This whole Lieberman adventure in 2006 is very very weird:
If a Campaign Fell Apart and No One was Around to Hear...
According to LamontBlog, no one is showing up for Lieberman's "Tomorrow" tour. Actually, based on several reports from blogs and newspapers I've read, this is quite true. Lieberman isn't encountering big crowds, or attracting hordes of cheering supporters to his rallies.
The New Haven Independent reports on a rally in New Haven which seems to be about par for the course:
Joe Lieberman failed to attract even a dozen genuine neighborhood supporters to an anemic reelection campaign rally in his New Haven hometown's Dixwell section Monday.
This could be because the Lieberman campaign is operating the "Tomorrow" tour under an odd cloud of secrecy. They aren't posting the information on Lieberman's official website. Most campaigns have an extensive events section on their sites, because, well, they'd like people to attend their events. Lieberman's campaign has avoided doing this, probably because they're desperately hoping that those guys with the truck won't show up (they do anyway).
In fact, the schedule isn't even released to the media until the day before. Usually there is less than 24 hours' notice. The schedule rarely gets published in local or state papers, so even if Lieberman supporters who weren't tipped off ahead of time wanted to go to these events, they would have a difficult time finding out where and when they were happening.
It's a bizarre way to run a tour that is supposed to be Lieberman's final burst of sustained campaigning. This tour is supposed to get him back in the race. If anything, it's going out of its way to try to avoid the primary altogether.
Which may be the point. The Lieberman campaign may just be trying to get past August 8th, win or lose, so they can concentrate on the general election. Depending on how bad the polls are for them (we'll see tomorrow when Quinnipiac releases it's latest), a primary victory may be out of the question anyway. Petition gathering has quietly been stepping up, and although the campaign denies it, preparations for an independent run must be underway.
In any case, the bus tour will continue today in southern Connecticut. If you want Lieberman's schedule, ConnecticutBLOG has graciously posted it for you.
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