Rovian Joe

Joe Lieberman's claim that Lamont supporters hacked his web site reminds me of Karl Rove's methods--or at least Karl Rove's "alleged" methods, because there never seems to be definitive proof. From a New Yorker profile of Karl Rove...

Probably the two leading Texas stories, out of dozens, or even hundreds, are the one that has him bugging his own office on the eve of a crucial campaign debate, so that by "discovering" the dastardly deed he could distract attention from his candidate's poor debating skills, and the one that has him inducing an F.B.I. agent named Greg Rampton to investigate employees of the Texas Department of Agriculture on rather slight grounds, in order to help his candidate for Agriculture Commissioner-Rick Perry, now governor of Texas-defeat the very popular Democratic incumbent, Jim Hightower.

Regarding the current web site "hacking", Demetrius noted in a comment at DFA-link,

And, even if he has to retract the accusation after the election Lieberman *knows* it just has to float long enough to hurt Lamont. I think Lieberman will see this backfire. There is every indication that Lieberman just didn't anticipate having to put up enough of a fight that he needed to invest in real internet backbone. You should have bought more "bandwidth", Joe. You should have seen that you would *need* it. This is what your sense of entitlement has wrought.

Indeed, and, might I add, for the umpteenth time, THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE WAR. Oscar wrote an excellent piece on that very point yesterday, and many, many others have clearly, eloquently explained this issue as well. Yet the article I referenced above about the claim that Lamont people hacked Lieberman's site starts with this:

Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman, who was locked in a battle with an anti-war challenger in the nation's most closely watched primary race Tuesday

Emphasis mine. "Anti-war challenger"--what convenient shorthand. I bet we could come up with a more accurate term if we put our thinking caps on...

Update: Here's the statment from Tim Tagaris, Lamont's Internet Communications Director:

Apparently the Lieberman campaign is pushing a story that we have coordinated an attack against their website. Not a chance. Here's the unqualified statement Sean Smith has called for.

If Senator Lieberman's website was indeed hacked, we had absolutely no part in it, denounce the action, and urge whoever is responsible cease and desist immediately. It is our sincerest wish that everyone planning to vote for Ned Lamont or Joe Lieberman does so today.

From Crooks and Liars, Lieberman Got What he Paid for

Jane Hamsher: The problem could've been fixed 15 hours ago if they'd bothered to simply switch their normally low-traffic site to another server when it began, but it seems to be serving their purposes. I'm frankly at a loss to explain their reluctance to accept any help from the Lamont campaign, or secure it for themselves..

Duncan: If the storyline reads that Lieberman was robbed by evil bloggers, then he can justify running as an independent almost no mater what he loses by. The lapdog media has been more than helpful in fueling this narrative for Lieberman.

Never mind that the Lieberman website crashed the last time they had huge traffic back in June. Never mind that the Lamont campaign has offered to come help fix the problem. Never mind that the Lamont website has a Google cache link to the Lieberman website, thus allowing it to receive several times more traffic than it would have otherwise. Never mind that the Lieberman website had no interactive features or tools for supporters to use anyway. Never mind that the idea that this is even a DOS attack doesn't add up. Never mind any of this, because the lapdog press cannot stop falling all over themselves to help throw Lieberman a lifeline for a few last minute sympathy votes and a justification to run even if he loses tonight.

And from our own Maura over at My Left Nutmeg:

Hey, Joe: This is why we're going to kick your ass today

I haven't been following the news as closely today as others have, so please feel free to post links to relevant stories in the comments below.

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