Loyalty

This is a question of Loyalty. Is it to a group that carries out what you believe in or to what you believe in that that group is supposed to carry out.

I was just sent this letter by the Wesley Clark political action committe or WesPAC:
Dear Jaime,

Support Ned Lamont! Urge Joe Lieberman to end his campaign for U.S. Senate.
On Tuesday, the message sent by Connecticut voters was loud and clear. They want change, and they want Ned Lamont to represent them in the U.S. Senate, voting for Ned by a 52% - 48% margin over Senator Joe Lieberman in the Democratic primary.
You see, despite what Joe Lieberman believes, invading Iraq and diverting our attention away from Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden is not being strong on national security. Blind allegiance to George W. Bush and his failed "stay the course" strategy is not being strong on national security. And no, Senator Lieberman, no matter how you demonize your opponents, there is no "antisecurity wing" of the Democratic Party.
Indeed, Connecticut Democrats recognized all of this, and yesterday they chose Ned Lamont as their nominee for the U.S. Senate. Now, I hope you'll join me in supporting Ned as he heads into the general election this November.
Stand with Connecticut Democrats. Send a message to Joe Lieberman to end his Independent campaign for CT Senate.
As a Democrat, I respect the will of the Connecticut Democratic voters and their decision to make Ned Lamont their nominee. Even before the election results came in on Tuesday, Ned Lamont showed his respect for the voters by committing to abide by the Democratic primary result and support whoever won.
Joe Lieberman, on the other hand, began collecting petition signatures to run as an Independent several weeks ago while concurrently running in the Democratic primary. In short, he wanted to have his cake and eat it too.
Despite his efforts to appear on the November ballot as an Independent, I held out hope that Joe would withdraw from the Connecticut Senate race after the primary votes were counted. Unfortunately, Joe has announced his candidacy as an Independent candidate, running against Ned, the Democratic nominee.
Today, I ask you to email Joe Lieberman. Urge him to respect the will of Connecticut Democrats and end his Independent candidacy for CT Senate.
In 2000, the presence of a third party candidate, Ralph Nader, no doubt played a role in the defeat of Vice President Gore and Joe Lieberman. Now Joe Lieberman is risking our party's claim on his Senate seat by running as a third party candidate himself. Recent news reports detail the GOP's interest in supporting such an effort. It's time to draw a line.
I committed myself to supporting the Democratic nominee for the US Senate in Connecticut, and I ask you to do likewise. Because too much is at stake with our troubles abroad and at home, we cannot play games this Election Day. That's why I call on all loyal Democrats to join me in urging Senator Lieberman to drop his bid for the Senate as an Independent and endorse the duly nominated Democrat.
We should thank him for his service and invite him to stay active, or even run again someday, but as a party we cannot let Joe Lieberman be this year's Ralph Nader.
Email Joe Lieberman. Encourage him to do the right thing, withdraw from the Connecticut Senate race, and focus his efforts on electing Democrats across America.
The 2006 elections represent a real crossroads for America. We must unify our efforts to stop George Bush's radical agenda and end this one-party government. I hope Senator Lieberman will join us in this critical fight for our nation's future.
Sincerely,

Wes Clark
PS: After you send your message to Joe Lieberman, please take a moment and forward this message to every Democrat you know.

Send a message to Joe Lieberman today!


This is the letter I sent to Joe Lieberman in the supplied email template from WesPAC:


I was sent a mass email by the WesPAC urging me to tell you to drop out of the race. I disagree with a lot of things you've done in the Senate but I vote for the greater good, not for singular votes. I am not a registered voter in CT, just a registered democrat in NY so my voice means less right now than many others in CT telling you to get out of the race. But WesPAC called you a Ralph Nader, a spoiler of a Democratic victory in the fall for our party, a party I know you are still a part of except in name only. I am sure, if it looked like the Republican challenger would win if you stayed in the race, you would withdraw in time (and, if not, I would be forced to withdraw these statements I am making now). Stay in the race, win as an independent, urge things to get done in Washington, never stand down in what you believe in, but never be afraid to change your mind publicly when you have done so privately. And maybe the middle road will see what can be done and not give in to the extremes of either party. Good luck.

It was automatically signed and dated.


Thanks for the idea Wesley.