The Moderate Voice reviews some of the stories on Joe Lieberman which we reviewed earlier (here and here). They note Lieberman’s refusal to support other Democrats, how his campaign may help Republican candidates for Congress in Connecticut keep their seats. and how he is becoming the de facto Republican candidate. After reviewing recent events, Joe Gandelman accurately describes how Lieberman’s campaign is leaning far more to the Republican side than either Democratic or even a true Independent run:
If you look at the history of independent candidates (who usually manage to siphon vote away from one major party and help the candidate who has views less similar to the independent) they have usually (but not always) blast BOTH parties. Lieberman so far has been at war with a faction of his party — and it increasingly looks like he will be at war with much broader part of his party.
He has delivered few forceful critiques of the GOP or President George Bush and seems to be actively wooing Republicans and polls show he is picking up a huge chunk of Republican support.
This is creating a narrative for this story in the news media where Lieberman has become the de facto Republican candidate, if you read most news accounts of the race. Add to that the fact that many weblogs that support Lieberman are sites that support him but generally blast the Democrats and Democratic party as a whole. That will add the perception that he is basically waging a campaign for re-election more against his own party and its elites than against the Republican partyand its elites.
That won’t enhance his image (and in politics imagery means a lot) as a genuinely independent candidate who isn’t out to curry favor with one particular party or its voters.
