I just did a post over Adam Green's diary, but this deserves a diary. I am one of the original founders of the Connecticut for Lieberman Party, along with Jon Kantrowitz and Chair Dr. John Orman.
Dr. John Orman, at our first meeting.
We signed the party over to Dr. Mertens in 2008, with the understanding that it would be used to support or cross endorse the candidate running against Lieberman in 2012.
However, if Dr. Mertens doesn't get 1% of the vote, the party will cease to be. And he is using it as a vanity party to run himself as a candidate against a Democrat, Chris Dodd, and the others.
He also got caught spamming Facebook.
It was Jon Kantrowitz who first spotted the con that Dr. Mertens was pulling:
As one of the first members of the Connecticut for Lieberman Party, and its founding Vice-Chairman, I am distressed to learn that the current chairman, John Mertens, who succeeded the much loved, and recently departed John Orman, and wrote new rules is seeking the Connecticut for Lieberman Party's nomination to run for the Senate in 2010.
Why does this distress me, and I am certain, would distress John Orman if he were still among us? Because John's mission with CFL was to expose the hypocrisy in Joe Lieberman's running for the Senate on a party line for a party that had no registered voters, no by-laws, and no officers. The whole thing was a sham, and John exposed it brilliantly.
Those of us most closely identified with CFL have hoped that CFL would be around long enough to endorse the Democrat running against Joe Lieberman in 2012, and in doing so, re-enforce the history of cynical manipulation of electoral rules that so typified Lieberman's 2006 campaign.
In order to be on the 2012 ballot, the the Connecticut for Lieberman Party needs to garner at least 1% of the vote in the 2010 Senate race. The BEST way to accomplish that is for the CFL party to cross-endorse Chris Dodd.
The WORST way to accomplish that is to have an unknown 3rd party candidate split whatever votes he may attract on 4 different minor party lines. But that is exactly what Mertens is trying to do
Here's what the locals at Myleftnutmeg.com are saying about this commerical, which is a $40,000 ad buy and will be run by Progressive Change in Connecticut.
Isn't it wonderful when those "national progressive organizations" promote teabagger loving idiots like Mertens.
If anyone seriously believes that Lieberman will be influenced by the ad, I have a Brooklyn Bridge to sell you....Dr Mertens would not be my choice in this ad, for reasons we all know.
It's not about influencing anything
It's about raising the name recognition of Adan Greens organization and raising money.
If Adam Green spent five minutes on the phone asking REAL PROGRESSIVES in CONNECTICUT whether using Merten in any ad was a good idea this garbage would have never been produced. Lets face it,Adam Green and his Progressive Change organization didn't give a shit about that.For them getting their name out and raising some money is all that matters.
Well, you get the idea.
On our first year anniversary, Dr. Orman had a question for the CT Secretary of State:
Dear Secretary of State, Susan Bysiewicz:
As the Elected Chair of the Connecticut for Lieberman Party, I would like to formally ask your office to request and advisory opinion from the Attorney General of the State of Connecticut as to whether candidate Joseph Lieberman circulated a false petition in July, 2006. It is against state law to knowingly circulate a false petition and I believe Senator Joseph Lieberman did that.
Somehow, I don't think that Dr. Mertens will use the CFL party the way it was meant to be used.