New Haven Independent

Tuesday, one week before he faces Democratic challenger Ned Lamont at the polls, Lieberman launched a campaign to make sure voters know where he stands on the ballot: way down low. Since he’s running under the “Connecticut for Lieberman Party” banner after losing the Democratic primary to Lamont, his name will appear below all four other U.S. Senate candidates on voting machines.

To push the ballot message, the campaign unveiled a new TV ad that shows a bloodhound sniffing through a voting location to find out how to vote for Joe. The theme is in keeping with a warm and fuzzy “bipartisan” message Lieberman has used to his advantage in a national campaign season of harsh personal attacks.

Also Tuesday, the campaign rolled out a pickup truck with a voting machine in the back. The “Vote Joe” mobile (pictured above), which the campaign doesn’t have a name for, is “a positive response” to Lamont supporters’ infamous papier-mache Kissmobile (which features President Bush kissing Lieberman), said the campaign’s advance director, Josh Nerpel.

Nerpel drove the new float into conservative territory on Tuesday night, Halloween. He parked it at an East Haven senior home called the East Farm Village, where about 75 people skipped their regular BINGO game to hear Lieberman speak.

Lieberman was met with a hug (and reportedly a kiss) from Republican Joe Maturo (pictured at right), the mayor of East Haven. The senator touted his bipartisanism, and won support with positions tailored to the crowd in what political demographers would call a classic “Reagan Democratic” town — a largely blue-collar/ middle class community of “white ethnics” who abandoned cities, and the liberal and urban Democratic Party consensus, in the twilight of the 20th century.

The Notch Baby Pledge

“The notch babies will not be forgotten!” cried Emma Piscitelli, jumping up quickly in a Q & A session with the senator. Piscitelli was one of the Americans who were born between 1917 and 1921 and feel shortchanged by a social security benefits formula that left them with fewer benefits than those just a bit older. They’ve clamored for restitution, but haven’t gotten it yet. “They’re waiting for us to die,” said Piscitelli, her forefinger in the air.

Lieberman said he’d supported failed legislation that would give each “notch baby” a one-time payment $5,000 to even the playing field. At Piscitelli’s prompting, he raised his right hand and pledged to get legislation passed. “Take a picture!” said the woman, looking towards this news photographer to record the pledge. (See the photo at the top of this story.)

“I’m going to put it in again next session, I promise you, in front of all these people,” said the senator. Piscatelli approached him for his autograph after the speech.

The Lamont campaign did not respond to a request for comment for this article.

Religion in the Public Square

The senator won further support in response to a local Democrat who weighed in on the problem of school violence. “I think it all started when we stopped allowing God in the schools,” said Robert Limoncelli.

In stark contrast with many Democrats outside the South, Lieberman agreed with the man that religion had been improperly removed from schools.

Referencing the words of a priest, he said, “If you take religion and God out of the public square … it’s not going to remain empty. Something else will fill it up. It’ll be the junk that’s, and the entertainment culture, or something else.”

“The constitution promises freedom of religion, not freedom from religion,” Lieberman continued.

Asked to clarify later, he said he would support a measure to bring religion back into schools. “I’d vote for a moment of silent mediation as a way to give an opportunity for people to pray without violating the Supreme Court ruling about prayer.”

Has religion been unfairly removed from schools?

“Yeah, because we ought to find a way, you see when you try to separate, this all has to be done with respect to the diversity of religion. That’s the key. And what the constitution says is you can never interfere with anybody’s freedom of religion,” Lieberman responded before stopping into the home of a friend of Maturo on a post-speech door-knocking campaign stop.

“The Supreme Court says you can’t have prayer, so that’s why I’ve said that we ought to find a way to have a moment of silence at the end of the day where some people can pray, and others can just sit if they want.”