Lieberman Defeat is Bad Sign for Pro-War Sen. Dianne Feinstein

THE GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA
www.cagreens.org

Todd Chretien for US Senate
http://www.todd4senate.org

August 16, 2006
Released August 14

Contact: Todd for Senate 415.412.4540 or 510.590-6073

Lieberman defeat in Connecticut is a bad sign for pro-war Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein, suggests Green Party US Senate candidate Todd Chretien 

SAN FRANCISCO - The defeat of incumbent Sen. Joe Lieberman by a political unknown because of Lieberman's link to the war in Iraq should hold real concern for California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, another pro-war Democrat, said Green Party challenger Todd Chretien today. 

"Ned Lamont's victory over Joe Lieberman shows that rank and file Democrats are angry at their party for supporting the occupation of Iraq and they want to bring our troops home. This is a positive sign for the anti-war movement," said Chretien, the author of a successful "College Not Combat" initiative in San Francisco. 

The Chretien campaign has emerged as the only option for anti-war voters - especially Democrats - in November in the US Senate race. Polls show more than 60 percent of Democrats favoring withdrawal of at least some troops from Iraq, and more than 70 percent opposed to the war generally. 

Feinstein, a Democrat, continues to support the war, and that could be - like Lieberman - her undoing in a "November surprise," said Chretien, who criticized Lamont for "trying to woe anti-war voters by making vague promise to end the war sometime in the unspecified future. Worse, Lamont agrees 100 percent with Lieberman on supporting Israel opening up a second  front in the Middle East war by invading Lebanon.  

"Unfortunately, now that Lamont has won the primary, he will downplay his rhetorical opposition to the war and start to emphasize, as he did in his victory speech and consistent with Dianne Feinstein's views, the need to vote for bloated Pentagon budgets to maintain 'the biggest military in the world,' " said Chretien.