Lieberman's Re-Election Is A Reaffirmation of Centrism

HARTFORD, Conn. — The re-election of Senator Lieberman, this time as an independent, not a Democrat, is a welcome reaffirmation of centrism at a time of extremist lunacy.

Whether it was a contentious ideological battle or the unveiling of powerful new weapons, the Senate contest among Democrat Ned Lamont, Mr. Lieberman, and Republican Alan Schlesinger has unleashed the beginnings of a turbulent period in American politics. The bloodying over the course of the campaign of Mr. Lieberman, a respected 18-year incumbent who served as his party's nominee for vice president in 2000, as well as the electrifying compounding impact of the Internet on campaigning, foreshadows what undoubtedly will be a clamorous and wild presidential primary season.

Given the closely divided Senate, Mr. Lieberman goes from being an exile within his own party to a possibly much-needed deciding vote and important voice of reason.

A former aide to President Clinton who remained loyal to Mr. Lieberman throughout the election season, Lanny Davis, said he expected Mr. Lieberman to continue his campaign of centrism and civility.

He also said he thought the Connecticut senator would head up a new Senate faction of moderate Democrats and Republicans — including Senator Clinton of New York, Senators Snowe and Collins of Maine, Senator Hagel of Nebraska, Senator McCain of Arizona, and others — that would define the future of the legislative body.

Mr. Davis spoke near the elevator bank at the Goodwin Hotel, where Mr. Lieberman's election night festivities were being held. "There's going to be a new wave of centrism," the former aide said, adding that he expects joint action on such issues as Iraq, energy, and Social Security.

House members should not pursue an impeachment action against President Bush, Mr. Davis warned. "Resist. Don't go there," he said, adding that pushing for impeachment would only damage Democrats, as it did Republicans in the 1990s. He recalled that only four years after being elected House speaker in the Republican revolution of 1994, Rep. Newt Gingrich was tossed out of the leadership.

Present at Mr. Lamont's post-election event in Meriden was Jim Goodnow of Terlingua, Texas. A member of Veterans for Peace with a silver ponytail and beard, Mr. Goodnow hauled his 40-foot Silver Eagle mobile home, bearing a "Bring Them Home Now" banner, to Connecticut in support of Mr. Lamont.

During the Nixon administration, Mr. Goodnow, a Crawford, Texas, contemporary of peace activist Cindy Sheehan's, formed the Committee To Impeach the President; at yesterday's event, he brandished "Impeach Bush" bumper stickers.

Whatever the result in Connecticut, Mr. Goodnow, who was not officially with the Lamont campaign, said Congress must push ahead with an impeachment action. "One should not be afraid of the word impeachment," he said, stressing the investigatory aspect of the "trial process."

Looking ahead, Mr. Goodnow said he will keep an eye out for presidential candidates who opposed the Iraq war. "I want to see somebody totally fresh, somebody with a clean slate as far as the war is concerned," he said.

One person sure to have a sunny political future following the election is Tim Tagaris, 30, who stood outside the Four Points Sheraton Meriden yesterday dressed in a Chicago Cubs shirt and a red baseball cap. Mr. Tagaris served as the Lamont campaign's Internet guru and called the Internet-driven insurgent campaign "inspiring."

To be sure, a lasting legacy of the candidacy of Mr. Lamont will be the power of the Internet. While a former governor of Vermont, Howard Dean, emerged out of nowhere as a presidential candidate in 2004, Mr. Lamont's campaign advanced this new political tool on a variety of fronts.

Until recently, campaigns had relatively distinct branches: finance, field, research, press, and advertising. Now one cross-disciplinary tool extends to each of these areas and amplifies them. An effective campaign will now need operatives who can not only master their individual field but understand the Internet's ability to raise funds, organize volunteers, uncover negative facts about opponents, report positive stories, and reach undecided voters.

One new tactic Mr. Lamont's campaign employed allowed his supporters to efficiently send a physical card to family members, friends, and neighbors asking them to support the candidate. Such a technique represents a quantum leap forward for campaigns that until now have relied on television advertising and automated telephone messages. "Who are you going to listen to, a 30-second TV commercial or your father, mother, or grandmother?" Mr. Tagaris asked.

American remains a better place with Mr. Lieberman in the Senate. His victory, however, will not quell the roiling rebellion within the Democratic Party represented by his opponent.