Lamont has Lieberman running scared

Look who's afraid of the Lamont challenge.

We tried to arrange a radio debate between incumbent Senator Lieberman and his challenger for the Democractic nomination, Ned Lamont. The Lamont campaign accepted our invitation. On Friday, April 14th, we received the following response from Sean Smith, Lieberman's campaign manager:

Our campaign is focused on winning over delegates to the State Democratic convention on May 20. We anticipate being the endorsed Democratic candidate for Senate coming out of that convention. If our opponent petitions to challenge us in a primary, then we will enter into debate negotiations with his campaign at that time. Until then, we are focused on securing the necessary delegates to be the Democratic nominee for Senate.

Winning over delegates? Oh, please. If anything, Joe is losing delegates support with each statement he makes. Anyone who has kept an eye on this senate race knows that Ned Lamont has more than enough delegates to force a primary and you can bet Lieberman's camp is aware of this. Joe is avoiding the public as he runs around the state holding "private meeitings" with state delegates and now he's avoiding the Ned Lamont challenge because Ned would attack Joe's 18 year senate record and make Joe look weaker than me looks right now.

Is this what we want from a senator...a person who avoids being asked tough questions from the public and runs away from a challenge? If Lieberman is so confident of his record, he should be able to debate Lamont and put Ned in his place. Instead he declines the debate and offers a lame excuse.

Thirdparty sums it up Lieberman perfectly by using a simple photo.
UPDATE: Matt Stoller gets the big prize with his post as he's right on the money with his analysis on Lieberman.

Watch the convention and the number of delegates Lamont gets. If it's a big number, Lieberman is in serious trouble. If it's a small number, Lieberman has a tough choice - does he risk the primary where he can lose despite institutional support, or does he go as an independent and bet on his popularity among independents and Republicans?

My guess is that Lieberman is going to jump. He's a cowardly man, and he doesn't think that the left is relevant, organized, or principled. He doesn't understand what's happening to him right now, and he's angry. That anger is not dissipating, which is making him much weaker as a political figure. Lieberman is losing, badly, and he will never again have the stature he once had.