Thanks to Independent Political Report for the news that on the evening of January 13, 2010, the Connecticut for Lieberman Party nominated John Mertens for U.S. Senate in 2010. The nomination was by caucus.
The Connecticut for Lieberman Party is ballot-qualified for U.S. Senate in Connecticut in 2010. Connecticut is the only state in which parties are ballot-qualified for some offices but not all of them (except that in Georgia, the Libertarian Party is qualified for the statewide offices but not district and county offices).
U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman formed the party in 2006, and it nominated him, and he was elected under its banner. But he has never taken any interest in the party he formed, and for several years its officers have been activists who don’t like Lieberman. See the party’s blog here. Senator Lieberman is not up for re-election in 2010. But if Mertens polls 1% for U.S. Senate in 2010, the party will continue to be ballot-qualified for U.S. Senate in 2012, when Lieberman is up.
I’d love to see this party run an anti-Lieberman candidate in 2012.
1 – Would Connecticut voters notice the difference?
No Nader news yet?
I interviewed ohn Mertens and was very impressed.
He would be a fantastic Senator.
http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2009/12/loving-the-message-but-not-the.html
“Connecticut for Lieberman was launched by Lieberman after he lost the Democratic primary to Ned Lamont in 2006. But Lieberman walked away as soon as he won re-election, allowing his fiercest critics to seize control of the party that bears his name.
Now some of those very same activists are furious at Mertens for risking their overarching goal: Maintaining ballot access so that the party can be used to mount an offensive against Lieberman in 2012. Some have also voiced concern that Mertens, who is also seeking the endorsement of the Green, Independent and Libertarian parties, could play the role of spoiler and cause Dodd to lose his Senate seat.
To get the full flavor of the disagreement, check out the comments on Daily Kos.
Progressive activists on the ground in Connecticut say they weren’t consulted by the PCCC, a national group that has run similar ads in other states.”
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http://www.fairfieldweekly.com/article.cfm?aid=14734
“Anderson, another former CFL member, thinks Mertens “went off the deep end†and that the end result could be disastrous for Democratic hopes of keeping control in the U.S. Senate.
“There are a certain number of people who are dragged to the polls and don’t like any politicians,†Anderson said. His worry is that those folks might cast protest votes for Mertens and that could potentially swing the election to a Republican.
“Lieberman would be laughing if that were to happen,†Anderson said. “And John Orman would roll over in his grave.—