There is a Republican candidate in Connecticut’s November General Election for Senate, put it doesn’t look like alot of Republicans will be voting for him:
Facing Senator Joseph I. Lieberman?s independent candidacy, Republican officials at the state and national level have made the extraordinary decision to abandon their official candidate, and some are actively working to help Mr. Lieberman win in November.
Despite Mr. Lieberman?s position that he will continue to caucus with Democrats if re-elected, all three Republican Congressional candidates in Connecticut have praised Mr. Lieberman and have not endorsed the party?s nominee, Alan Schlesinger. An independent group with Republican ties is raising money for Mr. Lieberman, who has been a strong supporter of President Bush on the Iraq war.
Senator John McCain of Arizona, while saying he would support the Republican nominee, is not planning to campaign for him, and even allowed two of his aides to consult with the Lieberman camp before the Aug. 8 Democratic primary. And Newt Gingrich, the Republican who once served as House speaker, has endorsed Mr. Lieberman?s candidacy.
Alan Schlesinger, the putative Republican candidate, is, understandably, none to happy about this development:
Mr. Schlesinger has reacted bitterly to the rejection by his own party, dismissing calls for him to leave the race. He maintains he can win by conveying his conservative platform to voters.
?Washington and the media have attempted to hijack this election and turn it into a referendum on the future of the national Democratic Party,? Mr. Schlesinger said in an interview yesterday. ?Their interest is not in electing a Republican in Connecticut, or anyone in particular in Connecticut.?
Well, it may also have something to do with the fact that you have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the race:
As Mr. Schlesinger?s popularity has waned from a minuscule 9 percent in July to an almost invisible 4 percent in a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday, the question for Republicans has shifted to whether to embrace Mr. Lieberman.
Meanwhile, Lieberman looks to be poised to manhandle Lamont in the General Election:
The same August survey showed Mr. Lieberman leading with the support of 49 percent of those surveyed compared with 38 percent for Mr. Lamont. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.
It’s also clear that Republicans feel that iLieberman deserves some credit for his principled stand on the War on Terror and his refusal to back down from that position over time as many of his fellow Senate Democrats have done:
?The right thing for people who believe the world is deeply dangerous is to re-elect Lieberman,? Mr. Gingrich said. That is especially true, he said, because ?the Republican Party?s own candidate does not have any possibility of winning.?
(…)
?For me, it?s an uncomplicated decision,? said William Kristol, the editor of The Weekly Standard and a neoconservative who is helping Mr. Lieberman through an independent group called Vets for Freedom, which is helping to raise funds and providing strategic advice for the senator.
?Partisan Republicans may be ambivalent; they see a partisan advantage to Lamont,? he said. But, he said, ?Foreign policy hawks and Bush doctrine believers and prowar types, we want Lieberman to win.?
And it appears that they will likely get their wish.
Previous Posts:
Lieberman Defeated
Lieberman Falling Further Behind
Lieberman Losing Ground
Senate Democrats Split Over Lieberman
Joe LIeberman?s Friends Continue To Show Their True Colors
Lieberman May Run As An Independent
With Friends Like These
