(cross-posted at Deny My Freedom and Daily Kos)
Some people are deservedly shocked at Senator Barbara Boxer’s apparent betrayal of her liberal roots (and her conscience) in campaigning for Joe Lieberman today. Even more are saddened by Bill Clinton’s decision to speak in favor of Lieberman, even when the senator was at the front of the line to castigate the then-president over his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Knowing that these dual appearances by national figures in the Democratic Party was coming up, one of the questions I asked the staffers with the Ned Lamont campaign when I went canvassing yesterday was whether they were concerned about Clinton’s and Boxer’s appearance with Lieberman. I was a bit surprised to find that they didn’t seem too worried. Sure, they were disappointed that the good senator from California was coming to the aid of a fellow club member who doesn’t agree with her beliefs at all, and they admitted that anyone would turn out to see Bill Clinton. But overall, there was a sense of indifference.
And they were right. Clinton and Boxer may very well show up to support Joe, even lying blatantly when confronted with the facts, but in the end, all this will serve to do is toss a few more logs onto the flames.
It’s a given that despite his personal indiscretions, as well as his general inability to advance Democratic ideals during his two terms, Bill Clinton is a beloved figure in the Democratic Party. He may not have brought us universal health care or real welfare reform, but people remember that times were good under Clinton. The whole world didn’t hate us, and our leader was a rock star not only in America, but in countries spanning the planet. But the fact of the matter is that he isn’t president any longer, and he hasn’t been for more than five years. Nutmeggers may still have a fondness for Bubba in their hearts, but that’s not going to make I-95 become any semblance of an ideal interstate highway. Additionally, as always seems to be the case these days, Clinton didn’t even go after Lamont, taking a markedly different course from Lieberman’s treatment of his opponent:
In a 20-minute speech to a capacity crowd in an ornate theater, Clinton went easy on Ned Lamont, whose challenge gained traction when he accused Lieberman of being too close to Bush on the war and other issues.
“He seems like a perfectly nice man. He’s got every right to run and he’s waged a vigorous campaign,” the former president said.
Contrast that with what Lieberman had to say at the same rally:
Lieberman wasn’t nearly as deferential to Lamont as Clinton was. “My opponent is peddling what I would call a big lie, and that is I’m not a real Democrat,” he said.
Ultimately, Connecticut voters are going to be voting for Joe Lieberman or Ned Lamont. And in recent weeks, it’s become more and more evident that Lieberman is a nasty, dirty campaigner, whereas Lamont sticks to criticizing the senator on the issues while having a little fun. The fact that Bill Clinton says some nice things about Lieberman won’t help him or his campaign hide the fact that they are the ones being smear merchants. Whether it be Lieberman himself, his serially out-of-touch campaign manager Sean Smith, or Marion Steinfels, a spokesperson that would make Scott McClellan proud, the fact is that 20 minutes of Bill Clinton will not do anything to erase the negative image that Lieberman has built up this entire campaign.
That brings me to Barbara Boxer. She is (was?) widely loved in the blogosphere and in the grassroots for being a vocal opponent from Iraq at the onset, being the only senator to contest Ohio’s 2004 presidential results, and forcefully sparring with Condoleeza Rice during her confirmation hearings. However, her support for Lieberman (which was duly noted when she spoke at Yearly Kos) has revealed that she may be nothing more than most politicians: pandering to the base to get their support but abandoning her ideals when she is required to. The aforementioned video from My Left Nutmeg serves well to demonstrate that Boxer is just as insulated from the grassroots as it seems like almost all Democratic politicians are. But will Boxer have any effect at all? She may have garnered the third-highest vote count during the 2004 election, but she does not have the same national profile that some of her fellow senators who have sat out this race do, such as Hillary Rodham Clinton or John Kerry. Even more, Boxer’s base is the liberals and the progressives that are most likely going to be supporting Lamont strongly to begin with. In the end, the senator from California may have come back east to stump for Lieberman, but she may return home with a few less people willing to tolerate her diaries at Daily Kos, where she advertises her political action committee but never interacts with the community.
Clinton and Boxer won’t fire up the Democratic base to vote for Lieberman. It’ll probably do more to induce nostalgia of a Clinton presidency that is a distant memory and amplify the fact that Joe Lieberman has been complicit in helping the Republican Party destroy the prosperity and good standing we once enjoyed. I would venture to say that the two endorsements Lamont received today – one from a former state Speaker of the House, the other the finance chair on Lieberman’s first campaign way back in 1970 – will have a bigger impact. These are people that some Nutmeggers may remember, and it’s the resonance of formerly staunch Lieberman backers supporting his challenger that will stick. As for the blogosphere? Well, those of that are within reasonable distance of Connecticut will be more motivated than ever to volunteer our time on the campaign. As is the case whenever someone tries to shoot down a netroots-backed candidate, there may be an outpouring of donations to Lamont, who is matching every dollar donated by the grassroots. Bill Clinton and Barbara Boxer may think they are fanning the flames of dissent within the Democratic Party, no matter how disingenuous their appeals may sound, but they are simply adding more gasoline to a fire that was ignited a long, long time ago. Lamont is on a roll, and despite having less money than Lieberman, despite running a cleaner campaign, despite having fewer big names come out and support him during the primary – he is ahead…and come August 8, we are going to show the Democratic Party establishment that the passionate fire from the netroots, the grassroots, and the rest of us who feel like our party has long ignored us, is here to stay, burning brighter than ever.
