Prometheus 6

Who's polarizing now?
August 10, 2006

Lieberman says he will continue to seek reelection, running in November as an independent.

This is a questionable decision.

There is a place for independent candidacies, for genuinely unaligned candidates, or in situations where the parties resist challengers.

Boston's own John Joseph Moakley became a Democratic power in Congress after first being elected as an independent. But Moakley did not lose a primary; he ran as an independent from the start, knowing incumbent Louise Day Hicks would be hard to beat in a primary.

Lieberman is right that all Connecticut voters make the final choice, and he might have a decent chance of winning if he does run. But it would make sense, before challenging his party's nominee, for Lieberman to take a break after a grueling campaign and think long and hard about who is really polarizing the nation.