endorse a return to a government-enforced Fairness Doctrine requiring media outlets to present different points of view. Lamont said his problem with the mainstream media hasn’t been its conservative bias, but its focus on the inside-baseball of campaigns (delegates, fund-raising, polls) to the near exclusion of discussion of issues. He also argued that competition works better than government regulation of the media.

And he had good news: “Technology is bringing a lot of competition to the table now.”

Exhibit A: The Lamont campaign. Progressive blogs started the groundswell for a challenger to Lieberman. They connected hundreds of volunteers and thousands of donors to the Lamont campaign since its inception earlier this year. And they continue to provide daily doses of publicity and video and audio feeds to the public. For free. With passion and in some cases professional quality.

Among those influential bloggers cheering — and working — at the Naples event were 37 year-old “CTBlogger” (who preferred not to have his name published or his face photographed); 24 year-old medical records-filer Beau Anderson (at left in photo), aka “Spazeboy” and “La Resistance,” whose music videos and video clips about Lamont and Lieberman appear all over the web, not just on his own site; and 62 year-old Kelly Monaghan of Branford (at right in photo), whose My Left Nutmeg site is Connecticut’s version of the Daily Kos (which has done its own Lieberman-bashing and Lamont promoting).

Some of these people, like Anderson and CTBlogger, have never been involved in political campaigns before. They said Lieberman’s war stance, combined with their distaste for Bush and their excitement over Lamont’s insurgency, drew them into the process for the first time.

“I love the blogs,” Lamont told the crowd. “I’ve got to hand it to these guys. No one knew who Ned Lamont was.”

By this summer, no one who follows Connecticut campaigns won’t know that name.