Lieberman Deserved To Lose

If the Curmudgeon had been a Connecticut resident, he would've voted for Joe Lieberman yesterday.

Why? Because the charges made by victor Ned Lamont and a covey of liberal bloggers against Lieberman were largely overblown. Lieberman has been a loyal Democrat and an important voice in the party for years. True, he is more conservative than many of his fellow Democratic senators, but that hardly makes him a "Conservative."

Anyway, Lieberman lost, and he deserved to. Lamont and his supporters raised some legitimate questions about Lieberman, especially his strong support for the Iraq war. For reasons we'll never understand, Joe L. chose not to respond to those questions until just a couple days before the primary. When he did, Lamont's lead quickly shrunk, but Lieberman was a day late and a dollar short.

The Curmudgeon would not vote for Lieberman as an independent in November. The guy had his chance and truly bungled it. He shouldn't get a do-over.

In filing as an independent, Lieberman said he is still running "for the sake of our state, our country and my party." Well, if that's the case, Joe, why didn't you take on the issues in the primary?

While the Curmudgeon does not subscribe to the vitriolic posts of many bloggers who attacked Lieberman, we do think he owed the voters of Connecticut a spirited defense of his positions, particularly on Iraq. Geez, Joe, if you're going to support a war that more than 80% of the folks in "your" party have come to despise, you ought to have been able to articulate cogent reasons for doing so. We never saw much on that score.

Sen. Lieberman, thanks for your service. You lost fair and square, so now it's time to endorse Lamont (for the sake of "your" party) and move on. Who knows, as an ex-Senator, you might even become presidential material.