Temporary Democrats for Lamont

The New York Times is reporting that, with one week to go before the crucial Democratic primary between Senator Joe Lieberman and Ned Lamont, a record number of voters have changed their afilliation to Democrat in order, apparently, to vote in the primary.

"In the last three months, 6,715 voters have changed their registration from unaffiliated to Democrat, the secretary of state said on Monday, noting that the number was unusually large. Nearly 5,000 voters changed affiliation in July alone, nearly 10 times the number in May.

Unaffiliated voters can continue changing their registration until noon on the day before the primary. Unaffiliated voters are nearly 45 percent of the electorate, making them a larger group than either the Democrats or Republicans, according to the secretary of the state, Susan Bysiewicz. About 702,000 of the state’s 2.1 million voters, or about a third, are registered Democrats. "

So what does this mean? Is it a last-minute surge for Lieberman? Or are all these formerly unaffiliated voters becoming temporary Democrats in order to boost Ned Lamont and send Joe Lieberman a message?

And if they become Democrats solely for the primary, will they change their affiliation yet again to become unaffiliated after the primary?

And does it matter? Senator Lieberman has made the primary a moot point -- a symbolic vote at best, since he's stated that, should he lose next week's primary (as seems possible if not likely), he's going to run as an independent. In other words, he's planning on ignoring the will of the voters of his own party and will do whatever he has to do, ethical or unethical, to retain power.

Wow -- Joe Lieberman really is a Republican, isn't he?

Tom Moran