Lieberman/Lamont

I want to start getting to football soon (maybe later today), but first a quick word about the primary challenge to Joe Lieberman in Connecticut by political first-timer Ned Lamont. It's a race that's been making the papers, and has been stirring up a hornet's nest among bloggers.

So why not try out my stinger?

My first reaction was: "why are we focusing on this?" With so many genuinely fetid and downright evil Repub's out there to worry about, why spend Democratic time and money on an effort to oust one of our own?

Sure, Joe's been a fellow traveler with the Junta since he lost the VP spot in 2000. But he's still a Democrat, no matter how flaccid.

But these things take on a life of their own, and often for their own reasons that only become clear later. And I'm starting to think that Joe is being burned because he represents what Democrats see as their fundamental weakness in the face of Repub Party strength.

The Repubs have taken over Washington because they've stood together. They don't criticize each other, and they speak as one on policy. They've been able to inflict lasting and fundamental damage on the nation and drop the Constitution into the blue shredding bin because of it.

Democrats have stood by, and worse, helped. And nobody has helped more than Lieberman.

It's as though Democrats recognize that Repubs are going to lie and cheat and screw them because it is, finally, a fight. So when the Outsiders go to rumble, they can't have Pony Boy sit it out or fight with the other guys.

And so it is with Joe. On key votes, he's sided with the Repubs. The rightist media machine is trying to paint the Lamont challenge as entirely Iraq-based, but it isn't. Sure, Iraq is a huge issue, but Hillary is also an Iraq hawk and it's not going to effect her standing in New York.

Joe's problem is the rest of his votes, and what he represents to Democrats. Remember, Joe voted for the heinous bankruptcy bill. He gave cover to Gonzo and Rummy on countless occasions. He rubber-stamped "Heckuvajob Brownie."

The vote that really got me was his nod for cloture on the Alito filibuster, and then his vote against Alito. The only way to stop Alito and his vampire-like pro-dictatorship presence on the Supreme Court was to filibuster. The real vote was to stop the filibuster. The vote on Alito was a foregone conclusion. Thanks, Joe.

So see this for what it is. It's about the lack of liberal votes by Joe, but I think it's also about a Democratic Party - the grassroots - rejecting accommodation with the right.

The Junta has done nothing but fight fight fight for six years. It's well past time to fight back.