Joe Lieberman refuses to rule out independent run

Joe Lieberman met with DTC members in Windsor today and was asked a pointed question from Joe Lalli, a good friend of our favorite 17-year old who grilled a Lieberman staff member earlier this week.

The question was whether or not Joe Lieberman would support whoever wins the Democratic primary and if Lieberman would rule out running as an independent.

Here's the audioclip of Joe's stunning answer that shocked all who attended the meeting. Below is the transcript

Joe Lalli: Ned Lamont has already stated that he would support you if you won the Democratic nomination and Zell Miller once stated that he would always be a member of the Democratic party. Can you make similar promises?

LIEBERMAN: Will I always be a member of the Democratic party? I hope there's not a primary. I'm confident if there is one, I'll win it, but I'm not gonna rule out any other option for now because I feel so strongly that I can do better for the State of Connecticut for the next six years in the United States Senate that I want to give all the voters a chance to make that decision on Election day in November. I want to do it as a Democrat. If I didn't want to do it as a Democrat, I would choose to run in some other party, trust me. But I want to do it as a Democrat because I believe in the Democratic party, so really the choice is up to my fellow Democrats...

In other words, stop the primary challenge or I'll jump ship and allow all the voters (including that 70+ of Republicans who LOVE me) to vote for me in November as an Independent.

Joe Lieberman is such a proud Democrat that he wouldn't rule out jumping ship and run on another party's ticket if he loses the Democratic primary to Ned Lamont. In other words, he'll will not support the Democratic nominee (Ned Lamont) if he loses the primary.

Is this in the best interest of the party or the best interest of Joe Lieberman (why does the word hubris come to mind)?

It's clear after seeing Joe on two separate occasions that Joe is in this race for Joe and not for the Democrats in Connecticut. His statement today in Windsor and last week in Bethel and more importantly Ridgefield tells the real story.

At this point, you have to ask the question: why should any Democrat in Connecticut support a candidate that threatens to leave the party if there is a primary challenge and/or he loses the Democratic primary? It apparent that Joe's strong feelings about himself are more important than the viewpoint of the Democrats in Connecticut who will vote in the primary. The main theme of Lamont's campaign is that Lieberman is out of touch with the viewpoint of the voters in Connecticut and it seems like they might be correct.

The only question that remains is when Joe Lieberman will leave the Democratic party.

UPDATE: FOX 61 just ran this as their lead story (hat tip to spazeboy for the videoclip).