Lieberman Attacks Democratic Party as Full of "Extremists"

Lieberman concedes and says he will run as an independent. [UPDATE: Hours after a Democratic primary defeat, Sen. Joe Lieberman filed petitions Wednesday morning to run as an independent in the general election.]

He again [on the morning talk shows] attacked Democrats in Washington for being too partisan and "playing political games" rather than working with the Republicans. (Yes, that's been the biggest problem with the Democratic party the past six years, they've stood up to George Bush too much. Yeah, I wish.)

What an arrogant, out of touch, jerk.

The next three months are going to be filled with the vile rantings of this Karl Rove clone who never saw a Democrat he didn't bash. Lieberman's message to America? The Democratic party has been taken over by extremists who don't remember September 11 and who are soft on national security. This is the message he's going to spreading to America from now until the election. It's George Bush's message, it's Karl Rove's message. And it is THE message that is going to define the fall elections unless the Democrats find a way to shut him up.

It's funny how Lieberman's desire for finding common ground and making nice only applies to Republicans. When he was running against Dick Cheney for the VP slot, Lieberman was a pussy cat, couldn't have been nicer to Cheney during the debates. But when he runs against a Democrat for the Senate seat, Lieberman is suddenly vicious as hell, and more than willing to smear the entire Democratic party on his road to defeat.

Joe Lieberman has become another Zell Miller of the Democratic party. A spiteful, hateful man who lost his way and became a Republican, yet never had the courage to just admit it. The only thing taken over by extremism is Joe Lieberman. He is a disloyal Republican partisan. He now openly defies the will of the Democratic voters, and would rather risk our party's future, our chance to take back the Congress in the fall, in order to coddle his increasingly-conservative ego.

Fine, Lieberman wants a fight with Democrats, he's got one.

Our voice has to be heard, we need to stand for something. Can't we even stand to agree on who won our own elections? Joe Lieberman doesn't respect the voters, and he doesn't respect the decision of the Democratic Party, plain and simple. So he's no longer welcome in the party.

Call every single Democratic office in the Senate on Wednesday and demand two things:

1. That the Senator immediately come out in support of the Democratic Senate candidate from Connecticut, Ned Lamont.

2. That Joe Lieberman be immediately kicked out of every single committee seat given to him by the Democratic party. Joe Lieberman is more interested in his own welfare than the welfare of the party. It's time for him to go. And it's time for us to tell the Democratic party that we're going to war over this race.

Then call the liberal interest groups who supported Lieberman and, now that Lieberman has lost, demand that they support Lamont, who likely has a 100% record on most of their issues and certainly he is better than the Republican candidate.

If that's what Joe Lieberman and the Democratic Party want over the next three months, then that's what they're going to get. It's going to be a disaster for the party, and will jeopardize our chances of taking back the Congress. But Joe Lieberman made that decision for all of us. So let the war begin.

– John (AmericaBlog)

LSB: Lieberman may have trouble fundraising from Democratic sources, but I’ll bet Republican fundies will rush in to fill the void – just like their funding the Green Party candidate in PA. If your candidate can’t win legitimately, split the opposition’s voting block. [UPDATE: Apparently others are thinking this, too.]

Joe, you've become a political pariah with this move. Retire with your dignity!