Feel that soothing relief…

HT Atrios.

Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (D, maybe R - CT) post-primary lead over Ned Lamont is shrinking.

From Reuters:

U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s lead over anti-war challenger Ned Lamont has narrowed to a razor-thin margin, two polls showed on Wednesday.

The 2000 vice presidential candidate lost the Democratic primary vote in Connecticut to Lamont this month, but is running for re-election as an independent in a contest that has exposed deep divisions over the unpopular Iraq war.

An American Research Group poll conducted Thursday through Monday said the race was a statistical tie, putting Lieberman’s support among 790 likely voters at 44 percent versus 42 percent for Lamont, a political novice and wealthy cable TV executive.

Republican Alan Schlesinger, a former state legislator, had 3 percent. The poll had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

Take a look at Joe Lieberman’s first ad as an Independent candidate for the U.S. Senate. Pretty weak, if you ask me.

Questions I want Joe to answer:

1. What, specifically, is your plan to end the war in Iraq in a way that “brings stability to the Middle East”? How long will this take? What types of troops will be involved? Does your plan for ending the war have specific timetables attached or is it George W. Bush’s policy of we’ll wait and see?
2. You’ve served in the United States Senate for 18 years. During that time, nothing you have done has ended the partisan bickering that you claim is ruining Washington. How, specifically, would you approach this and why would it be more effective than it’s been for the past 18 years.
3. Which Muppet did Jim Henson model your face after?

Hit me with an answer, Joe.

More endorsements — this time of Joe Lieberman:

• Republican Congressman Mark Kennedy
• Republican Mike McGavick

Oh, and Joe fired his entire campaign staff yesterday. Also, it looks more and more like the website debacle was a result of poor technical decisions, not hacking.

And yes, Joe’s website is still not back up.

DoubleSpeak commentator Ari Melber wrote a piece for The Nation called Ned Lamont’s Digital Constituency. It’s good. Have a read.

The Nation:

Joe Lieberman’s life as a Democrat ended on Tuesday with a fatal blow from Connecticut’s primary voters. The voters’ surging antipathy for Lieberman was stoked by many factors–the Iraq War, the President, the Senator, the surrogates, the pundits, the activists, the bloggers–but Ned Lamont’s victory was driven by two triggers: First, the war elicited a primary opponent; then Internet activists convinced voters that he was a viable alternative. Yet the recent obsession with bloggers, by traditional media and Lieberman boosters alike, only reveals one component of the Senator’s undoing online.

Bloggers actually constitute a small slice of progressive Internet activists, known as the netroots, which includes organizations like MoveOn.org and Democracy for America; informal networks like e-mail lists and MySpace groups; and Internet activists who use websites to raise money, broadcast videos and disseminate information. That is how Daily Kos blogger Markos Moulitsas sees it. Just past midnight on election day, he emphasized that bloggers are “much smaller” than a third of the netroots, writing that it is “insulting” to focus on blogs instead of the real people who worked for Ned Lamont.

Read the rest here.

The endorsements are coming in fast and furious from all over the country. Meanwhile, many others are encouraging Joe to quit. We second that notion.

Lamont Endorsements:

• Senator Chris Dodd
• Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer
• Senator Russ Feingold
• Senators John Kerry and Ted Kennedy
• Senator Evan Bayh
• Senator Barbara Boxer
• DNC Chairman Howard Dean
• Senator Barack Obama
• Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

Give It Up Joe:

• Rep. John Conyers, Jr.
• General Wesley Clark

Lieberman Endorsements:

• Joe Lieberman
• Karl Rove

We’ll keep this post updated throughout the day.

Statement from Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT):

“Yesterday, Connecticut Democratic voters went to the polls to elect candidates to represent our party in general election contests this fall.

“I congratulate all of the candidates for waging vigorous campaigns about important issues. These clean, issues-based campaigns are a hallmark of campaigns in our Democratic party and in our state.

“Another hallmark of our campaigns is that we Democrats typically unite behind nominees elected by Democratic voters. It is in keeping with that tradition that I join Rosa DeLauro, John Larson, and other Connecticut Democrats in declaring my support for the Democratic slate of candidates who will face the voters this November. That decision includes the race for the United States Senate.

“I supported Joe Lieberman in the primary. Like many other Democrats, it was my view that Joe had compiled a strong record on Democratic priorities, like good jobs and a healthier environment. He’s a good friend, a good Senator, and a good Democrat.

“But now the voters of our party have spoken — and I respect their decision. For that reason, I have congratulated Ned Lamont on his victory in the primary, and pledged to help in any way I can to secure his victory in the general election this fall. He has earned the right to represent our party and I believe he will be an outstanding candidate for the Senate. I hope Connecticut voters will support him on Election Day in November.”

Thank you Sen. Dodd for standing up and having the backbone to do what is good for your party.

Senator Joe Lieberman, who lost the Democratic primary last night in Connecticut will continue to run for his Senate seat as an independent, after an embarassing loss to Ned Lamont. Boo to you, Joe! I know it hurts, but you lost. The voters rejected you. Take it as a hint, you’re done. Your day is over. Your Democratic voters no longer want you to represent them. Take a hike!

New York Times:

Ned Lamont, a Connecticut millionaire whose candidacy for the United States Senate soared from nowhere on a fierce antiwar message, won a narrow victory in the Democratic primary last night over the incumbent, Joseph I. Lieberman.

Senator Lieberman, a national party leader and the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2000, conceded defeat in a phone call to Mr. Lamont shortly before 11 p.m. But then, in a combative speech to supporters in Hartford that was carried live on television news, the senator declared that he was not dropping out of the race, but would instead run for re-election as an independent this fall.

“As I see it, in this campaign, we’ve just finished the first half and the Lamont team is ahead — but in the second half, our team, Team Connecticut, is going to surge forward to victory in November,” Mr. Lieberman told cheering supporters.

The senator said he was staying in the race because Mr. Lamont had run a primary campaign of “insults” and “partisan polarizing” that relentlessly blamed Mr. Lieberman for President Bush’s wartime policies, which the senator has supported and defended but also criticized at various points.

“For the sake of our state, our country and my party, I cannot, I will not let this result stand,” Mr. Lieberman said of the Lamont victory.

News Round-Up:

Washington Post
New York Times
CNN
Bloomberg News

Blogs Round-up:

AmericaBLOG
MyDD
ConnecticutBLOG
Daily Kos
LamontBLOG
Ned Lamont Campaign Website

Read these links, drink your morning coffee and DoubleSpeak will be coming at you with much more information from last night’s election results in CT, GA, MI and around the rest of the U.S.A.