Moral Victory Watch: Nutroots® Favorite Advances on Lieberman
Credit where credit is due: Ned Lamont has pulled close enough to Joe Lieberman now to move out of the crazy fantasy stage to the serious contender:
Anti-war Connecticut U.S. Senate candidate Ned Lamont has gained ground on Sen. Joseph Lieberman, and now trails the incumbent 55 – 40 percent among likely Democratic primary voters, including undecided voters who are leaning towards a candidate, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
Among all Democrats, Sen. Lieberman leads 57 – 32 percent, compared to 65 – 19 percent in a May 2 poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University.
All Connecticut voters approve 56 – 32 percent of the job Lieberman is doing. Democrats approve 49 – 38 percent, down from 60 – 31 percent May 2.
…”Ned Lamont’s surprisingly strong showing at the state Democratic convention gained him a lot of headlines and probably has helped increase his poll numbers. The biggest change is among women and liberals,” said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D.
“But has Lamont’s anti-war campaign peaked or can he mount an even stronger attack on Sen. Lieberman, the popular and respected incumbent?”
Connecticut Democrats say 56 – 34 percent that Lieberman deserves to be reelected. Among those who want him reelected, 23 percent point to his overall record as the principal reason. Among those who do not want him reelected, 20 percent list his support for the war in Iraq as the main reason.
I’ve been openly mocking Lamont for some time now, but it’s clear that he has indeed made a race of it. I still say he can’t beat Lieberman, but he is going to make him sweat…
The best Lamont can hope for is that he pulls a Pat Toomey, ie, comes within a few points of victory. Keep in mind that, if it comes down to it, Democratic Party WILL open its wallet and flex its muscles to protect Liebermann, regardless of how much party activists might prefer Lamont in principle.
Another reason Lamont has made of race of this is because, from everything I’ve read about him he seems like he’s for real. Another example from one of TPM’s readers.
There are those outside the Nutroots® circle that are indeed swayed once they know the facts about the man.