(Posted by John.)
August on why the more extreme anti-Lieberman factions need to tone down their rhetoric:
Ifyou say he's "no longer part of the party," you are not correct.Lieberman remains a member of the Democratic Party. He will continue tobe a member of the Democratic Party during the remaining course of hisSenate term, and if he defeats Ned Lamont, he will likely stay aDemocrat. But he has not "stopped being a Democrat."...
Partynominations are not the same thing as registered affiliation. Liebermanlosing the Democratic primary means he can't run on the DemocraticParty ticket. Party affiliation and nomination are not the same: in NewYork, for example, candidates can run as the nominees for multipleparties at the same time...
And frankly, I think it's better tocontinue saying Lieberman is a Democrat: he's a Democrat that failed toappreciate other Democrats, attacked other Democrats, and as a result,the Democrats in his home state chose a better Democrat to representthe Democrats in the election. The talking point shouldn't be Democratskicked Joe out of their party; it should be that Joe decided he wouldrather be elected by Republicans. Saying Joe isn't a Democrat makes himlook like a martyr. Saying Lamont was chosen as the better of two Democrats makes Lieberman look like a loser.
Emphasis mine.
