Breaking up with Joe

Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) lost his bid for the Democratic nomination tonight in Connecticut. He has served three terms in the Senate, and was chosen as Al Gore's running mate in the 2000 presidential election.

Lieberman has been a staunch advocate for the environment. When I was on Sen. Feingold's staff, I was proud to work alongside Sen. Lieberman's office in supporting legislation declaring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge wilderness to prevent oil drilling there.

In recent years, Lieberman has increasingly aligned himself with the Bush Administration's foreign policy. With the majority of Americans fed up with the lack of progress in the Iraq war, voters in the CT Democratic primary decided to hold Lieberman accountable and nominate Ned Lamont to be their next Senator.

In the past, I have given Lieberman the benefit of the doubt considering his record on the environment, and the federal budget despite his approach on the Iraq war. According to his campaign though, he will now seek an independent nod to retain "his seat." If Lieberman felt he was more suited to run as an independent, he should have cut his ties with the Democratic Party before. Now that he has lost in the primary, an independent candidacy not only cries sour grapes, but it also raises the likelihood that the Republican candidate will win in November since it could divide the Democratic vote.

If Lieberman wants to be remembered as more than a sore loser, he ought to concede that he lost a valient fight tonight, and endorse Ned Lamont to be the next US Senator from Connecticut. Thank you for your service to the country, Sen. Lieberman. It's time to move on.