Lamont Stands His Ground Vs. "There You Go Again" Lieberman

I watched yesterday's debate between Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman and netroots favorite Ned Lamont before I headed over to our monthly Meetup. I was very impressed with Lamont's surprisingly sharp and steady performance and his refreshing sincerity and passion. I thought Lieberman, on the other hand, came off as arrogant, patronizing, pompous, carefully programmed and obviously dismayed that he had to submit to a debate with a "nobody." The citizen candidate "nobody" did pretty damn well against a career politician who's been primped and polished for decades by Beltway consultants and insider strategists working hard to create a slick brand of ready-for-prime-time politico.

On several occasions Lieberman sank to the level of parroting Ronald Reagan's trite old 80s debate line of "there you go again." And then there was his twisted play on Lloyd Benson's debate line with Dan Quayle: "I know George Bush ... I’m not George Bush." Really. It was that bad.

Joementum peppered Lamont repeatedly with attack rhetoric, looking to ruffle the political newcomer's cool. He failed. Lieberman actually had the nerve to criticize Lamont for having six different positions on the Iraq war. Lieberman must be the only Dem on the planet who hasn't gotten the message on Lamont's view of what needs to be done -- a no nonsense match with the redeploy now of Murtha, Kerry and Feingold. No mystery there except in Joe's mind.

What irked me most was Joe's tendency to interrupt Ned when he was talking during his prescribed time. I guess the longtime Senator, used to the perks of seniority and the insulation of entourages, believes he's above complying with something as mundane as the rules of debate.

My favorite Lamont lines? He mentioned twice that there are 63 lobbyists for every member of Congress. His implication? The common good would be best served if the voters elect a Senator who isn't beholden to decades of big dollar donations from those with business before the Congress. Clear the decks!   

It was particularly galling to hear Lieberman inform the debate audience they should keep him in office because only he has the power and seniority to bring home all that bacon bound up in sleazy Bushian earmarks. Left unsaid: how he gets that cash by kissing up to BushCo on so many vital neocon issues. Not an illegal quid pro quo, but a nasty quid pro quo all the same, especially for someone who calls himself a Democrat (even if he plans to run as an independent if Lamont wins).

I loved Lamont's responses to Joe's claims that Ned is a "closet Republican" because he "voted with Republicans" when he was a selectman a decade ago. Ned pointed out that the votes in question were on such highly partisan issues as potholes in the road, and that local reporters had thoroughly discredited the distorted claims being made by Lieberman. Joe looked plain silly. Again. I guess his debate preppers thought it a great idea for the ultimate Republican-lite politician to accuse his grassroots/netroots opponent of being a secret Republican. I wonder how much Joe paid for that sage advice.

You can watch the entire video on CSPAN's website. Scroll down to find the clip. PoliticsTV has video of the entire debate plus clips that break it down into shorter segments. The provides a text transcript.  Lamont's website and blog has video clips, links to press coverage and more about the debate.