By the way, do NOT drive to Connecticut (or anywhere?) the Friday before the 4th of July...what a nightmare. On the other hand, driving back to Arlington today was a breeze; no traffic at all.
[UPDATE: Joe Lieberman makes it official; he's not a loyal Democrat anymore. How much clearer can you be than when you say, "I have loyalties that are greater than those to my party" and declare that if you lose the Democratic primary, you'll run as an indepedent? Big surprise, huh? Not.]
Oh, and I finally figured out how to post a picture.
Will I see you on Tuesday in Franklin?
He could split the Democratic vote, giving the election to Schlesinger, especially if the national Republicans start putting more effort into the race because they suddenly think they have a chance.
On the other hand, will Lieberman really draw more votes from Democrats than from Republicans after he's left the party? He's more popular among Republicans than among Democrats now. Plus some Republicans may vote for him to stop Lamont, feeling that Schlesinger has no chance. So he could end up splitting the Republican vote, allowing Lamont to win.
On the third hand, he could remain popular and win as an independent, just as Lowell Weicker won as an independent over a Democrat and a Republican when he ran for governor. In that case, unless he's gone completely insane he'll still caucus with the Democrats, but his Bush-supporting and Democrat-bashing statements will no longer have the power they get from coming from a Democrat.
Giggle.
And you got a speeding ticket once, and should totally quit life.
I already quit everything too, and I am totally thinking of offing myself, as is Nichole.
;)
And welcome back, Lowell!
I'll either have some really big news or it'll start up next week.
I'm still not sure which I'd prefer. We'll see.
Kathy
Soon we will meet though!
OH! AND... (4.00 / 3)
You quit blogging, quit the Webb campaign, and you deserve to be chastised for the girl drinking McDonnell thing.
And you got a speeding ticket once, and should totally quit life.
I already quit everything too, and I am totally thinking of offing myself, as is Nichole.
;)
by: phriendlyjaime @ July 02, 2006 at 21:01:51 America/New_York
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I love you.
Senator George Felix Allen: "The Meatball Man"
by JCWilmore
Sat Jul 01, 2006 at 10:23:02 AM PDT
Some time ago I remember reading something somebody else posted online, I think maybe it was Waldo, saying that if any of the true stories about George Felix Allen's "adventures" in Charlottesville ever got around, they'd be kind of embarassing. Well, they are starting to get around.
Yesterday, after work, I made my way down to Brown's Island for Friday Cheers, the last Friday Cheers of this season. Edwin McCain was the headliner. I met up with my older brother and his wife and a bit later I ran into a couple of friends from the Webb campaign who were wearing Webb stickers. We were standing around when up walked another friend of mine who was hanging out with her mother and some other friends. My friend's mother noticed the Webb lapel stickers and they began talking about the election.
JCWilmore's diary :: ::
For a little while I bounced from group to group and conversation to conversation, visiting with my brother, getting another beer, and then talking to my friends. I had just finished another circuit when my friends from the campaign waved me over. "You've got to hear this!" they said.
So I walked over and my friend's mother told me the following story:
"In the August of 1985 my family traveled to Charlottesville to attend a wedding. A family friend was marrying a CPA and the accounting firm he worked for had done some work for the law firm that George Felix Allen belonged to: George Allen was a guest at the wedding."
"The wedding went off without a hitch and the wedding party proceeded to the reception, where things began to get out of hand. George Felix Allen was drinking heavily and he wasn't handling his booze well. Towards the end of the reception the time came for the bride and groom to leave under a shower of bird seed. Standing with the other guests, George Felix Allen had a plate of meatballs covered in barbecue sauce, a staple of wedding buffets."
"Perhaps one of his cronies had handed him the plate of meatballs hoping to get some food on his stomach and prevent his alcoholic binge from getting even further out of hand. If that was the case, it couldn't have gone more wrong."
"As the bride and groom made their way towards their limo, the assembled guests began throwing handfuls of birdseed at the happy couple, still dressed in their wedding clothes. As they moved along the line, they came to where George Felix Allen stood. Allen, suddenly realizing that he didn't have any birdseed, did what came naturally: he began pelting the bride with barbecued meatballs."
"As one might expect from a quarterback, even a third-rate college quarterback, Allen's aim was quite good. To the horror of the assembled guests, Allen scored several hits on the bride, splashing her heirloom wedding gown with barbecue sauce and ruining it before hsi friends could knock the plate out of his hands and pull him away. Allen continued drinking and subsequently passed out in the middle of the reception--he apparently had to be carried out."
"Ever since that day," she told me, "my children have referred to George Allen as 'the Meatball Man.'"
At the time of this incident, the loutish George Felix Allen had already been a member of the House of Delegates for two years. As we get even further into the election cycle I am sure even more stories about George Felix Allen's adventures will emerge.
Photos of a splattered dress? Er, meatball splattered, not that Monica thing.
An account from the Bride or Groom (who would've been pissed I'm sure)?
Here's what I don't like about Lieberman: his lips are organically connected to Bush's ass. Someday, doctors will figure out a way to surgically remove them, but not quite yet... :)
As far as Webb is concerned, he has been very clear on his disdain for the Bush Administration. Quite a contrast with Joe-mentum!
Seriously, Lieberman has an 88% or higher COPE rating consistently. That means he rates high on labor issues and COPE ratings are often a gauge of how progressive a candidate is on a variety of other issues as well.
Look, I don't think anbyody on RK supports the war in Iraq. And I agree that Lieberman is very wrong on that. If I lived in CT, I'd probably vote for Lamont.
But Lieberman petitioned to be on the ballot as an Independent Democrat and said that he would continue to caucus with the Democrats if he wins the general election.
I think it's arrogant to not accept the results of the primary. And I agree that he's provided too much "bi-partisan" cover for the Bush administration.
But I'm not sure I'd call him a disloyal Democrat. And for the record, I think if he runs as an independent, he'll win. This is a case where voters will vote for the man because they know and like him.
Also, I suspect that a lot of blue states aren't really as liberal as we'd like to think they are. They certainly aren't as conservative as Alabama or Nebraska. But although they vote consistently for Democrats in national elections, there may be a reason why so many of them have Republican governors, senators, and mayors.
Nationally, the Democrats have been running "safe" and centrist candidates in presidential elections. Locally, when the Democratic candidate is perceived as too liberal, even the most reliably blue states often pick a centrist Republican, like a Pataki, a Bloomberg, a Susan Collins, an Olympia Snowe, etc.
Consider that in the bluest of blue cities, New York, there has been a Republican mayor at the helm for years. New Yorkers voted for Rudy Giuliani and then Michael Bloomberg twice. And in New York state, Hillary Clinton positions herself as a moderate Democrat.
Perhaps we need to consider that even in blue states, lots of voters are more centrist than we realize?
But I still suspect he might win as an Independent. I'm not from Connecticut but I'm not sure that it's as liberal as some would like to think it is. They base their assumptions on the fact that it is in the Northeast.
If you're from there, what do you think?