For one Democratic reader, this primary was the last straw:
You ask if anyone is crying over Lieberman's defeat. I am not crying, but I am leaving the Democratic Party. Here's why:
1) Unlike your intimation, he has been critical of the war's implementation. Has he been brashly partisan? No. Has he suffered from Bush Derangement Syndrome? No. The Dems now think he is no longer qualified to be in the party that he almost brought to 2000 presidential victory.
2) He is for Dems like me socially tolerant and liberal while actively pro-defense. Now the Dems are going to retreat into a repeat of Vietnam — pull the troops out, let a massacre happen in Iraq, and pat themselves on the back for a job well done. The party no longer speaks for Dems like me who want a strong defense abroad with a dose of libertarianism in social issues at home.
3) The Dems chose (again) to run a wealthy scion who can self-finance. I thought the Republicans were the party of privilege, wealth, and exclusion. Apparently, running a wealthy WASP heir against a working-class Jewish guy is OK as long it is in the Dems primary. Pathetic.
4) Lieberman did NOT say criticism of the president was unpatriotic. He meant that the constant partisan bickering, smears, etc. were eroding the president's standing and that is dangerous. It started under Clinton by the Republicans, but the Dems have gotten pretty good at it, too.
The Dems as a party have chosen to reject someone who works across the aisle. Lieberman is not perfect; no one is. But this was a vote by Dems and the party for more partisan rancor.