Aug 15 2006
Lamont Shaken And Worried
Lamont is still shaking from the drubbing he took in the initial days of his campaign where he promised not to reach out at all to moderates and independents (just has his netroots followers would demand). The NY Times is preparing to run a story tonight or tomorrow morning saying Lamont is shaking up his campaign staff – the one that just took him to victory. Here is a taste from the leftwing site Raw Story:
“Meanwhile, Ned Lamont, the Democratic nominee, is preparing to shake up his staff as he tries to refocus his race as an appeal to moderates, the core of Lieberman’s support,” the Times reports.
Sort of draconian for such a recent win. More once the entire article is posted at the NY Times.
Update: Seems both Raw Story and Drudge had incorrect early releases from the NY Times (guess some phone calls were made). The supposed story of Lamont staff shake up was toned down to be some changes to shift to a general election pose with new, outsider help from the Democrat Message Machine. After many paragraphs on Lieberman’s approach we get to the nut of the issue:
As the newly proclaimed Democratic nominee, Mr. Lamont is moving to adopt a general election strategy that attracts more moderate voters, who are crucial to victory in Connecticut elections. He is also seeking at least two experienced fund-raising aides to tap more donors in Connecticut and nationwide, particularly those who are excited by the antiwar message.
Yet Mr. Lamont’s staffing needs are also one of several signs that his rookie bid for statewide election is still evolving: He lacks such basic political tools as an opposition research effort to ferret out the sources of Mr. Lieberman’s campaign contributions and other tidbits that might embarrass the senator. Mr. Lamont’s communications and advance operations also need to be expanded, said Tom Swan, the campaign manager.
“There is a need for us to adjust a lot, to adjust significant pieces of the campaign and tap our thousands of volunteers,†Mr. Swan said. “Having said that, I believe we have a lot to build off of to make that easier.â€
But not everything is smooth and easy. As the post I linked to before (and now below) the anti-war fringe is not happy with the establishment democrats one bit. And the Nedroots campaign is not happy with the changes comin – which are probably a condition of party support:
Some Lamont allies have privately expressed disdain for the idea of bringing on any outside consultants, noting that most big-name Democratic consultants had shown little willingness to help Mr. Lamont when he was an obscure businessman running a long-shot campaign.
“I don’t want to hire any of those big-fee consultant types from Washington who just want to come in and make money off of Ned,†Mr. Swan said. “We won the primary on Ned’s message; we can win the general in a similar way.â€
Suffice it to say I get the feeling Lamont is in for a rough ride with divisive pressures from the old school party bosses and his ardent, anti-war supporters.
Update II: Ned is definitely feeling the heat. He has an Op Ed in the WSJ with an interesting (insert foot in mouth) statement:
My confidence that Connecticut was ready for a real debate and a real choice this year was founded not only on current events but also past experience. It was my career in business that shaped my outlook, and helped prepare me to run the race I did.
Well Ned, if your so damn confident in Connecticut face ALL OF Connecticut against Joe and stop pressuring him to drop out. The entire state should be in on the discussion, not a measely 8%. – End Update
But I am not surprised when your support comes from the truly bizzarre world of the fringe (and marginal) anti-war, anti-US crowd:
Many people see Ned Lamont’s victory in the Connecticut Democratic Senate primary as a statement of massive disgust at Bush, and at the Democrats for kissing his ass. It is. But Lamont’s victory over Joe Lieberman in the primary is not something that will impact the current intolerable direction things are heading. Instead, there is a whole other way to go that has the potential to really put a halt to the crimes of the Bush regime.
…
As a backdrop to all this, the Bush regime—with the unanimous, and one might say rabid, support of the leaders of the Democratic Party—was continuing to green-light Israel’s demolition of Lebanon; to press ahead in their bloody occupation of Iraq that is spiraling into civil war; and to jockey and position for an even wider war against Iran and possibly Syria.
…
Those troops were ordered to invade Iraq in the service of empire. Abu Ghraib…Haditha…the emerging exposures of rapes and massacres that may well be revealed to have been ordered or at least encouraged by commanding officers… This war is not something to be proud of. This war on the world, and the occupation of Iraq (and Afghanistan) are not wrong because they are “not working.†They are wrong because they are illegitimate, unjust, and immoral.
Read the entire delusional post. It is truly scary how brain washed this person is after years of leftwing propaganda. And the Democrats helped create most of these myths to ‘mobilize the base’. Well, the base is mobilized and not happy with the lack of progress in taking care of BusHitler. Lamont has to try and integrate these people with mainstream America? Good luck.
That is the strategy in every campaign. In the primary, appeal to the base. In the general election, appeal to the independents. Trouble is that in this case he is going to end up looking like a weasel and Joe is going to shine because he is sticking with the same position he has had all along.
Lamont isn’t stupid, he is just arrogant. He probably believes that everyone will simply forget everything he said during the primary.
But nobody wins a general election without the independents. Particularly in a state where the independents outnumber the party members 50% to 27%. If you consider that half your party might be considered “base” members, why would he want to cowtow to 13% of the voters and alienate 50%? The problem is, he already did.
Okay. Ned Lamont has to withdraw up ahead. Then the weight of the donks gets thrown towards JoeMentum. If this doesn’t happen, then Lamont comes in 3rd. Because he just chucked off the Net Rooters; who are a mean bunch. I can see Ned being accused of all sorts up things that will come out of the angered Kos Commie stock. Stalag 17? Nope. Won’t look quite like that. But Ned’s not going to have enough money to run further than the shoe store. And, I believe he’s dropped $40-million already? (Okay. Not sure how much; but he should have married Ariana Huffington, in her yootful days. She’d have seen to it that he bought a senate seat, right and proper. Now? Where’s her horse in this race? She’s not Ariana Lamont ya know?
And, yes, this race will give off both stench and comic values. Until November.
While Joe doesn’t have to go home, again. Ever. He has a shot at getting keys to a bigger office from the GOP. Who’d be happy to have MORE MODERATES. Once that’s established a lot of good it will do the extreme right to sceam “ALL MINE.” When it isn’t. The best place in politics is MAIN STREAM. (Ya know? If Perot kept his nuttiness concealed? We wouldn’t be talking about a Bubba in the White House.)
One has to wonder how long the Democrats will allow Dean to drive their bus. The guy is nuts and might as well be a Republican operative for all the damage he is doing in fragmenting the Democratic Party. Whoever made the decision to put Dean in that chair should get the keynote speech at the Republican convention.
So now the dems power machine wants to put a harness on Ned and turn him into the middle ground Neddly Lamarr to be a clone of the Hildabeast.
I’m sure the Kos Kids and the DU will welcome his choice to come out of the political closet.
I still am waiting for Barbara He’sMyMan to reprise her roll in Yentil to support his run, gonna Tivo the required wardrobe accident.
Democrats smelling defeat in 2006?…
Sure sounds like it.
Salon’s Art Devine is already playing the “vote fraud” card (tune it up Olberman!), and EJ Dionne’s “Pre-Post-Mortem” kind of spells it out:
Three months out and it’s Doom and Gloom for t…
Crosspatch
Last night I took a trip to the “darkside” and I listened to “News and Notes” the black perspective program on NPR and they were falling over each other on the possible retirement of Mr. Rangel and the impact on the “Black Caucus”.
I noted their extreme lack of focus on Mr. Obama as being the savior reincarnate to reinvigorate the aformentioned group.
They seemed to focus as how all the usual suspects should come to the fore to “revive the message”.
Somehow I think they are concentrating on how they can repair their importance, but they don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel that they are being thrown under the bus, and not moved to the back by the new “special group” of the hispanic voters.
Reality will come slow, but it will prevail.
Even as we come up on the year after date of Katrina and what happend in New Orleans, what have we seen in the last year?
Over the top journalism of the initial impact.
Dem deconstruction of the right response to the situation.
Many examples of waste and fraud to the government response to the situation.
Exported crime to the areas that accepted those who evacuated the area.
In America we as a whole are more than willing to help those who have been unfairly punished by the whims of nature, it is what we do as our concept of humanities correct response.
Hurricanes have missed New Orleans for many years, but last year the dice fell and called in the bet.
What is ignored is that prior to the hurricane New Orleans was a very disfunctunal city. It had a very high crime rate, including rapes , murders and drug dealings gone wild.
Many can state fact that the septic tank was flooded and overflowed, but heaven forbid that anyone should point this out.
Reality is a problem, politics are worse, PC is a total non starter, but somehow it comes to the front as the overwhelming guilt trip we all have to give in to.
It is considered unacceptable that bad choices lead to bad outcomes.
However having said that , what is even worse is those that propose that bad choices have been made in any situation, but nakedly can’t offer a true alternative.
At least prostitutes do it for money!
Lamont ran an ad during the primary that featured some Latino kids that he volunteered to help – ostensibly this is something Neddy has done for a while (the volunteering) and I can’t fault him for that. BUT (the big but) – During the ad the teens said that he was (not an exact quote) a “self-made” businessman. This is a lie that Lamont did nothing to quell – there are a lot of people up here who actually believe that he made all the money he has on his own! But as more of the truth comes out, more people are turning away from him.
Republicans seem to understand how to run to the right during the primary season, then run back to the middle in the general election campaign. To my knowledge, the Democrats have never mastered this.
Mabye their base is to screwy for the average voter, so the trip back to the middle is too long to be successful. Maybe they think that the media with cover their races in a way that minimizes the contradictions. Mabye they just think the average voter is too dumb to notice.
Lamont’s race is shaping up very much like McGovern’s, with the added problem of a popular incumbent formerly in his own party staying in the race against him. With the overheated rhetoric over national security and the war effort, chances are Ned will find the run back to the middle impossible to pull off.