Lieberman gets something right

He's only half a donkey (tell us something we didn't know).

Hat tip to GC

President Bush's priorities

What was on President Bush's mind today?



Is he thinking about the sudden increase of support that Hezbollah is receiving in Mideast?



Is he thinking about the 3,500 soliders who just had their tour extended for another four months in Iraq?



Is he thinking about his homeboy who dissed him?


Oh course not. Remember, we're talking about a man who once traded Sammy Sosa when he was the managing partner of the Texas Rangers. He's thinking about one thing...hanging out with the American Idol singers!





Republican leadership at it's best...the Middle East is fucked.

No union love to go with "The Hug"

Oh man, team Joementum blows it again. This is getting comical.

Hey Marion, next time you get buttons made (and you run over to TrueBlue with a big fat smile on your mug), make sure you get the buttons made at a union shop. You might offend the AFL-CIO members who only endorsed Lieberman's campaign till August 8th (as opposed to everyone else they endorsed who have the support of the union till November).

I'll step aside and let ctkeith do his thing.

Heres a message for John Olsen,The AFL-CIO and every union member in CT:

Joe Lieberman, his staff and his campaign just gave you the Biggest F*#K you anyone who runs as a Democrat can. They think so little of you and the entire Labor Movement that having a union shop make their "Hug Buttons" wasn't important enough to even think about. Your endorsement was the only thing that mattered, not your workers, not your families and not the quality of work union workers guarentee.

PS-Every Dump Joe Bumper sticker and "Kiss Button" has a union Bug. WHY? Because it was that important to us that we made sure of it.

What's that you say, you can't believe that someone like Joe Lieberman would do something like that? Well, I have a special treat for you. Later, we'll show you the button and you can examine it for yourself (from every angle you can imagine).

Shame on you Joe. More proof that you only care about yourself.

Had enough?

From Hotline:

Quote Of The Day

"We're for staying the course in Iraq and the war on terror."

-- Senate Maj. Leader Bill Frist on the GOP's '06 nat'l security message, "Hannity and Colmes," FNC, 7/27

With Iraq and the Middle East going to hell, do you want these guys running the show for another two years (with the assistance of Joe Lieberman)? Let's do what we can and make sure Hannity's best friend gets his pink slip.

Please donate to Ned's campaign and/or go to Lamont's family friends and neighbors program and sign up.

Condi's priorities

No time for diplomacy...



I have a piano recital to perform.
The Middle East is fucked.

FLASHBACK VIDEO: Lieberman's stance on the Schiavo case

In honor of Michael Schiavo's visit to Connecticut, here's Joe Lieberman's view on the Terri Schiavo case (hint: he agreed with the Republicans and the Religious Right).

(Hat tip to MikeCT at MLN)
Make sure you ask Joe about his opinion regarding the Schiavo case when you see him out on his bus tour today and watch how fast he'll run away from you.

You never know, he might accuse you of being a protestor or a pesky blogger.

Lieberman avoids the subject...is the press catching on?

Is the media finally getting the message and pointing out the obvious...Joe Lieberman's distancing himself from the issues that he had no problem discussing prior to the primary. Maybe the press has finally had enough of Lieberman's refusal to answer questions he doesn't like while happily misleading reporters over Ned Lamont's record.

...or maybe they're reading the blogs.

When Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was speaking to a joint session of Congress this week, was Joe Lieberman trying to change the subject?

As al-Maliki was about halfway through his speech, Lieberman's staff sent out a press release trumpeting how the Connecticut Democrat had vigorously opposed legislation - in a debate that ended 16 hours earlier - making it harder for pregnant girls to cross state lines to obtain an abortion without parental consent.

Back in the House chamber, Lieberman applauded much of the prime minister's address. But when al-Maliki was finished, and dozens of lawmakers spilled into the halls to talk to the media, Lieberman was nowhere to be seen.

Is this the same senator who had no problem writing an op-ed criticizing Democrats who opposed the President over the management of the war? Why hasn't the senator jump in front of a camera and praise the President's forgein policy now?

Why is he avoiding the subject?

Two words: Ned Lamont.

The Courant accurately documents Lieberman's past statements and easily connects the dots.

Since January, when it became apparent that Lieberman was likely to face a primary challenge over his support for the war in Iraq, the senator has mentioned Iraq in 11 press releases, op-ed articles or other public statements archived by his office. About half of them expressed support for or confidence in the war effort or the troops.

In the same period of 2005, his office put out 26 statements mentioning Iraq; again, about half supported the war or the troops.

When he has spoken about Iraq this year, his statements have tended to be more measured and reserved than they were last year.

After President Bush's 2006 State of the Union address, for instance, Lieberman spent most of his time criticizing Bush's tax and energy policies.

Though Bush discussed Iraq, Lieberman would not join the chorus of Republican praise for the administration strategy. "We remain a nation at war - at war in Iraq and also at war with Islamist terrorism around the world, and it was important for the president to discuss it with the nation tonight," the senator said.

That was an emphasis quite different from the one Lieberman used in 2005. After that year's address, the senator got quickly to his point: "The president spoke about the importance of completing our mission in Iraq, and I couldn't agree more."

And, Lieberman said, "We're on the road to peace and democracy in Iraq, and we'll reach our goal if we stick to it."

He was similarly enthusiastic last year when he called the Iraqi elections "a new dawn for democracy in Iraq."

"We have reached an important milestone and achieved a new momentum in reaching a goal all Americans should embrace - building a secure, peaceful, democratic Iraq that is no longer a threat to the United States or the international community," he said.

By contrast, the statement his office put out after al-Maliki spoke Wednesday seemed almost downbeat.

"I hope that the Prime Minister takes away from his visit here that the U.S. will continue to back him in his fight to build a stable, secure, democratic and independent Iraq," he said, "but that success in that quest will not depend on us, but on the Iraqis themselves, and he must match his words today with decisive actions when he returns to Iraq."

Facing a primary challenge, Lieberman sheepishly runs away from the issues that he had no problem commenting on (to the anger of his fellow Democrats) last year. What's more obvious is Lieberman's desperation as he begs for support from the same Democrats he disagreed with in the previous years.

Gonzales was being subjected to blistering criticism from Democrats for saying in 2002 that some rights of prisoners of war spelled out in the Geneva Conventions were "quaint."

Lieberman noted how Gonzales' opinion "has been quoted with great derision, laughter, as if it was over the edge." Lieberman was on Gonzales' side. "I think Judge Gonzales was being restrained and diplomatic in using the word `quaint' [for a captor] to offer these benefits," the senator said, referring to things such as the ability of a prisoner to receive musical instruments and access to a canteen to buy soap, tobacco and food.

The senator also angered many in his party by appearing too cozy with the administration over its plans to reform Social Security. Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid of Nevada was eager to have all 44 Senate Democrats united against privatization.

Lieberman met with Treasury Secretary John Snow for 45 minutes and hosted administration officials at meetings of the bipartisan Senate Centrist Coalition. Leadership staff quietly made calls to Lieberman's staff urging him to stick with the party, and Lieberman soon signed a letter with other Democrats opposing privatization.

And who can forget the ultimate slap in the face to the Democratic Party as a whole...

In December, Reid and Lieberman were at odds again. Lieberman had angered many Democrats with a Nov. 29 Wall Street Journal article.

"I am disappointed by Democrats who are more focused on how President Bush took America into the war in Iraq almost three years ago," Lieberman wrote, "and Republicans who are more worried about whether the war will bring them down in November's elections, than they are concerned about how we continue the progress in Iraq in the months and years ahead."

Lieberman has been able to avoid talking about the issues that got him into this primary challenge choosing instead to change the subject and misleading the press. Hopefully this article is a sign that the press is catching on to Lieberman's tricks and has had enough of his games. One thing is for sure, as long as Americans are dying and the middle east going down the tube, the voters of Connecticut aren't going to be fooled by the senator who last year was the biggest cheerleader for the Bush administration (thus the term, George Bush's favorite Democrat).

"This isn't unique to Joe Lieberman," said Amy Isaacs, national director of Americans for Democratic Action, a liberal advocacy group. "But voters are smart, and usually what ends up happening when you play this game is you energize your enemies and alienate your friends."

If you see Lieberman during his tour of the state, make sure to hold him accountable for the statements that he currently refuses to comment on.

Head on

It's Friday so lets start the day off on a funny note...

JOEMENTUM hits the road

Wow, after ignoring the public, desperate Joe Lieberman is pulling out his "bus tour" trick.

I guess he didn't learn the last time he pulled this stunt that it was a bomb.

Team Joementum's schedule for Friday

10:00AM Pre-tour Press Conference
Lieberman Campaign Headquarters
1800 Silas Dean Highway
Rocky Hill, CT

11:00AM Stop at Lieberman Headquarters
3 Colony Street
Meriden
Followed by walk down Main Street to the YMCA

12:15 PM Nardelli's Grinder Shop
87 Maple Street
Naugatuck

1:15 PM Sweets and Eats
60 North Main Street
Seymour

2:00 PM Massimino's Pizza
70 Main Street
Ansonia

4:00 PM Stop and Shop
259 Bull Hill Lane
Orange

5:00 PM "Bar"
254 Crown Street
New Haven

We'll let you know if Lieberman's camp makes any sudden changes in their schedule. Since Joe won't release his schedule to the public in advance, we'll do it for him.

Mr. DINO refuses to talk to "those pesky bloggers" and bullies the press so go out and give George Bush's favorite Democrat a piece of your mind and get him to talk abou the issues.

Remember, you have the power. Hold Lieberman accountable and force him to answer your questions.

How to steal a bike...

in plain sight.

(TParty, take notice).

you can only post so much political stuff...

While the Middle East goes up in smoke...

Condi plans a piano recital.

In keeping with her mood and to reflect the world crises she tackles daily, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to play a somber piece of music to her Asian colleagues in Malaysia this week.

[...]

"It is not a time that is frivolous. It is a serious time. I will play something that is in accordance with my serious mood," said Rice, who had just attended a conference in Rome aimed at helping resolve the Lebanon crisis.

If she was serious, she would stop worrying about her silly recital and her fashion attire and get some serious work done and help end the violence in the middle east.

Why does Condi goofing off buying shoes in NY during the middle of the Katrina crisis come to my mind right now?

Write your Letters to the Editor regarding primary races

Just heard that the Stamford Advocate's deadline for submitting letters regarding the primary races is TOMORROW!

Go to Ned Lamont's website, find the newspaper in your area, and get your letters in today!

If your interested in showing your support regarding the governor's race, you can go to Dan Malloy or John DeStefano's website for details.

Speakout while you still can.

Lieberman flashback: The HeartBeat Ensemble

Oh man, I almost forgot about this gem of a video.

While digging through my video archives, I came across a couple of video clips I thought everyone would enjoy (except for Joe Lieberman).

From the anti-war rally in Hartford back in March 2006, here is the activist-based theater group HeartBeat Ensemble preforming "Jeopardy: The Bush Administration Edition featuring George's favorite Democrat"

Enjoy!

Mystery State Rep who answered the simple question revealed

Probably the proudest Democrat in Connecticut answers the simple question!

I write to request that you please add my name to your list of elected officials who will support the winners of the August Democratic primaries.

As a registered Dem, I have always supported the person who prevails in the primary. And I will certainly be glad to do so again this year. (I am deeply disappointed that U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman is not taking the same approach; his failure to do so undermines our party's democratic process.)

Thank you very much for setting up this list - it's a real public service that you're performing, and I appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Andy Fleischmann

State Representative, 18th District, West Hartford

The citizens of West Hartford should be proud to have a State Rep. like Fleischmann representing them. I've always admired his leadership abilities and his stance on issues such as the Iraq War and women's rights. Hell, there were delegates at the Democratic State Convention who wanted to nominate Rep. Fleischmann for governor before he declined the offer.

A proud Democrat and a class act indeed.

If you never heard of Rep. Fleischmann before, I have a treat for you. Here's the TRUE Democrat expesssing his feelings regarding the Iraq war at the massive anti-war rally in Hartford eariler this year.


UPDATE: Please email Rep. Fleischmann at the Capitol and thank him for being a proud and dedicated Democrat. He almost makes me want to pack up my family and move to West Hartford.

Lamont backs Israel

In case Lieberman supporters try to misinform the local press again.

The anti-Iraq War challenger in Connecticut's upcoming Democratic primary has issued strong statements backing Israel's military operations in Lebanon, but his campaign boosters are being painted as anti-Israel by supporters of Senator Joseph Lieberman.

Greenwich, Conn., businessman Ned Lamont, who holds a slight lead in the polls over Lieberman, told the Forward that he supports Israel's current operations in Gaza and Lebanon, and that he disagreed with the European Union's declaration that criticized Israel's actions as a "disproportionate" response.

"When we're dealing with Hezbollah and Hamas, who are both dedicated to the elimination of Israel, it's a little presumptuous of us to say what's proportionate and what's not from over here on this side of the Atlantic," Lamont said. "I don't think it's for the United States to dictate how Israel tactically defends itself."

[...]

In his interview with the Forward, Lamont said that he did not agree with calls for an immediate, unconditional cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

"I think first and foremost, return the kidnapped soldiers, Hamas and Hezbollah," Lamont said. "And I think that would be sort of a prerequisite for everything that goes on beyond."

In addition to blasting Israel's enemies, the challenger blamed the current escalation on the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq and on the failure to be more engaged in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "We took our eye off the ball," Lamont said. "The invasion of Iraq... we got bogged down. We didn't deal with the peace process in a serious way over the last five years — that's part of the reason that Israel is under attack today."

Lamont said that he supported burgeoning plans to put an international force on the border between Israel and Lebanon.

More big profits for big oil

I'm still waiting for someone to tell me why I'm paying over 3.00 per gallon for gas.

Exxon Mobil Corp. said Thursday it earned $10.36 billion in the April-June period, the second largest quarterly profit ever recorded by a publicly traded U.S. company.

Another proud Democrat steps up and answers the question

Oh, I love it when politicians answer the call.

It's too bad more politicians in Connecticut are not like this true Democrat.

I am a Democratic State Representative, and I support Ned Lamont for U.S. Senate. I will be voting for him on August 8th. I am also committed to supporting the nominees of my party (unlike Joe Lieberman) after the primary.

Thanks!

Tim O'Brien
State Representative

Unlike some pro-Lieberman Democrats who do everything in their power to either avoid answering the simple question or smear bloggers by accusing them as using "sandbagging" techniques, at least there are some people in public office who truly believe in the principles of the Democratic Party.

Listen to Lieberman's desperate robo call featuring President Clinton

Sad. Real sad.

Poor Joe had to cut and paste Clinton's speech from Waterbury for his robo call. I think it speaks volumes when a senator is too afraid to stand on his own two feet and present himself to the voters.

Funny how no one hears one word from Lieberman in the Clinton robo call huh?

Where's your message Joe? The voters in Connecticut are still waiting to hear from you. Are you planning on scrapping your fake, staged photo-ops and talking to real people any time soon or are you still afraid of those pesky bloggers who don't play fair by actually asking you questions?

I mean really, Joe's riding Clinton's shoulders after he basically spat in his face during the Lewinsky scandal. I guess George Bush's favorite Democrat is praying that people confuse Bill for him and think that Clinton is going up against Lamont in the primary.

Pitiful, desperate, pathetic, out-of-touch politician.

So let's recap:

1. Joe Lieberman spread negative ads against Lamont (that bear ad really work out).

2. Joe Lieberman paid for push-polling and based on the data he collected, attacked Ned Lamont over his finances (I guess Joe forgot he had stock in Halliburton and forgot about what his wife does for a living).

3. Joe decides to run as an indy (bad move as all he did was piss off a good portion of his supporters who are TRUE Democrats).

4. Tried to persuade African-Americans that he actually cares about their concerns and promised "earmarked" money to fight urban violence (opps, I was raised in the North-End and Joe was NEVER there when we needed him the most. Now he thinks he can just sweet-talk people with money...ah, I don't think so).

5. When Mr. DINO checked his internal polling data that showed his approval numbers were taking a nosedive, he corners Hilary Clinton and basically begs like a toddler for help from Bill. Oh man, I wish I could have been there to see the smile on Senator Clinton's face. I'm sure she and Bill are still laughing their asses off over Lieberman's plea. Oh, the karma!

How much do you want to bet Clinton did this under some type of condition? Can someone in the media call Clinton's office in Harlem and find out if there were any conditions to him stumping for Joe (like telling Joe to abandon his indy bid if he loses the primary).

Come on, do you think Bill would just show up for Joe and get nothing in return?

Note to Lieberman: The people came out to see Clinton, not listen to you. I'm sure you noticed how the audience applause level decreased when you took the podium. I know I noticed.

Anyway, for your listening pleasure (mp3). Enjoy.

MAJOR HAT TIP to a faithful reader. I owe you big time.

UPDATE: Oh, oh! There he goes again!

CTBob adds a little video to Joe's robo call...I don't think Mr. DINO is going to like this. Be sure to thank Bob for everything he's doing.

Lieberman robo calls featuring Bill Clinton reported

Instead of Joe Lieberman defending his record, he hoping President Clinton can win the election for him. Look for Bubba to hit the airwaves for Liebrman also from now till primary day.

From now until primary day, it's a dogfight. Joe has increased his staff in Rocky Hill and it's reported that he will be returning to Connecticut to campaingn till primary day. He's pulling out every trick in the book (besides talking about his record) to win this election.

D-E-S-P-E-R-A-T-E.

If anyone gets a robo call, please record it and email me and if you haven't already, please go to Ned Lamont's family, friends, and neighbors program and sign up.

Medea Benjamin to the rescue

Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the anti-war group Code Pink, gives Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki a message.

You go girl!

Mo' money, mo' money

Tell me again why I'm paying over 3.00 per gallon for gas?

Three words

Family, friends, and neighbors. Sign up and help spread the word!

Another proud Democrat answers the question

Here's a question for you non-political junkies. Can you name this guy?

I'll be back later to talk about this proud Democrat and great politician and how he answered my simple question.

No more Nancy

A new blog has hits the scene and it's target is Nancy Johnson. I would love to work with these guys in the future. Go over and take a read as it's a great site.

PPM baby!

Lieberman afraid of bloggers?

Oh good grief, if this is true, then Lieberman is in full paranoid mode.

Here's the simple story from a simple man.

Today in Pomfret, several candidates met with local Democrats. I came at the invitation of Swordsmith, another local Democrat, to this meet and greet in a part of the state I don't usually visit. The reason I went was to see how Joe Lieberman reacted to voters in a non-diner setting and how he might have changed from the JJB dinner several years ago where I first met the Senator.

Back then he was cheerful and easy going, laughing off his second defeat in national politics like it had happened to someone else. In 2000, Joe Lieberman could have traveled the country to most anywhere in the United States and have been cheered; but tonight he was too afraid to travel to a small town in his own state to make his case for renomination to a group of Democratic voters all because word leaked to the "wrong people" (us) that he would be visiting Pomfret.

That's right, Lieberman canceled at the last moment because he thought BLOGGERS might have showed up and started asking QUESTIONS. While I make it a policy never to harrass candidates no matter how obnoxious they might be, I saw too many Lamont buttons and stickers at the event to guess that Lieberman would have been received cooly at best if he had had the guts to show up.

Good grief. Joe Lieberman is now afraid of BLOGGERS who ask questions? How pathetic but I'll bet my soul this will be the new line of attack from the Lieberman campaign and if yesterday was any indication, the mainstream media will jump on the bandwagon soon enough.

We're ambushing him with our cameras and our questions? Maybe if the mainstream media did their job, we wouldn't need to be on the frontlines asking the real questions that really matters to people. Instead, we get reporters like WTNH's "chief political reporter" Mark Davis who drinks the Lieberman Kool-Aid over Lamont's finances and lodges softball questions to Lieberman so he can mislead the public (to Joe's pleasure). Let's run the transcript again.

LIEBERMAN: From the limited disclosure he had under the 'Senate ethics' that he has stock in 'Halliburton,' and he has stock in, more stock in some of the big oil companies. That's something for everybody to judge.

MARK DAVIS: That would be a crime?

LIEBERMAN: Oh no, this is just public right to know. None of this is about illegality. I think when you get into public office you've got an obligation to disclose all your financial holdings.

These are the questions Lieberman wants and Davis was more than happy to deliver while being so lazy at his job that it took a blogger to expose the fact that Lieberman has holdings in Haliburton also.

I guess if we asked Lieberman about his holdings, he would say we're ambushing him while having no problem using Mark Davis as a tool.

How about the reporters who didn't question Barbara Boxer as she supports a senator who says that a women (who was raped) could easily walk from a Catholic hospital to another hospital and take the Plan B pill. I guess CTBob ambushed her and Lieberman also.

Okay, let's run the tape again.
Some ambush huh. Boxer being asked a question from someone who isn't tied down by the power of corporate media (again, why did it take a blogger to ask the question that was on everyone's mind).

Imagine if bloggers were able to do what we do now back during the 2004 election and were able to ask the swift-boaters real questions about their charges against Kerry? Instead, we got those biased talking heads repeating the fake charges about Kerry again and again until the lie became the truth.

In short, long live People Powered Media (PPM). If we're considered "protestors" and people who "ambush" people, God help us all.

UPDATE: If you really want to put fear in Joe's heart, sign up for Ned Lamont's family, friends, and neighbors program!

Malloy push-polling?

More phone calls?

A Branford man picked up his telephone Monday night to find a political pollster on the other end.

The conversation started innocently as the caller asked whether the state was going in the right direction and how he felt about the races for governor and the U.S. Senate. But as soon as the Branford man said he was voting for New Haven Mayor John DeStefano instead of Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, the conversation abruptly turned to a series of anti-DeStefano questions.

What the pollster did not know was that the Branford man was Sam Gejdenson, the former U.S. House member who has publicly endorsed DeStefano.

"There was a lot of noise in the background, so it was a big phone-bank operation," said Gejdenson, a Democrat who served in Congress for 20 years before losing to Republican Rob Simmons in 2000. "It was definitely just a push poll to beat up the other guy. They said New Haven was dangerous. I've never felt endangered in New Haven."

Whoops, someone called the wrong guy.

The Malloy campaign deny that they are behind the phonecalls and say that Malloy supporters have received anti-Malloy polling calls also.

"If Sam Gejdenson thinks he got a push poll, it certainly wasn't from the Malloy campaign or anyone we consider supporters," responded Chris Cooney, campaign manager for Malloy.

[...]

Cooney said Malloy supporters have received anti-Malloy telephone calls recently, but he said he was not making the assumption that the calls were generated by the DeStefano campaign. DeStefano's spokesman, Derek Slap, denied that the campaign had made any anti-Malloy calls.

Who's lying and who's telling the truth?

If anyone has received an anti-Malloy or anti-DeStefano phone call, please email me with the details.

What happened to the public right to know?

Remember back when WTNH's Mark Davis gave Joe Lieberman a softball question regarding Ned Lamont and his personal finances (sorry for posting the raw footage from Lieberman's press conference but I don't have the original file to edit. Anyway, don't bitch and just watch the clip)...

LIEBERMAN: From the limited disclosure he had under the 'Senate ethics' that he has stock in 'Halliburton,' and he has stock in, more stock in some of the big oil companies. That's something for everybody to judge.

MARK DAVIS: That would be a crime?

LIEBERMAN: Oh no, this is just public right to know. None of this is about illegality. I think when you get into public office you've got an obligation to disclose all your financial holdings.

Look what happens when a reporter asked about Lieberman finances.

U.S. Senate candidate Ned Lamont released a document Tuesday showing he does not control investments in a stock fund that once included shares of Halliburton Co.

The letter, signed by a Goldman, Sachs & Co. vice president, says the managed account is run by Goldman Sachs' Quantitative Equity Group, which makes all investment decisions.

Halliburton stock is no longer part of that fund, Lamont Campaign Manager Tom Swan said last week when Lamont released his 2005 tax returns.

[...]

U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman has repeatedly accused Lamont of having direct shares of Halliburton. The Connecticut Post reported last week that there is Halliburton stock in two mutual funds that Lieberman owns.

Lieberman spokeswoman Marion Steinfels would not comment on Lieberman's mutual funds.

So much for a public's right to know.

Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies...

Oh Marion, why do you say such silly things.

We've now spoken with Marion Steinfels, Lieberman's campaign spokeswoman. She tells us that although Spazeboy had a ticket (which was apparently given to him by someone else), his name wasn't on the list, and no one whose name wasn't on the list was admitted -- ticket or no ticket. "You had to have your name on the list, for security reasons," she told us. "Every ticket had a number and the name corresponded." It appears that the person at the door recognized Spazeboy and knew his name wasn't on the list, and thus barred him.

As for the subsequent scuffle, Steinfels cannot say for sure exactly what happened between the Lieberman staffer and Spazeboy. "I wasn't there," she admits. “But my understanding is that they are non-transferable tickets, and that's why he was turned away." Hmmm. Now we're gonna see what Spazeboy has to say about this.

Well, not so fast. What Marion didn't tell you is that the Lieberman staffer ripped the ticket right out of Spazeboy's hand while another staffer accused him of being a "known protestor."

Now, what Marion is selling is complete B.S. and what she is doing in political terms is called "damage control." Spazeboy is not a protestor, he's a blogger who is trying to cover one of the biggest campaigns in the country and what happened to him is nothing new as I received the same treatment recently and Marion and I had a little "discussion" because I was a tad pissed off.

The expulsion of anyone who is critical of Liebreman is nothing new to bloggers and is part of Lieberman's overall theme of shielding himself away from people who might ask him a tough question (this includes the general public). I'll dig into this topic later but quickly, in my year in a half of blogging about politics, the Lieberman team is the only campaign that has been outright hostile to bloggers. This attitude towards bloggers speaks volumes about Lieberman as throughout his entire campaign, the senator has done everything in his power to shield himself from people who might ask a tough question and/or critical of him( i.e. not making his event information public, accusing bloggers of being protestors, barring bloggers from all events).

No access, no respect

I really have no respect for the Lieberman campaign and the way they treat people who disagree with their man. You see, since the beginning of his campaign, Joe Lieberman has gone out of his way from having public events (unless they're stages dinner stops in which the press is the only people notified), running away from anyone who wants to ask him a critical question, and calling bloggers "protestors" and threatening them with the police.

Yesterday was just more of the same bullshit from team Joementum but this time they picked on the wrong people.

Spazeboy and Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake talk about their experience as they were denied entrance into the big Clinton event in Waterbury.

I wasn't able to make it to the Brass City to see Bubba do his thing but I caught up with Spazeboy and Jane at a Lamont event later in the evening where they gave me the details of their encounter with the Lieberyouth police. Disgusting is the only word that comes to mind when I think about the Lieberman staff as they are by far some of the rudest and mean-spirited group of "out-of-state" people I've ever met in my year and a half of covering Connecticut politics. I won't go into any great details about what happened since Spazeboy details everything that happened to him and Jane on his site.

Please go to Spazeboy's site and tell him thank you for everything he's doing. Just thinking that I was the person who got him into the whole videoblogging thing brings a tear to my eye (oh, where's my tissue). He's come a long way from that faithful day and his blog reflects that.

Poor Spazeboy, you should have saw this guy looking all so sad and depressed...until a smile from Miss Connecticut Heidi Voight brightened up his day.

UPDATE: Spazeboy will be on the WTIC today at 5:40 talking about his experience with the Lieberyouth police.

Chris Matthews talks about Lieberman's problem

Lets just say that Matthews didn't make Lieberman supporter Don Imus very happy with his accurate analysis on the senate race.

Reporter gets the real story

People came out to Waterbury to see Bill Clinton, not to see Joe Lieberman.

An awestruck crowd of about 2,000 Democrats swooned over the former president as he campaigned for Lieberman's re-election at Waterbury's Palace Theater, several of them shouting "four more years" as Clinton reminisced about his two terms in office.

[...]

With Clinton's appearance and both primary candidates in the city, Waterbury was the political center of the state yesterday.

"I think he's awesome," Gus Vassiliou, manager of Louie's Pizza, said of Clinton. The pizzeria is next door to the theater. "I wish he was still the president."

Some antiwar demonstrators and supporters of Lamont tried to seize on the joint appearance of Lieberman and Clinton.

Edward Anderson, a New Haven Democrat who is part of a group of Lieberman critics who started the Web site DumpJoe.com, created a special sign to hold outside the theater.

"Bill's indiscretions or Bush's idiotic war?" the sign said.

Mary Ellen Shea, a South Windsor Democrat and a Lamont supporter, speculated that Lieberman was not the main attraction.

"If I had to make an educated guess, the majority are here to see Clinton," said Shea, who went to the rally with friends who are Lieberman supporters.


[...]

Watertown Democrat Jerry Langlais said Clinton's popularity within the party is unrivaled.

"There's nobody I'd rather listen to speak than Clinton," Langlais said.

As for whether undecided voters will listen to the former president, Langlais said the former president could only do so much.

Will Clinton's visit have any impact on Lieberman? With two weeks until primary day, I don't think so. Simply put, Lieberman's tactics are too little, too late. To back up this statement, lets take a look at the important part of the latest poll.

19. (If candidate choice given q18) Is your mind made up, or do you think you might change your mind before the primary?

Made up 79%
Might change 19
DK/NA 2

With almost 80 percent of the public having their mind already made up, I don't think Clinton, Boxer or anyone can sway voters to vote for Lieberman. The only person who can get people to vote for him at this point is Lieberman and to this day, Lieberman has refuse to hold a public event (in order to go to see Clinton yesterday, you needed to get a ticket from the Lieberman campaign which required you to give your social security number. Anyone who didn't support Lieberman were either denied a ticket or blocked from entering the event).

In the end, people came out to see Clinton and the whole event will be forgotten by the end of the news cycle (which is about now). When the dust settles, people will rememebr that this election is about Joe Lieberman and whether or not voters think he deserves to serve as senator of Connecticut for another term.

Morton Kondracke tells a BIG FAT LIE

I liked him better when he was the whipping boy on the McLaughlin Group. Now, he's just an dumbass talking head who co-hosts a crappy show on Fox News.

Media Matters does the debunking so I don't have to.

From the July 22 edition of Fox News' The Beltway Boys, featuring Kondracke and co-host Fred Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard:

KONDRACKE: Here's "The Buzz," Fred.

You know, Bill Clinton is going to campaign for -- for Joe Lieberman up -- up in Connecticut. And an interesting fact about this relationship -- I mean, Lieberman gets criticized by the left for making that famous speech in which he criticized Bill Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky. But what's not remembered is that in the same speech, Lieberman was against impeaching Clinton on that -- on that account. And that actually helped undercut an effort on the part of some Democrats to -- to go to the White House and ask Clinton to resign. Clinton credits Lieberman with saving -- saving his presidency at that -- at that crucial moment, which is part of why he's going to campaign for him.

Now, Hillary Clinton went out of her way to -- to say that, well, if Lamont wins the primary, she'll be for him. Bill Clinton has not done that. He may have to support Lamont if -- if Lamont wins. But he has not said it in advance.

Hey dummy...

Clinton is coming to the rescue although Lieberman slammed him over the Monica Lewinsky affair, calling the President's conduct "immoral" and "disgraceful" in a 1998 speech.

"Bill Clinton holds no grudges," said veteran political consultant Hank Sheinkopf. "He's out helping someone he believes ought to be reelected."

Still, Clinton's support could be a one-shot deal: If Lieberman loses the primary, Clinton will go with Lamont.

The former President thinks Lieberman, whom he has known for 30 years, "has been a good senator," said Clinton spokesman Jay Carson.

"However, he respects the primary process and will support the candidate that wins the Democratic primary," Carson said.

Morton exposed for a fool yet again. I'm sure John McLaughlin is somewhere goofing on Kondracke over this whopper of a lie. Oh, I can hear John now..."MOOORTON!"

Barbara Boxer update (w/ video)

(image by CTBob)
My goodness, what was this senator thinking?

Oh man, there is so much to talk about I don't know where to begin. Well, I actually have to still wait until Maura files her report but that didn't stop my man CTBob from filing his video report of Boxer's AWFUL day in Norwalk.

Immediately after Barbara Boxer's seemingly unenthusiastic endorsement of Joe Lieberman, I ask Joe some tough questions. Concerned Irish-Democrat Maura joins in with a question of her own. (...and Maura completely ROCKS!)

Take a look at the video for yourself (and PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, go to Bob's site and thank him for being a proud liberal blogger and capturing this video).

There will be more on this story later today.

Barbara Boxer rude in Norwalk

I'm just received a report from a fellow blogger that Barbara Boxer was rather rude and impolite to one person who asked her a question regarding Joe Lieberman's statement about the Plan B pill and catholic hospitals.

Seems like Boxer didn't want to be confronted by anyone who didn't support Joe Lieberman. I'm still puzzled with her even appearing in Connecticut. Boy, is she in for a blacklash after people hear about what she did in Norwalk today.

I'll give you more details later in the day as I don't want to totally steal my fellow blogger's scoop but you'll be shocked once the full report is published.

Oh, did I mention that the whole episode is on VIDEOTAPE!

...developing.

Blogger problems

Blogger is acting weird again so I'm having trouble posting. Hopefully, everything will be back to normal soon.

My weekend with the Lamont campaign

With August 8th fast approaching, I thought it would be nice to do something I haven't done in quite some time...pack up all my video and digital camera equipment and follow the Ned Lamont campaign around the state.

You see, I first met Ned Lamont at his second public appearance (I think it was in New Haven back in January) and I was so impressed with him that I took it upon myself to follow him around for a while just to see where his campaign would lead. I knew he had the right message and positive vision to beat Senator Lieberman and was just the type of Democrat we need now in Washington but he had a HUGE name recognition problem. In fact, back in those days, I could show a picture of Lamont to someone and they would have no idea who he was or what he was all about.

I could remember arriving before Ned to a number of his early events when he traveled from small town to small town in Connectucut and when I asked people how they felt about Lamont possibly challenging Lieberman, they would always say, "who is Ned Lamont" or "I never heard of this Lamont guy but I don't like Joe and wanted to learn more about him."

Just when things couldn't get any weirder, something strange happened and it happened repeatedly right in front of my eyes.

Every single time Ned finished his stump speech and finished answering every question in the room (I was always pleased with Ned's ability to talk to everyone who had a question no matter the topic), people were immediately impressed by him and ran to the sign up sheet.

It was the weirdest goddamn thing I've ever seen. People who had no idea who Ned was (or didn't even know he was showing up in the first place), were cheering him on by the end of the night. It was like something incredible was happening as people started to believe in Lamont and what he had to say. The crowds became bigger and the buzz about his campaign became louder. I know this might sound wired but trust me, I have all the video to back up my claim.

Just as Ned went through his learning stage of campaigning, I went through a learning stage of incorporating multimedia into my blog. You see, back then (like it's so long ago), there were very few blogs that used video and there were no blogs in Connecticut that used this tool (hell, back then, there were only two or three blogs covering Connecticut politics).

As my video capabilities improved, so did Lamont's delivery and his the size of his audience. I appreciated that fact that there was finally I politician that I believed in so much that I spent countless hours following him around the state and doing what I can to get his message heard.

That was then, and this is now. I haven't had the time to shadow the Lamont campaign like I use to in some time and with the primary day around the corner, I thought it would be nice to tag along and see Ned in action. Let's just say that the days of Ned speaking to small crowds in places like at Dos Amigos in Torrington are long in the past (trust me, you had to be there to understand and I'll write a post about that night someday).

Enough of me babbling about Ned, there will be time to look back on what Lamont has done for the Democratic Party and for the people in Connecticut later. Here's my video report on the Lamont campaign from this weekend as he traveled across the state with U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, and State Rep. Peter Tercyak (what a funny guy. Listen to his quotes, as they're priceless).

Enjoy.

Joe Klien says Lieberman is in trouble

You know times are tough for Joe when Joe Klien can't find a positive thing to say about Lieberman's campaign.

Now if you didn't spill your coffee yet, may I advise you to place your cup down before reading on. If you don't think Klien sees the writing on the wall, look what he said in his latest piece on the senate race.

On a brain-foggingly hot Sunday afternoon in July, a wistful Senator Joseph Lieberman tried to summon his inner Samuel Gompers as he accepted the Connecticut AFL-CIO's endorsement in his dead-heat primary campaign against the aristocratic antiwar upstart Ned Lamont. "Sometimes you work hard, and people forget," he said, thanking a straggly crowd of union leaders for remembering the picket lines he'd walked over the years. "My folks were working people. I grew up thinking that people who work deserve a fair deal. It takes government to ensure ..." and so on.

He was, of course, avoiding the subject. A giant papier-mache statue of George W. Bush kissing Lieberman on the cheek—the Senator's famed Britney-Madonna moment, which transpired after Bush finished his 2005 State of the Union address-sat on the back of a nearby pickup truck, thoughtfully provided by a group called Connecticut Bloggers. There was no mention from Lieberman of the elephant in the truck, no explanation of his alliance with the President over the war in Iraq. Just an oblique plea that this should not be a one-issue campaign.

[...]

Joe Lieberman is, without question, one of the finest men I've known in public life. I could never imagine myself voting against him. But he was profoundly wrong about the most important issue of the past five years-and now, at the very least, he has to acknowledge that there's an elephant sitting in the pickup truck.

Aw, I should fo walked up to Joe Klien and handed him this picture. It would of went great with his article. My bad.

Politicians campaign with Lamont in New Britain

(click on image to enlarge)
With a little over two weeks until primary day, the Ned Lamont express made several campaign s stops across the state including a stop in New Britan Saturday afternoon.

And he brought a couple of friends.

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and State Rep. Peter Tercyak braved the rain and came out to show their support for Lamont and participated in door knocking with supporters throughout the neighborhood. Both politicians are Polish-American and showed their support for Lamont by rallying up support for him in the predominately Polish-American section of New Britain.

With primary day around the corner, other politicians from the state and nation are lining up behind Lamont including U.S. Maxine Waters who also traveled to Connecticut to support Lamont this weekend as she visited Hartford, Bloomfield, New Haven, Windsor and Waterbury.

In front of a large enthusiastic crowd, Kaptur, an anti-war Congresswoman, fired up the crowd (in between the car honks for support) with an energizing speech blasting the Bush Administration for taking the country in the wrong direction on a host of issues, Lieberman for being out of touch with the principles of the Democratic Party and emphasizing the point that Lamont and his campaign represents real change in the state.

Lamont rallied the crowd up with a speech in which he stressed why the senate race is so important to people in Connecticut and the nation. Working around the theme of "courage," Lamont stressed the need for the Democratic Party to clarify what they stand for in this county and why his campaign is resonating with voters who are upset with the current state of affairs in this county.

View the video highlights from Saturday's event.

With the assistance of Thirdparty from Lamontblog, I was able to get an interview with both Rep. Kaptur and State Rep Tercyak and ask them why they support Ned Lamont's candidacy over Joe Lieberman.

Another columnist slams Lieberman, praises Lamont

Andy Thibault is the lasest in a long line of columnists who comes out swinging against Lieberman. Man, can Joe find one columnist to say something good about him?

Who woulda thunk it? As the citizens of Connecticut get to know Ned Lamont, they like him.

Lamont is now considered an acceptable alternative to that other guy - what's his name, The Bush Lip-Locker - for the U.S. Senate.

And why not?

Our modern-day version of Mr. Smith goes to Washington is a capable and genial fellow who holds his ground without stooping to the base level of the other guy. When the other guy tried to denigrate Lamont for being a rich white boy, Lamont responded with a self-deprecating ad in which his family made fun of him. Toward the conclusion of the ad, Lamont steered the discussion back to a real issue, saying: Let's both support the winner of the Aug. 8 Democratic primary.

Lamont's capable performance in the debate with the other guy has resonated with voters. The Quinnipiac poll announced July 20 showed Lamont up 11 points and the other guy down 8 points from just about a month ago. Lamont is now the favorite to win the Democratic primary, 51-47 percent among likely voters. By any standard, he is a winner.

There are many ironies at work in this race. Lamont's hometown of Greenwich takes a bad rap, often justified, as a place of power and privilege gone amok. They don't want regular peons on their beaches, for example. Still, after working in Greenwich for several years, I'm happy to report I encountered a lot of nice, semi-normal people as well. Ned Lamont was one of them. I didn't even know he was a rich guy.

It's funny and pathetic to hear the other guy try to distort the character and qualifications of Lamont. For example, the other guy is an ultimate tool of the rich and powerful when it comes to energy policy, the war and health care. Lamont, in contrast, is a strong advocate for universal health care and unafraid to stand up to the closest thing the United States has ever had to a facist regime.

The other guy would censure one president for getting a blow job and be a good stooge for another president who orders massive illegal spying on citizens, institutionalizes torture and weakens the country by lying about the reason for going to war -- and condemning our young to die or be maimed without justification or purpose.

Expect more intensity and more big lies from the other guy. Desperate career politicians get that way, especially when they are losing.

Whack! Another blow to Lieberman and the hits just keep coming for him and his awful campaign.

Thibault also has a very good blog that is worth bookmarking so please give it a look.