Good Bye Joe Lieberman?

[leunas]

Connecticut's Joe Lieberman -- a high-horse, moralizing, "family entertainment" zealot who's good at making unjustified trouble for the video-game industry -- lost the Democratic primary for his Senate seat yesterday to novice challenger Ned Lamont.

Lieberman plans to run as an independent, so he's not yet officially gone. But his defeat in the primary is a good start.

Anybody in that area of the country know anything about Lamont's politics on media and entertainment issues? All informed feedback on that is welcome, and I'll see if I can contact somebody with the Lamont campaign who can answer some questions on the subject.


blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2006/08/goodbye_joe_lie.html

[leunas]

Did video games lose it for Lieberman?



Was support for video game regulation a significant factor in Joe Lieberman's primary loss to Ned Lamont in yesterday's Democratic Connecticut Senate primary? That's the theory put forth by one blogger, who says that the young children who remember Lieberman from the 1994 video game hearings are now of voting age and out for revenge!

We're not buying it, though. For one thing, 18- to 24-year-olds are a historically unimportant voting bloc -- only 36 percent of them voted in the 2000 presidential election (though this group is growing: 47 percent voted in 2004). For another, exit polls (.pdf) show that issues like the war in Iraq and Lieberman's close relationship with Bush were foremost on voters' minds -- video game issues don't even make a blip.

Despite the loss, Lieberman has announced he will still be running as an Independent, which means his vociferous calls for game regulation might yet continue to ring through the Senate. Even if he does lose in November, other Senators like Hillary Clinton have shown they are more than willing to take up the cause.


www.joystiq.com/2006/08/10/did-video-games-lose-it-for-lieberman/

[leunas]

Lamont Campaign Reaches Out to Journalist Snubbed By Lieberman



Maybe Iraq wasn't the only reason Sen. Joe Lieberman went down in flames during Tuesday's Democratic Primary in Connecticut, losing to political neophyte Ned Lamont (left).

While Lieberman's support of the George Bush's failed Iraq policy was the most compelling reason why Connecticut voters turned on the three-term incumbent, perhaps there were some underlying reasons as well - such as a lack of responsiveness.

As noted by GamePolitics in June, San Jose Mercury-News columnist Mike Antonucci expressed deep frustration with both Lieberman and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY).

Neither senator responded to Nooch's repeated requests for comment on their video game politicking. Clinton and Lieberman, of course, are co-sponsors of the Family Entertainment Protection Act (FEPA), along with Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN).

Blogging yesterday, Antonucci remarked that he had reached out to Lamont following Tuesday's Connecticut primary, seeking the would-be senator's position on First Amendment issues and how they relate to video games and other forms of media.

To Nooch's pleasant surprise, Lamont's staff, unlike Lieberman's, was forthcoming:

"I heard back today from Ned Lamont's staff. The call came very late on a Friday, and that impressed me on two counts. First, that campaign has been swamped by press calls since he beat (Lieberman)... Getting back to me at all this week was admirable... Second, the call arrived late on a Friday MY time, West Coast. So they were really working catchup hours in Connecticut."

The Lamont staff provided no answer immediately, but Antonucci expects to hear back from the candidate within a couple of weeks.


gamepolitics.livejournal.com/339272.html