ConnecticutBLOG

You see Joe, maybe you've forgotten but this is Connecticut and those Karl Rove ads you ran over the MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND won't work against someone like Ned Lamont.

This past weekend, as we reflected on the sacrifices made by American service members and their families during wars past and present, Senator Lieberman launched a full-run of television attack ads against Ned Lamont. Just like President Bush did to John Kerry in 2004, the ads are so devoid of context they would make Karl Rove blush. And while their content is highly suspect, the money paying for them is undeniable. This election cycle, Senator Lieberman is the U.S. Senate’s top recipient of campaign contributions from the defense industry, second largest recipient of pharmaceutical manufacturer donations, and has collected over $1 million from political action committees. From now until the end of the campaign, every time you see a Joe Lieberman advertisement, flier, bumper sticker or button, you know who’s paying for it.

Our campaign will never match Senator Lieberman’s special interest money, and we don’t want to. This campaign is a struggle for the heart and soul of our party, and we have relied on a growing army of grassroots Democrats who share the common goals of bringing our troops home from Iraq, healthcare for all Americans, and energy independence. That’s why over 8,000 individuals have contributed and signed up to volunteer in three short months. But we need your help again. It’s not about the amount you can give, it’s about adding your voice to the thousands more who share our vision of progress.

What makes Senator Lieberman’s desperate ads even more outrageous is a passage that can be found in the pages of his own book, “In Praise of Public Life”:

At that point, Weicker stopped ignoring me. He hit back with a barrage of attack commercials … One of those ads was technically accurate but didn’t mention that the tax votes cited were cast seventeen years earlier, in 1971.

Which is exactly what Senator Lieberman did, presenting votes cast by Ned over a decade ago without context. For example, Lieberman’s ad claimed Ned voted against cleaning asbestos out of a local public school. But what the ad didn’t say was that it was part of a larger $45 million appropriation of which less than 5% was slated for asbestos removal. Those bills are all-or-nothing, and Ned thought a good amount of the spending in the bill was unnecessary, so he voted the whole thing down. It’s the same kind of attack President Bush launched when he screamed over and over that John Kerry voted against the now infamous $87 billion to provide troops with body armor. That vote too was part of a much larger spending bill that resulted in billions of wasted dollars. Senator Lieberman has always been too close for comfort with President Bush on issues like Iraq, Social Security, and the current energy policy, but who knew they have been trading advice on campaign tactics during their time together. We need your help to fight back.

What does Joe Lieberman do during Memorial Day? He launches a full scale swift boat attack on his opponent.

Is that the type of person you want representing you in Washington?

Senator Lieberman, after viewing you commercial and personally witnessing how you treated Ned in Waterbury, I can say without question that you have no class.