Lamont Fights Lieberman GOPosse’s Loyalty Charges

by Melissa Bailey | August 16, 2006 7:22 PM | | Comments (2)

Leaping into a national debate over loyalty from outside his downtown New Haven campaign office, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Ned Lamont struck back Wednesday against opponent Joe Lieberman and Lieberman’s Republican allies who called Lamont’s primary victory last week an encouragement to “al Qaeda types.” “I think it’s our invasion of Iraq that’s emboldened the al Qaeda,” Lamont charged.

The back-and-forth over national security has become a national story since Lamont defeated three-term U.S. Sen. Lieberman in an Aug. 8 Democratic primary — and Lieberman has launched an independent third-party quest with GOP encouragement and an attack on Iraq war critics’ patriotism.

In response to anti-war candidate Lamont’s primary win, both Lieberman and Republican Vice-Present Dick Cheney have been tagging Lamont as a threat to national security. Other Republican voices have picked up the theme.

“It’s an unfortunate development, I think, from the standpoint of the Democratic Party, to see like Lieberman pushed aside because of his willingness to support an aggressive posture in terms of our national security strategy,” Cheney was quoted as saying. Lieberman jumped on the recently foiled terror plot in Britain to link anti-Western terrorists and Iraq, characterizing Lamont’s Iraq position as helpful to al-Qaeda.

Cheney and Lieberman are “reading out of the same playbook” of GOP talking points “suggesting the primary results would embolden the terrorists,” said Lamont Wednesday. At the press conference and in a column he wrote in that morning’s Wall Street Journal, Lamont stressed ways to improve national security: Police work, implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and protecting the nation’s ports, airports, nuclear facilities and public transit.

National weakness in those areas is “due to the war in Iraq,” said Lamont, condemning the U.S. government for diverting U.S. funds abroad. “I think they’re dropping the ball,” he said. “Our priorities are wrong when it comes to homeland security.” He called for America to “step back from Iraq” “over the course of the next year.”

Dan Gerstein, Lieberman’s new campaign manager, said in response: “The only reason there is a Department of Homeland Security is Joe Lieberman.” On the 9/11 Commission: “Lieberman passed the law to create the 9/11 commission over Bush’s objections,” through bipartisan efforts.

Lieberman “believes that it would be disastrous to do as Ned Lamont has proposed and pull our troops out immediately, because it would create a safe haven for terrorists and a launching pad for terror strikes in the Middle East and potentially here at home. That’s a serious difference on a critical issue and a perfectly legitimate point to make in a U.S. Senate campaign in a time of war,” said Gerstein.







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Comments

Posted by: Donna | August 17, 2006 3:29 PM

Is it against the rules somehow for reporters to report the TRUTH when someone's campaign manager lies to them? Case in point: In this story Dan Gerstein (who is the Lieberman campaign's spokesman, not campaign manager) says "do as Ned Lamont has proposed and pull our troops out [of Iraq] immediately." But that IS NOT Ned Lamont's proposal, and never has been. He's for a phased withdrawal, with our troops pulling back gradually, as they aid the Iraqis in stepping up to protect and police their own country. He has never said anything about "pulling out immediately," and allowing Gerstein's quote to stand on its face is very misleading.

And while we're on the subject of accuracy, at least you guys aren't stopping at "independent" to describe Lieberman's candidacy, and added "third party." But you have to lose the "independent." There is an avenue toward becoming a trye "independent" candidate, which Lieberman did not follow; instead he created his own party. There is also an Independent Party in this state. Joe is not their candidate. He's not independent, and he's not AN independent. Please stop using that word to describe him.

Posted by: sy levy | August 19, 2006 3:33 AM

Senator Lieberman's oversized ego, desire to remain in power and inability to face reality when it disagrees with a previously voiced position says much about the man, his sense of honor and responsibility. Lieberman has made much of his independence and the high moral ground he seems to occupy only in his mind. When he accuses his opponent Mr. Lamont of giving aid and comfort to Al Qaeda by calling for a reasonably quick withdrawal from Iraq he aligns himself with our delusional president and vice president Cheney whose statements and political positions betray an authoritarian bent which cannot be condoned in arguably the most powerful position in the United States government.

As in any other totalitarian government all dissent is characterized as unpatriotic and the acts of traitors. Senator Lieberman has embraced the policies of two men who disgrace the offices they hold and who conduct government by propaganda smearing anyone who objects to their failed policies in Iraq. Indeed, cheap sloganeering and name-calling rather than intelligent and informed debate is the major tool of this rogue republican government.

Senator Lieberman is now being supported by major members of the administration and the Republican Party over the Republican candidate in Connecticut. So it seems that when the senator's personal interests are at stake he cuts and runs from the Democratic Party and refuses to stay the course for a return to governmental sanity. Any Democrat who votes for Mr. Lieberman is in effect condoning and supporting the Bush administration.
The senator should retire as gracefully as possible or be retired by the voters in the upcoming elections.

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