Lieberman v. Lamont

Many websites have been focused on the Senate race in the state of Connecticut between incumbent Senator Joseph Lieberman and upstart Greenwich business man, Ned Lamont. Anyone following this race is aware of the major issue, some would say single issue where Lamont is concerned, that puts these two at polar opposites. Lieberman has been a strong supporter of Bush’s Iraq war while Lamont is advocating an end to the conflict.

Being a Connecticut resident and an “anti-war nutcase”, I was immediately drawn to Lamont’s campaign, yet I am also aware of his conspicuously conservative voting record as part of the Greenwich legislature, but this concern was not adequate to overcome my distaste for Lieberman’s lust for battle and his irresponsible support for the war.

Yet, it is still a concern and one that can not be dismissed lightly. Lamont is from the affluent city of Greenwich, a successful businessman married to a successful woman who has started several businesses, and the descendent of generations of Wall Street gentry who enriched themselves in the employ of J. P. Morgan.

In the course of researching Ned Lamont I came across some interesting information about his Grandfather, Thomas W. Lamont, Wall Street magnate and chairman of the board for the J. P. Morgan Co. It is a fascinating bit of history that you will not find in any text books used for our children’s education. To learn more about it, follow this link.

If you do take the time to read this under-reported bit of history you may conclude that I am against the candidacy of Ned Lamont, but that is not the case. I am being cautious and I believe with good reason. His grandfather was directly involved with a fascist plot to overthrow the legally elected leader of the United States. Who would not be concerned about that?

Conversely, Ned’s Uncle Corliss Lamont was a Humanist who stood for the rights of individuals and championed leftist ideologies. An ardent champion of civil liberties, he believed that McCarthy's crusade against left-wing liberals represented a dangerous attempt to regulate speech. He served as the director of the American Civil Liberties Union and as chairman of the National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee, eventually winning the Gandhi Peace Award in 1981 for his work. For more info, please go here.

I believe voters need to be cautious and aware of the pitfalls when voting for candidates that are primarily business people. The current administration is evidence of the need for caution. Both Bush and Cheney are former CEO’s and both have alliances to big business that take precedence to the concerns for individuals. It is this kinship with the chieftains of industry that has caused democracy to take a backseat to capitalism. Free Trade has trumped Free Speech and minimized many other freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.

Finally, I'm sure all of us have heard this lament many times in the past: If I ran my company the way the government runs this country, I'd be out of business! Well, now we have experienced running the country like a business and I think we've had enough of it. I would ask Ned Lamont to acknowledge the failure of the "business model" of government and the need to run government as a Non-profit entity that it must be.