Ned Lamont, the Greenwich Democrat and one-time Congressional candidate who urged diplomacy over war in Iraq, is garnering some unwanted attention today for what some political observers viewed as the out-of-nowhere nuclear assault his camp unloaded on gubernatorial rival Democrat Dannel Malloy.
Responding to Malloy’s releasing a round of endorsements, Lamont campaign manager, Joe Abbey, sent out an e-mail that read: “Ned is not a career politician and has never been the insiders’ choice for office. In this political climate, it’s clear voters want candidates who will challenge the status quo and shake up the system, and who won’t participate in the same old political deals motivated by selfish political ambition that they’ve seen become commonplace in both Washington and Hartford.”
As perhaps you have heard by now, 2010 is the year of the “political outsider” – the man or woman, Republican or Democrat or other, who will ride into office, be it in Hartford or Washington D.C., kick butt, take names, shake up the system, challenge the status quo, change the unchangeable, take a hammer to partisanship, bring a fresh set of eyes to the issues, and by God get something done!
(Maybe if you haven’t heard this is the year of the outsider, you should consider running for something because, clearly, not knowing marks you as an outsider.)
So we’ve got Republicans scrambling to be the next U.S. Sen. Scott Brown from Massachusetts.
We’ve got long-time incumbents like Malloy portraying themselves as wise newcomers and fresh faces because, although they have served for years in political office, they’ve never served in the political office they’re CURRENTLY seeking (Malloy just retired as mayor of Stamford).
And now we’ve got Lamont – the guy whose 2006 candidacy and primary victory against U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the self-described “independent Democrat” from Stamford, rocketed him into the political stratosphere – laying claim to the outsider label.
So just to get this straight, I should add to the existing definitions of “political outsider” someone who ran for office, made national and international headlines, played an arguably historic role in Connecticut and even national politics, lost, and now wants to run for something else?
Nice observation. Mr. Lamont was clearly “the insiders choice” when he ran for Senate. He is an outsider now, largely because of his loss to Sen. Lieberman (CT-I/D).
Comment by George — February 16th, 2010 @ 8:06 am
How about candidates switching races such as Tom Foley? What should we call him? A political opportunist?
Comment by Jessi — February 16th, 2010 @ 9:27 am
Mr. Lockhart, what in the world are you talking about? Ned Lamont was opposed by virtually every single Democratic politician in Connecticut and the country during his primary challenge to Joe Lieberman. An entire stable of Connecticut Democratic leaders stood with Joe Lieberman in February 2006 pledging their support for him. Indeed, 4th district Democratic Congressional challenger Diane Farrell probably lost her race to replace Chris Shays by appearing with Lieberman and endorsing him. Former president Bill Clinton made a campaign TV ad for Lieberman that ran heavily in the state just before the August primary. After Lamont won the primary, he was still not embraced by most Democratic politicians, and what support he did receive was lukewarm at best. And when he lost the general election, Chris Dodd and the Senate Democratic Caucus fell all over themselves welcoming Lieberman back into the fold. Lamont has not served in the administration or in any elected position in the state since then, but somehow according to you, he’s an “insider”? By what possible standard?
Really, Mr. Lockhart, your comments make absolutely no sense whatsoever.
Comment by Sean — February 16th, 2010 @ 9:54 am
Brian
Ned meets my definition of an outsider because he hasn’t cut a whole bunch of deals to move up the ladder. He doesn’t owe anyone a hell of a lot, nor does he have to worry too much about hurt feelings as he forges a new winning team for Connecticut.
Add to that Ned’s financial freedom from the special interests, and you’ve basically got the equivalent of Mayor Bloomberg.
In terms of Abbey’s “attack”, I don’t know how it qualifies as nuclear. Sure, Lamont”s running to shake things up in Hartford, (which I hope you believe needs to be done.) But unlike a very beholden Malloy, (who is making promises to every insider in Connecticut btw), Ned will actually be in a position to break the gridlock, if indeed it can be broken.
Comment by AndersonScooper — February 16th, 2010 @ 6:48 pm