MichaelMoore.com

Battling in Conn. over Democrats' souls

Senate primary reveals divide on Iraq stance

By Rick Klein / Boston Globe

HARTFORD -- Senator Joseph I. Lieberman and his challenger in next month's primary , Ned Lamont, are both Democrats, but they don't agree on much when it comes to the Iraq war.

As they prepare for their first televised debate tonight, however, both men see their race for Lieberman's office as a battle for the soul of the Democratic Party -- specifically, whether Democrats want to become a staunch anti war party when they have high hopes of winning back Congress.

The race has revealed tensions simmering within the party since Congress, including many Democrats, gave President Bush the authorization to invade Iraq. Lieberman announced Monday that he'll seek a fourth term as an independent in November if Lamont -- a millionaire businessman who has gained ground with an anti war message -- defeats him in the Aug. 8 primary.

But Lieberman's plan means Democrats, already vulnerable to Republicans because they don't have a clear, unified position on the war, may have to grapple with the issue right up to Election Day.

``It is a big question for the party to decide," said Peter G. Kelly, a Hartford lawyer and a former Democratic National Committee officer who is staying neutral in the race. ``It's the way Lieberman has been being closely allied with Bush, visually and vocally, that angers people. Ned Lamont is the one who picked up on that."

The tensions are deeper than the typical left-versus-right divides that both parties periodically face, Kelly said. Connecticut voters will choose between a veteran incumbent who proudly works with a polarizing Republican president, and a feisty upstart who is campaigning against Bush as much as against Lieberman.

``It's an enormous opportunity for voters to take control of this party," said Jim Dean, a Lamont supporter and chairman of Democracy for America, the grass-roots organization that evolved from the presidential campaign of his brother, Howard Dean. ``It's not only about whether the Democrats can reassert themselves in Congress, but also what kind of direction they're going to take."

Lieberman believes the race will test whether voters can see past his support for the war and respect his right to disagree with them. Lieberman said his position is more courageous since it comes with political risk; polls have indicated that a vast majority of Democrats think invading Iraq was a mistake.

``George Bush and the Iraq war are not very popular among Democrats -- have you noticed?" Lieberman said on Monday. ``It doesn't take a lot of courage to run [Lamont's] kind of campaign."

Lamont, however, says primary voters can show the depth of their anger at Bush, the war, and his agenda. Lamont and his supporters believe Democrats need a clear, streamlined message that the party wants out of Iraq and will stand against the White House on a range of other issues.

Lieberman ``is undermining the Democrats who are trying to present a constructive alternative to what President Bush is doing," Lamont said Tuesday. ``He's too reluctant to challenge President Bush. You've got a Republican House, a Republican Senate, a Republican judiciary, a Republican executive -- I think you need a constructive opposition to that in Washington."

The Iraq issue has split the Democratic Party since 2002, when 81 House Democrats and 29 Democratic senators, including Lieberman, voted to allow Bush to oust Saddam Hussein by force. Early in the 2004 presidential primary season, Howard Dean's surging campaign was propelled largely by his unwavering, anti war stance, and President Bush defeated his Democratic challenger, Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, in part because Kerry -- who voted for the Iraq invasion -- struggled to articulate his position on the war.

Last month, Kerry's Senate resolution requiring immediate troop withdrawals from Iraq drew just 12 Democratic votes, while 37 Democrats voted for a more modest proposal backed by party leaders. But seven Senate Democrats -- including Lieberman -- voted no to both resolutions, essentially backing Bush.

Lamont has promised to aggressively contest Bush and the war if he goes to Washington, and his latest campaign ad ties Lieberman to Bush, morphing the senator's face with the president's.

Some Democrats fear that the Connecticut primary is a distraction from the party's biggest goal: taking control of Congress in November. Indeed, national party leaders have put three Republican-held House seats in Connecticut near the top of their target list.

``I thought we were focused on the real enemy down the street," said Representative John B. Larson, a Connecticut Democrat and a Lieberman supporter. ``I thought we were focused on [challenging] the White House, on taking back the House."

Larson, who voted against the Iraq war and still opposes it, said he worries Lamont might take the primary because of anger stoked by heavyweight liberal interest groups and the left-wing blogosphere, which have no interests in Connecticut beyond the election.

``Is Moveon.org going to dictate what's going to happen in a narrowly focused primary?" Larson said, referring to the well-funded political organization, which backs Lamont. ``What's happening to the Democratic Party in terms of what it means?"

But some Lamont supporters say they would be doing Democrats a favor by ousting Lieberman, who has sided with the GOP on issues including school vouchers, Social Security privatization, and judicial confirmation of conservatives.

``He's the most significant drag there is on party unity," said Vivien Blackford, a Democratic activist who is supporting Lamont. ``The Democrats nationally have been unable to get their acts together. On every really important issue, where Democrats need to stand together, Joe Lieberman won't do it. He's [Senate Democratic leader] Harry Reid's biggest headache."