JOEMENTUM HALTED: Lieberman reportedly will not seek re-election

Joe Lieberman will announce Wednesday whether he intends to seek re-election as Connecticut’s senior U.S. Senator in 2012, and reports say he has decided not to run. [UPDATE: It’s official.]

As long-time readers know, this blog and its predecessors have a long and complicated history with Senator Joementum. I am, of course, a Nutmegger by birth, and thus have followed Lieberman’s career more closely than most. I enthusiastically supported his 2004 presidential bid, quit the Democratic Party in support of him in 2006, and generally made an ass of myself stoking enmity with Ned Lamont supporters that autumn. But before long, Joe and I had our differences, which caused me to sour on him and his sometimes dumb ideas in recent years. Ultimately, though, I still think Lieberman is a good and decent man, if not the political saint I once painted him as, and I still think he’s right about a lot of things… like, for instance, the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which he almost single-handedly shepherded through Congress last month by sheer force of will.

Having said all that, this is clearly the right decision by Lieberman. I have long felt that he had no evident path to victory in 2012, and fighting a bitter, losing campaign would have simply diminished him and caused him to go out with the whimper. Instead, he gets two years of lame-duck status to cement his legacy — whatever he wants it to be — and decide what to do next. I can’t imagine he’s done with public life.

I just hope the Dogs for Joe don’t take the news too hard.

Anyway, here are my initial reactions to the news, via Twitter. The first tweet was auto-posted by CNN, not actually by me.

CNN Breaking News — Joe Lieberman, the Democrat-turned-independent senator, plans to announce he won’t seek re-election, sources say.

#JoementumPANIC #JoementumPANIC #JoementumPANIC #JoementumPANIC #JoementumPANIC #JoementumPANIC #JoementumPANIC #JoementumPANIC

PARTY AT KOS’S HOUSE! RT @cnnbrk: Sources: Sen Joe Lieberman not seeking re-election http://on.cnn.com/hJ8XK9

In all seriousness, I’m not remotely surprised by Lieberman’s decision. It wasn’t at all clear what his path to victory was going to be.

I just wonder what he’ll do next. I can’t believe he’s done with politics. #joementum

Hello and welcome, Senator Bysiewicz.

FACT: I was about to tweet my prediction that Bysiewicz would run, then I googled the spelling of her name & learned she announced yesterday [actually earlier today -ed.]

That’s how obvious Susan Bysiewicz’s careerist ambitions are. I knew she was running without even knowing she was running. 🙂

So, two years hence, it’ll be Blumenthal & Bysiewicz. Amazing seismic shift after 22 years of Dodd & Lieberman. #LandOfSteadyHabitsPANIC

I guess Bysiewicz will face primary & she’s not the most appealing personality, but I suspect CT Dem establishment will anoint her. #HerTurn

RT @capitolwatch: @brendanloy Not so fast…Chris Murphy, Linda McMahon, Joe Courtney, Tom Foley and Rob Simmons may have something to say about that!

@capitolwatch I don’t think GOP will win an open seat in CT-SEN, barring an even worse political cycle than 2010. Murphy/Courtney, maybe.

Re: Bysiewicz & “her turn,” I’m talking thru my hat… if a serious Dem challenger emerges quickly, all bets are off. #Courtney #Murphy

My “seismic shift” point stands whether it’s Bysiewicz or not. After 22 yrs of same 2 guys, CT will have 2 new senators in ’13 #SteadyHabits

RT @dmataconis: So you think tomorrow we’ll see the end of Joementum? | Not unless Ned Lamont throws the One Ring into the Charter Oak.

@dmataconis: Joementum will not end, it will merely take on a new form.

RT @dmataconis: @brendanloy Much like Rock & Roll, JoeMentum will never die

So, Lieberman’s going to be a lame duck for the next 2 years. Freed of electoral constraints, he might start pissing off liberals sometimes.