Sore Sport

Joe Lieberman is a sore sport. And that really is too bad.

I didn’t expect him to dance the cha cha if he lost, but I did expect him to maintain statesman-like behavior. I expected him to congratulate the winner, Ned Lamont. I expected his "concession" speech to acknowledge defeat in a dignified manner and then of course, to rev up his supporters for his run as an Independent.

Instead I saw a man who truly believes that he is better than, greater than and smarter than the people he represents in the state.

In the past I have voted for Joe Lieberman. In the past he was a more visible part of our state. I did believe back then that he listened to the Democrats who with their money and sweat, got him elected; that he did listen to the people of Connecticut and respresented our agenda, not his own.

Then it became obvious to me that Joe got too big for his britches. He decided he could do whatever he wanted to do without listening to either Democrats or his constituents in general. He had a higher calling and he knew better than we did --he disappeared from our state to become a Washington Senator. He put himself on a pedestal and looked down on us. He sided with the Religious Right on emergency contraception after rape and the Terry Schiavo brouhaha. He put a halo over his head and crowned himself moral king of the nation.

Joe brought out every big name he could to stump for him. He used every trick in the book to get votes. His people called my house relentlessly and filled my mail box with junk mail. But it didn’t work.

Incumbents almost always win – when they don’t there’s a strong reason for the loss. Joe lost because he no longer cared about what Connecticut citizens thought: he knew better.

It was sad to see such a sour grapes performance from a man who ran as Vice President only a few short years ago. His arrogant speech at the end of the night was a pitiful way to end a career as a Connecticut Democrat. I was embarrassed for him.

If he wants to run as an Independent, that’s fine with me. At least it will be a more honest campaign than pretending to represent Democratic values. He hasn’t been a Democrat for a long time.

If he wins in November or not, I will always remember his whining, sniveling, speech last night. Blaming Democrats for being partisan; blaming “bloggers” as if we are all attached at the hip sharing one universal view of the world. How silly.

Truth is this: It’s okay to be holy. It’s okay to be thou. But nobody likes someone who is holier than thou.

Lieberman might think he’s better than his constituents; but we thought Lamont was better than Lieberman. And that’s the way we voted.