Swing State Project

« WA-08: And So Do We | Main | CA-11: Pulling a Pombo »

Friday, August 18, 2006

CT-Sen: Lieberman Hires Democrat Slayer

Posted by James L.

From the Hotline:

Joe Lieberman's indie CT SEN campaign sent out a release to announce the hiring of two new consultants: media/direct mail consultant Josh Isay and pollster Neil Newhouse. Isay mostly works with Dems, with his most prominent former employer being Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the current DSCC chair...

The more curious hiring, of course, is Newhouse, a partner in one of the most prestigious Republican polling firms in the country, Public Opinion Strategies. On the merits, Newhouse is a great hire as he and his firm have one of the best reputations in the business, both with their clients and with the media, including us. But what makes the hiring curious is that Newhouse is a Republican and has a slew of clients who will likely raise the ire of Democrats, particularly activist Democrats.

This cycle, Newhouse's most notable client is PA Sen. Rick Santorum. (Subscribers, click here of The Hotline's consultant scorecard.) The Lieberman release, of course, makes no mention of Santorum, but does note Newhouse's client relationship with the very popular GOP CT Gov. Jodi Rell. Newhouse is also the chief pollster for one of the Democrats' top House targets, CT 02 GOP Rep. Rob Simmons.

In '04, the firm worked for the biggest Dem killer of the cycle, John Thune, who knocked off Tom Daschle. And in '02, the firm's biggest name client? None other than a Bush, Jeb Bush, that is, in FL.

Unbelievable. For a full list of Public Opinion Strategies' clients, see here. You'll instantly notice that there are no Democratic clients to be found. What you will find is a laundry list that includes some of the most odious Republicans of our times: Sen. Saxby Chambliss (the guy who smeared triple-amputee Max Cleland as Bin Laden enabler), creaky old bigot Sen. Jim Bunning, and of course, Sen. Rick Santorum and Sen. John Thune (the Daschle slayer).

The most troubling bit about the news may rest in the fact that Newhouse's other Connecticut client is Rep. Rob Simmons, who is a top target of the DCCC and Joe Courtney. Lieberman is now essentially using Republican tools, Republican capital, and Republican consultants to mobilize the same Republican voters that Courtney and the other Democratic challengers need to de-energize in order to win. The pure gall of this move is disgusting, and it paints a sharp picture that Lieberman is for himself and himself only. He doesn't care about electing three new Democrats to the House--he's more than willing to toss them overboard if it means he can work the Republican field and win.

I wonder how Lieberman's Senate Democratic colleagues feel now that they know that Lieberman is paying the same guy who ended the political careers of Tom Daschle and Max Cleland. I wonder if they feel as good about letting Lieberman keep his seniority and committee assignments.

Posted at 04:19 PM in 2006 Elections - Senate, Connecticut | Technorati

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.swingstateproject.com/mt/mt-track-ssp.cgi/2520

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference CT-Sen: Lieberman Hires Democrat Slayer:

» Lieberman Hires Republican Pollster from Outside The Beltway | OTB
Joe Lieberman’s transformation into the quasi-Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate is nearly complete, now that he’s hired the top Republican polling firm. Sen. Joe Lieberman continued retooling his campaign staff Friday, hiring a natio... [Read More]

Tracked on August 18, 2006 05:15 PM

Comments

I imagine Leiberman's Democratic buds in the Senate are thinking about the possibility of Joe holding the swing vote in the organizing vote come January.

And they probably realize they would be foolish to burn their bridges to him when he could be the one who decides who controls the committees.

Posted by: pinhickdrew at August 20, 2006 11:46 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

By the way, Public Opinion Strategies, which is really Bill McInturff's firm, put together the Harry and Louise campaign for HIAA that sunk Hillarycare.

Really in pocket for HIAA and PHARMA.

Posted by: pinhickdrew at August 20, 2006 11:49 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment