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Pryor to support Lieberman's independent run Thursday, Aug 10, 2006 By Aaron Sadler Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - Sen. Mark Pryor on Wednesday pledged his support and campaign cash to Sen. Joe Lieberman, who continued his re-election bid as an independent after losing the Democratic primary in Connecticut. Pryor, D-Ark., said Lieberman is a moderate whose views are valuable to the Senate. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., would not say if she would back Lieberman as an independent. She said in a statement that the choice belonged to Connecticut voters. Lieberman, a former vice presidential candidate, fell to challenger Ned Lamont on Tuesday. He filed to run for re-election as an independent Wednesday. "I am for Joe Lieberman whether he's a Democrat or an independent," Pryor said. "I think he's a great senator. I think he's done a very good job for the state of Connecticut." Pryor's continued support of Lieberman puts him at odds with several senior Senate Democrats including Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who announced Wednesday he was backing Lamont. To some, Lamont's upset of a incumbent where war was a big issue was reminiscent of then-Gov. Dale Bumpers defeating Sen. William Fulbright in the 1974 Democratic primary in Arkansas. During the campaign, Lamont criticized Lieberman for his support of the war in Iraq and seemingly close ties to President Bush. Pryor said he would tap into his own war chest to help Lieberman. He asked staffers Wednesday to research campaign finance rules regarding transferring money from one campaign to another. Meanwhile, Reid and Sens. Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton, both D-N.Y., said they supported Lamont, who defeated Lieberman 52 percent to 48 percent. Pryor said he wasn't bothered by holding a contrary view to other Democrats, or the party's Senate leadership. "I think that people know that I support Sen. Lieberman, given the respect I have for him and the things he's been able to accomplish, the things he stand for," Pryor said. Both men are members of the "Gang of 14," a group of moderate senators who fostered a compromise over Bush's judicial nominees. Pryor said breaking with other Democrats on some issues was a quality, not a flaw. Lincoln said she supported Lieberman in the primary because he was an effective bi-partisan leader. She stopped well short of saying whether she would endorse him again. "Now, the final outcome of the general election falls to all Connecticut voters, Democrat, Republican and independent," she said. "And I will respect their decision this November." Lincoln chief of staff Steve Patterson said Lincoln does not plan to contribute to either candidate for the general election. Her political action committee gave Lieberman $10,000 for the primary. The victory by a political newcomer over the Democrats' 2000 vice presidential choice was a "earthquake," said David Pryor, a former senator and Mark Pryor's father. "This is going to be a difficult choice for a lot of Democrats who have been a friend of and who have supported Sen. Lieberman," David Pryor said. Lamont's victory over an entrenched incumbent in a primary was only the sixth since Bumpers ousted Fulbright in 1974. Comparisons between the races are slim, though, said Ken Rudin, political editor for National Public Radio. "The issue was more generational back then," Rudin said. "On the issues - on race, on Vietnam, on Nixon - (Bumpers and Fulbright) were very, very, very similar. It was really generational and about Bumpers' ambitions." Bumpers was ill Wednesday and not available for comment. David Pryor said anti-war sentiment seemed to have doomed Lieberman. Though Fulbright was an outspoken Vietnam War critic, the conflict had ended and the war was not much of an election issue. Bumpers was reluctant to enter the race 32 years ago, but did so because he saw an opportunity to claim a Senate seat that he would likely hold for decades, David Pryor added. Lamont's victory was boosted by an anti-incumbent climate, he said. "There's a great reservoir of unrest out there," he said. "I think Lamont tapped into it. People are unsettled right now. It's not just the war. They don't know where the country's going. They see us adrift." |
