With their race quickly becoming a national symbol of rifts in the Democratic Party, Senator Joseph Lieberman and his challenger, Ned Lamont, are turning to national political figures to help bolster their campaigns for the Aug. 8 primary.
Former US president Bill Clinton was to visit Waterbury yesterday to campaign for Lieberman, who is fighting the perception that he is too closely aligned with US President George W. Bush.
As he stood outside a church after a campaign stop in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on Sunday afternoon, Lieberman borrowed the phrase that many political analysts have used to describe his campaign to retain his Senate seat.
"I'm in a fight here -- it's the fight of my political life," Lieberman said. "There's nobody I'd rather come on my behalf than president Bill Clinton. He's the last great success for national Democratic leaders. He knows what it means to be a Democrat, and he knows that I am a Democrat."
Besides Clinton, Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer of California was to campaign for Lieberman yesterday.
Lamont spent the weekend campaigning side by side with Democratic Representative Maxine Waters of California, who founded a group called the Out of Iraq Caucus in the House. Ohio Democratic Representative Marcy Kaptur, also campaigned for Lamont on Saturday.
Lamont will counter the planned visit by Clinton yesterday by announcing the endorsement of Carl Feen, a former Lieberman campaign official and a Clinton appointee who lives in New Haven.
The visits from so many elected officials put the race's importance to the Democratic Party into sharp focus. At separate campaign events just a few kilometers apart on Sunday, both Lamont and Lieberman said they had the future of the party at heart.
With the primary just over two weeks away, polls of likely primary voters show Lieberman and Lamont, a wealthy cable executive from Greenwich, in a virtual tie.
Clinton's appearance could buoy Lieberman's campaign, his advisers say, particularly among undecided voters and Democrats who may not already be planning to vote in the primary.
"It is significant and unusual for an ex-president to endorse in a primary," said Lanny Davis, a former White House lawyer in the Clinton administration and a close friend and supporter of Lieberman.
"It will send the wrong signal for the Democratic Party to be based just on one issue alone, even if it is as important as the Iraq war. The Democratic Party cannot afford a litmus test to prevent a three-term senator to be renominated," Davis said.
In 2000, when Lieberman ran as Al Gore's vice presidential running mate, the two distanced themselves from Clinton.
Both the former president and his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, support Lieberman but say they will back the primary winner.
Lieberman is preparing to run as an independent in November if he loses to Lamont in the primary.
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
About 240 Indians claiming descent from a Biblical tribe landed at Tel Aviv airport on Thursday as part of a government operation to relocate them to Israel. The newcomers passed under a balloon arch in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, as dozens of well-wishers welcomed them with a traditional Jewish song. They were the first “bnei Menashe” (“sons of Manasseh”) to arrive in Israel since the government in November last year announced funding for the immigration of about 6,000 members of the community from the states of Manipur and Mizoram in northeast India. The community claims to descend from
RSS