TIME: The Unmaking of a Senator: How Bloggers Pulled It Off

[DeepModem Mom]

The Unmaking of a Senator: How Bloggers Pulled It Off
With Lieberman's primary loss, the netroots movement has established itself as a power center among Democrats. But will its influence haunt the party in November?
By PERRY BACON, JR/WASHINGTON
Posted Wednesday, Aug. 09, 2006

As much as it was a repudiation of his support for the Iraq War, Joe Lieberman's loss Tuesday in the Senate primary also signaled the ascendancy of a legitimate new power center in the Democratic party, the Netroots.

The much-hyped Internet activists of the Howard Dean presidential campaign, liberal blogs like Daily Kos and activist groups like MoveOn.org had generated lots of buzz, but few results at the ballot box until now. But in Tuesday's Senate Democratic primary in Connecticut, the bloggers didn’t just get a win, but a victory no one could have expected even four months ago. Joe Lieberman wasn't just a three-term Connecticut Senator, he was only a few thousand votes from being the vice-president in a Democratic administration six years ago. And despite almost the entire Democratic establishment supporting his run against a virtually unknown businessman named Ned Lamont, including former President Clinton campaigning for him in Connecticut, the bloggers and Connecticut voters have for all intents and purposes kicked Joe Lieberman out of the Democratic Party.

Even Lamont admitted that while he decided to enter the race himself, the blogs had long been hoping someone in Connecticut would take on Lieberman, and their support was crucial early in getting the word of his candidacy out. Markos Moulitas of Daily Kos appeared in one of his early ads, former blogger and Internet organizer Tim Tagaris left his job at the Democratic National Committee to work on Lamont’s campaign and bloggers from the site mydd.com headed up to Connecticut over the last several days to call voters and encourage them to support Lamont. And MoveOn.org strongly supported Lamont despite pleas from Democratic leaders not to.

Still, as the bloggers themselves admit, Lamont's victory was about far more than them. Lieberman's fervent support for the Iraq War, and his attacks on many of his party who opposed President Bush's policy there, annoyed Connecticut voters as much as bloggers. Also, aside from the war, Lieberman suffered from a feeling among many voters there that he was taking the state for granted, and liberals in the blue state were frustrated by his positions on other issues, such as his support for school vouchers. The bloggers and their supporters pumped a few thousand dollars into the race, but having a millionaire candidate like Lamont pour $4 million of his own money was crucial. And Lamont's campaign manager, Tow Swan, is a veteran Connecticut political operative who helped run the strong turnout operation that helped propel Lamont to victory....

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1224538,00.html

[msongs]

1. actually, joe WAS elected vice president..... nt

[goclark]

5. He WAS elected but I will always believe

that he was working both sides of the fence.

He got too cozy to Bush too quick.

[zbdent]

15. But he decided to run from the fight

to keep it ...

[sgxnk]

2. daily kos

is now 1/18 according to "sources"

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

4. Huh? Please explain. -nt

[ps1074]

6. i think he means

1 win in 18 races

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

18. Does that refer to current primaries?

Or is he gloating that, say, GWB won in 2004?

[sgxnk]

20. why would kos gloat over gwb win???? nt

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

26. My. If DUers were chemical elements, you'd be Osmium. -nt

[sgxnk]

33. i realized you were

trying to make a subtle jab

it seems here par for the course that if one does not go along 100% with the orthodox belief system, that one obviously is a rightwing plant/troll

i see this OVER and over again.

it's such a tired tactic here

i could list 600 reasons why bush sucks, but if i also list one good thing about him, that would be cause for instant suspicion

the partisanship is absurd. frankly, im more interested in ideas than in politics, or politicians

i think left and rightwingers are equally prone to being liars, cheats, and/or playing silly political games. that's tangential to the ISSUES, which is what is important to me

that's why i don't get into the demonization game. im into issues.

and i am generally far more libertarian (lower case "l") than most liberals or conservatives (which makes me more of a classic liberal) so take that for what its worth

show me a non-statist, non-authoritarian politician and chances are i'll like him

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

34. Hint: the "subtle jab" wasn't about your politics. -nt

[sgxnk]

35. well bowl me over with your inscrutable intellect then! :)

[sui generis]

3. so, Joe is pissed that people who disagree with him

caused him to lose?

It's all so complicated . . . maybe Joe will work hard to make evil liberal bloggers illegal now.

Poor pathetic lame-ass (thx yet again skinner, it's a keeper) excuse.

We just comment on the news, we don't make it.

[AzDar]

7. "Liberal bloggers" didn't "choose" Lamont, Connecticut VOTERS did!!

[Jacobin]

19. A 'small detail' the MSM would like the country to forget

:rofl:

:rofl:

"it was those crazy bloggers, not the good citizens of CT!!!"

:rofl:

[KKKarl is an idiot]

8. Progressive bloggers rule

We are finally finding an amazing alternative to the countless hours of neocon talk radio. Finally they are being brought down. Lets make sure we bring down the neocon incumbents in the November elections.

[chaumont58]

14. I read several blogs several times a day

and to me, they are a source of truth. I trust them in ways I no longer trust newspapers and TV news shows.
One blog that help the situation in Ct, was firedoglake. They dumped their hearts and souls into the contest. Its good to see them savor the win.

[fasttense]

9. Would the Lieberman who ran as VP for Gore have kissed bush*?

I don't think so. He was a liberal back in 2000. He changed. He became too neocon, extreme right wing. So extreme that Ann the man Coulter and Cartoon Fox news endorsed him. Would they have ever endorsed him when he ran against Cheney? He no longer was a moderate but embraced pro-war, anti-middle class, anti-choice political stances because it brought in corporate support. He forgot about the people who voted him in and look where he is now.

[Cha]

22. Why was he practically smooching

cheney during their debate then? Was he part of the neocon undercover package?

[William Seger]

10. I love this part:

"Some Democratic officials said they can already imagine the ads in November races saying that Lieberman, once within a few hundred votes of being Vice President of the United States, is now 'not liberal enough' for the Democratic Party."

So "some Democrats" and all Republicans are now ready to equate "anti-war" with "liberal." But 60% of the American people are anti-war. Hmmm... doesn't that mean that "some Democrats" and all Republicans are "not liberal enough" for the American people? That's the best news I've heard in a long time!

[zbdent]

16. Should put up signs

"Right-wing religious fanatics for Lieberman!"

and

"Republicans for Lieberman!"

[Larkspur]

11. It was Tom Swan & Co that pulled off this victory

The bloggers were a big help, especially the ones who made and drove the Kiss float and offered an opposing view at Lieberman's bus tour stops.

But Tom Swan is the BEST grassroots organizer in CT. He and his team from CCAG and Rick Malito of SEIU were the brains behind Lamont's campaign. It was astute and humble of Ned Lamont to listen and execute the advice of this brilliant campaign braintrust.

[chaumont58]

13. another big factor was the ineptness of HolyJoe and his staff

I watched Lamont's victory speech, last night, and it seems to me that he brings a certain amount of hope to the situation. He rattled off a number of 'changes' he wants to facilitate. Lieberman represents the status quo. He's had 18 fuckin' years and what have most people gotten? A lot of mothers can thank Lieberman for their gold stars.
If it really is true that Lieberman's staff spent $15 a month for Lieberman's web site, its more evidence of their ineptness. Jeez, these people are locked in the 50s.

[Little Star]

17. And another factor was his threats to go indy. That showed

many his true stripes. There were many factors that led to his demise. But, those beautiful bloggers sure helped. Some talking head was spouting last night about 1)pajama clad 2)millionaire yuppie bloggers. Kinda sounded like a paradox to me. They couldn't figure out which way to go about smearing bloggers.

[regnaD kciN]

30. No kidding...

Remember Lieberman's "Baby Bear" ad? :eyes: That may have been the beginning of the end for him. Voters may have forgiven him for being out of step, but for a supposed major national leader to come across looking so foolish may have been the last straw.

[Totally Committed]

12. This is crucial to remember:

Still, as the bloggers themselves admit, Lamont's victory was about far more than them. Lieberman's fervent support for the Iraq War, and his attacks on many of his party who opposed President Bush's policy there, annoyed Connecticut voters as much as bloggers. Also, aside from the war, Lieberman suffered from a feeling among many voters there that he was taking the state for granted, and liberals in the blue state were frustrated by his positions on other issues, such as his support for school vouchers....

And, we weren't alone. The NYT said this morning that it was also that we were joined in our efforts by moderates in our Party who were as sick of Lieberman's cynical support of Bush and his agenda and his wars as we were.

TC

[FormerDittoHead]

21. Here's how the bloggers DIDN'T do it - SPREAD LIES LIKE THE RIGHT. n/t

[LoZoccolo]

23. Not completely true.

There were a few that saw fit to spread a rumor that Lieberman was considering a run as a Republican on plainly disingenuous grounds.

[FormerDittoHead]

27. OK, here's the difference...

The fact that YOU are aware of (false?) rumor spreading and bring it up HERE, proves that we are NOT LIKE THEM.

The fact that there were "a few" and not *ALL* OF THEM, proves that we are NOT LIKE THEM.

Unlike FOX, talk radio, CSPAN think tank pundits, Washington Times, and the "balanced" corporate media, the "liberal bloggers" are NOT a *CENTRALLY* *CONTROLLED* and *COORDINATED* *PROPAGANDA* *MACHINE*.

Time and time again we hear the SAME WORDS, PHRASES, ARGUMENTS used by a RIGHT WING BLANKET of media.

When *THEY* LIE, there's no "coverage", we only have two juice cans and string to get the word out (and MediaMatters.org, which is completely disregarded by the corporate media)

That's a BIG difference...

[BeFree]

25. That's the truth.... Just the facts, Joe.

We need a new name for the 'right', eh?

Well, two wrongs from the right and what do you have? A W-right.

Saying it out loud: Dubya right.

"Damn, boy, you lie so much, you must be a W-right."


=======================
Eh? What do yall think?

[kohodog]

24. This is Bullshit. The Beltway Media doesn't have a clue.

The anger among Dems in Ct for Joe has been building. The fear of jeopardizing a seat kept this race close. The "net roots" had a place in this certainly, as we will in all future elections, but I would venture to say that most of my fellow CT voters have never received a Move-On email, may have heard of Kos, but never FDL, DU, TPM or Truthout. This was about a well run grass roots campaign. The netroots helped the activists and keeps them on top of a fluid situation. But I think most primary voters simply voted for change.

I wish bloggers had as much power as they say. But it ain't so Joe. Joe lost touch with us, his constituents. He stopped serving us long ago and in this campaign it was obvious that Joe is only about Joe.

[eridani]

28. Bingo!

The netroots can help, but the first priority has to be shoe leather. That was certainly true of the Lamont campaign.

[fuzzyball]

29. Lieberman is alive as a senator until votes are counted in November 06

Only after Lieberman loses to Lamont in November will he
be UNmade.

[Canuckistanian]

31. "pulled it off"?

Yeah, right, like the majority of CT voters were checking in with DKos or FDL before they voted.

Those damn bloggers, they control everything. I hear they fixed the 1919 World Series!

[Polemicist]

32. Bloggers also control the weather....

I've seen Kos make it snow in the summer. I swear.);