Lieberman to Shays: Thanks but no thanks

Seems like Joe Lieberman came to his senses and is now backing away from Shays endorsement. I mean, the last thing Joe needs right now is to do something that would further energize Ned Lamont's people.

From the Danbury News-Times

U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman has been called the GOP's favorite Democrat. Now, after a major Republican endorsement, other GOP officials won't completely rule out voting for the three-term senator in November.

Over the weekend, U.S. Rep. Chris Shays, R-4th Dist., said he would vote for Lieberman, the three-term Democratic senator, and encouraged other Republicans to do the same.

"I don't see any Republican I would support over Lieberman," Shays said in published reports, as he faces his own tough race this year. "I would love to see the Republican Party endorse him."

For his part, Lieberman, facing a Democratic primary challenger from the left, said he would not accept the cross-endorsement of the Republican Party. And he's not returning the favor to Shays.

"I thank Chris Shays for his support, but of course I'll be supporting Democrat Diane Farrell in her race, as I did two years ago," Lieberman said in a statement read by campaign spokeswoman Diana Fassbender.

Lieberman's acceptance of a Shays endorsement would have been a slap in the face to Dianne Farrell's campaign and that's the last thing he needs right now since seeing that Ned Lamont lives in the same district.

Anyway, it doesn’t matter if accepts an endorsement from a Republican since he has plenty of conservatives raising money for him and in the end, it’s all about the money.

Two prominent Republican lobbyists, Craig Fuller and H.P. Goldfield, hosted a fund-raising dinner Thursday evening at Goldfield's Washington home for Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman, seeking re-election in Connecticut this year.

Fuller was President Ronald Reagan's Cabinet secretary and later Vice President George H.W. Bush's chief of staff. Goldfield, a Reagan White House aide and later assistant secretary of Commerce, was a fund-raiser in the two Bush-Quayle campaigns.

While Lieberman is a major voice for lobbyist reform, three of his dinner's five hosts were registered lobbyists. Fuller represents the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. Goldfield lobbies for Airbus and for energy companies (ConcocoPhillips, Dynegy International and Gulfsands Petroleum). Co-host C. Michael Gilliland, a partner in the Hogan & Hartson law firm, represents a variety of clients.

So Lieberman passes on Shays but takes the money from his ultra-conservative buddies (I thought he was for lobbyists reform).

Don’t be fooled.