The kiss of political death

The Grey Lady treats us to a discussion of the political plight of Joe Lieberman, who seems… a tad down in the dumps… and in the polls.
Frankly, I have considered, and still consider the Connecticut intra-mural urinating contest among Democrats to be hopelessly counterproductive: lots of money, energy and volunteer time is going to multi-millionaire Ned Lamont, who is perfectly capable of paying for this kind of run on his own, but isn’t (paying for things yourself is inconsistent with becoming a multi-millionaire, of course). This money, energy and volunteer time, of course, is not going to House candidates who might unseat Republican incumbents (three of whom are in Connecticut), or of course, to other Democratic Senate candidates in other states who… might unseat Republican incumbents. My view, for the umpteenth time: this pissing contest is a luxury we can’t afford. Those helping to fuel the pissing contest are hurting us. Not that anyone will heed this humble blog on this point, or just about any other point.
That said, let me say that poetic justice would involve Lieberman either cleaning Lamont’s clock in the primary (possible, but not how you bet) or in the general election (much, much more likely) as the candidate of “the Lieberman Party”… and then joining the Republican caucus! Not how you bet either, of course; Lieberman tells us he intends to stay a Democrat.
But what he’s really told us is that he’s a prick: the likelihood isn’t that refusing to step aside if he can’t win the primary puts Connecticut in likely play for the Republicans. It doesn’t; if Lamont wins the primary and Lieberman goes away, Lamont would almost certainly win the general election. Lieberman’s recalcitrance does, however, put the rest of the country in play, as critical resources are going to go to “hold” Connecticut one way or another that could be crucial in helping in close House or Senate races where pickups are possible. In a way, it’s almost a scenario Karl Rove dreamed up.
But Joe doesn’t care. It’s always about him. Ironically, by voting record, he really is a solidly middle of the road Democrat– even on the war. He’s obviously done stupid things image-wise (see above). But mostly… he’s a prick, who cares more about holding his own damned seat than the wishes of his own state’s own primary voters… or of course, the fortunes of his own party’s national position.
Love and kisses to you, Joe.