UPDATE: The "mulling" is over, Lieberman puts GOP question to rest

Well, I guess we can turn off that Drudge light (for now).

Here's the update...

As I wrote below, Election Central posed a question this morning to the Lieberman campaign: Would he or would he not rule out a run on the GOP line if he lost the Dem primary and the line were offered to him?

Well, now campaign spokesperson Marion Steinfels has gotten back to me, and the answer is: He rules it out. Completely.

Steinfels said that Lieberman would "absolutely not" run on the GOP line. She added: "He has said he's always been a Democrat, and he'll always be a Democrat."
Asked if he'd rule out accepting the line, Steinfels said: "Joe Lieberman will never run as a Republican. Never."

How much do you want to bet they read about their initial response on the blogs and freaked out (hi Joe, thanks for reading).

Telling someone like Greg Sargent that your "mulling" over a response to whether or not Lieberman is considering running on the GOP ticket is yet another in a long history of screw-ups from Lieberman's campaign. With less than three weeks to go, you would think they wouldn't be making these types of boneheaded moves that requires quick damage control.

Here's some things you should consider:

1. Why did the campaign have to "mull" over a response. It seems like a question such as "would you consider running on the GOP ticket" is a pretty simple question to answer for a Democrat like Lieberman. Is it fair to assume that there is more to this than meets the eye (or else why did Sargent have to wait for a response to a easy question. You know Lieberman should be screaming if Lamont had to "mull" over answering that question).

2. If the Republicans throw Alan "the card counter" Schlesinger over the cliff (which they are trying to do as hard as they can), would they put up a credible candidate to run for senate or would they clear a path for Lieberman to grab the GOP vote. Remember, Chris Shays and Nancy Johnson both praised Joe Lieberman for being a great senator.

3. If Lieberman is a proud Democrat, why won't he accept the outcome of the Democratic primary (if it's not in his favor).

If you ask me, Sargent was onto something and caught the Lieberman campaign off guard. With the GOP throwing Schlesinger under a bus (and the fact that Lieberman has a 60+ percent approval rating among conservatives) I'll bet the house on these two things:

1. The Republican leadership (i.e. George Gallo, Gov. Rell) has contacted Joe Lieberman within the last two to three weeks with a "run on the GOP ticket" plan or a "we'll clear the GOP ticket for you" offer (which would explain why they sabotaged Schlesinger's campaign since they HAD to have known about Alan's past).

2. The Lieberman camp contacted the GOP leadership about Joe running as an indy and look to see if they could get any support if Joe lost the primary. The GOP then threw Schlesinger under a bus (which happened after Joe jumped ship), offered two candidates who have no chance in winning the senate a.) Diane Urban-an anti war Republican (nuff said), and b.) Jack Orchulli-a Republican who had his ass handed to him by Chris Dodd when he tried to run against him in 2004. Now if Orchulli can't beat a liberal in Dodd, do you really think the GOP think Jack can beat someone like Lieberman who has high approval numbers AMONG REPUBLICANS).

...DEVELOPING