Republicans toss ousted Democrat a lifeline

Toby Harnden
THE AGE
August 21, 2006

SENIOR Republican strategists have thrown a political lifeline to Joe Lieberman, the Democratic senator ousted by a left-wing challenger over the Iraq war, by supporting him through a military veterans group.

Mr Lieberman's 18-year Senate career appeared to be at an end after Connecticut's Democratic primary earlier this month when he was narrowly defeated by Ned Lamont, a millionaire newcomer who ran on the single issue of opposing the Iraq war.

But his new strategy of running in the November Senate elections as an independent who would appeal to Republican voters is already paying off after the White House declined to back the official Republican candidate and a poll last week gave Mr Lieberman a 12-point advantage over Mr Lamont.

In an increasingly bitter election, the new Veterans for Freedom group has begun running advertisements for Mr Lieberman and senior Democrats have warned he risks being shunned by his former colleagues in Washington if re-elected.

The group hopes to split the Democratic vote in Connecticut — traditionally a staunchly liberal state — and give the Republicans a better chance of winning.
...

Angry Democrats are comparing the veterans' group and its campaign to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, an organisation that cast doubt on former presidential contender John Kerry's Vietnam War record.
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George Jepson, a senior Lamont aide, said the veterans' group aimed "to make opposition to the war in Iraq somehow unpatriotic".

full article

Hello?... Lieberman IS in the lead! Complaining that your opponent fights dirty won't help you. Has it ever before?
I think it's time we rolled up our sleeves and dipped our hands deep into the mud also.

Anonymous