In an email to this website's list last Friday, one item read as follows:

Senator Joe Lieberman is in a battle with a challenger in the Democratic primary in Connecticut – see http://loper.org/~george/archives/2006/Jul/994.html --over his support for the administration’s Iraq war. Where do you stand? Lieberman has been a stalwart liberal voice in the Senate, and was a reasonably popular choice as Al Gore's VP candidate. Is his support for the war grounds for dismissal? Send your thoughts to george@loper.org, where the most representative will be published with full attribution.

Here's one response:

George,

You've got to be kidding when you e-mail folks and say that "Lieberman has been a stalwart liberal voice in the Senate." I lived in Connecticut for 28 years. I knew Joe Lieberman. Joe Lieberman was no friend of mine, and he is no liberal. Indeed, he was often referred to as the Republican Senator from Connecticut.

It is the media that has made the primary contest between Lieberman and Lamont into a single issue battle -- over Iraq. It is more than that.

A May 18th article in the New York Times reported that "Mr. Lamont says his frustrations with Mr. Lieberman solidified in the spring of 2005, when the senator voted to allow a federal court to review the case of Teri Schiavo." Over the years, Lieberman has often been on the conservative side of many issues -- much to the chagrin of many Connecticut Democrats.

Or Lieberman has been on both sides of issues. My wife once wrote Lieberman asking him to support gun control legislation. Someone on his staff slipped up and sent my wife two letters -- one, a boilerplate letter indicating the Lieberman wanted gun control, and the other, a boilerplate letter indicating that he opposed gun control!

Lieberman is for Lieberman, first, last and always -- even if he hurts the Democratic Party. His latest move to run as an Independent if he fails to win the Democratic primary is an egregious example of this self-centeredness. It shows he is not only a poor sport, but he is willing to risk the Republicans gaining a Senate seat. A three-way race in November would likely split the Democratic vote and open the way for a Republican to win the Connecticut Senate seat. It is only a supreme ego that makes Joe Lieberman think he could win a three-way race.

David RePass (electronic mail, July 7, 2006)

Editor's Note: The basis for calling Lieberman a liberal seems justified by his lifetime ADA (Americans for Democratic Action) rating of about 80, as well as a lifetime ACU (American Conservative Union) rating under 20. For a further discussion of this point, see Liberals vs. Lieberman.