Dean Speaks Out on Lamont and Lieberman

Jay posted a good read on Lamont and Lieberman yesterday. One point he made on Lieberman's bid as an independent candidate got me wondering:

...once the Democratic leadership falls behind Lamont, and support for Lieberman dries up, he’s going to have a rough time of it.

This made me wonder hoe the Democratic leadership would handle this. I have always been sure that Howard Dean really gets it, but would their stance be strong? I asked Jay his opinion:


...Do you think that they will support Lamont?...

Considering that Lieberman says he is doing this for the “future of the Democratic party.” support for him by the dem leaders would mean that they were saying “The future of the democratic party is that we don’t care who the people want in office”. But, does supporting ‘not’ Lieberman mean that will support Lamont. I mean, I am not completely sure that they grasp wat is going on right now.

As if on cue, I got an email from my buddy at the DNC today, Howard Dean. He answered ,y questions and reaffirmed my belief that he realy gets it:

There's been a lot said about this race and what it means for our party, so I wanted to get a few things straight.

One big issue in this race was the war in Iraq. Like the vast majority of Americans, Ned Lamont believes that "staying the course" will only drive America and Iraq deeper into disaster.

Lamont's courage and conviction on Iraq will make him a good Senator. But his positions on all the important issues -- on Iraq, but also balancing the budget, getting every American health insurance, and solving the energy crisis -- will make him a great Senator. These are not just the values of the Democratic Party, they are mainstream American values, and they are Ned Lamont's values.

After his loss, Joe Lieberman announced his intention to run as an independent. That's the wrong thing to do.

Ned Lamont won fair and square. We have a process, and those who participate in it should respect the outcome. Joe Lieberman should respect the Democratic voters' decision. He has to do what all of us who have lost an election have done: support the winner.

Our party is united on a new direction for our country. Joe Lieberman has been nominated for Senate by Democratic voters three times, and has served admirably for 18 years. But this moment in our country's history demands that we be unified.

This race wasn't about ideology. Ned Lamont succeeded because of participation politics -- he talked plainly and honestly with the people of Connecticut, and his campaign engaged in the kind of neighbor-to-neighbor organizing that has reinvigorated our party across the country.

Over a quarter-million people voted in the Democratic primary in Connecticut yesterday. Among those taking part in that exceptionally high voter turnout were tens of thousands of people who are new to our party. Voters included Republicans and Independents joining the Democratic Party and others registering for the first time and choosing to be Democrats.


I think that there are a couple of important points here, but one that I want to bring home:

Ned Lamont won fair and square. We have a process, and those who participate in it should respect the outcome. Joe Lieberman should respect the Democratic voters' decision. He has to do what all of us who have lost an election have done: support the winner.