AMY GOODMAN: Our guest is Bill Curry, former Connecticut state comptroller and state senator, counselor to President Clinton, currently writing a weekly column for the Hartford Courant. We're talking about the most watched primary in the country. It's happening today in Connecticut, and it is Joseph Lieberman, three-term incumbent senator, and he's being challenged by Ned Lamont. Joseph Lieberman's plans if he doesn't win today's primary, Bill Curry?

BILL CURRY: Well, I’m not exactly sure. His stated plan is to file sufficient petitions tomorrow -- the deadline is tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. -- to qualify to run as an independent. And there's been a great deal of pressure already from others within the party to discourage him. I think that a lot of this depends on, number one, how does he really feel? Is he in a kind of John Paul Jones mood, or is he more in shellshock? If he loses this, is it by a wide margin or is it closer?

And then, thirdly, there's a question here of the Republican nominee. It's been reported that when the Republican nominee, Alan Schlesinger, was nominated at their convention, that the delegates made sheep-like bleeding noises, because he was a sacrificial lamb, in their views. He is as close to a nullity as you can possibly find in major party politics, a professional card counter who recently admitted that he had forged a what's called a “wompem card” at the Indian casinos that gets you free shrimp. He later had it disclosed that he had been sued by casinos on bad debts and that even though he was a professional card counter, he had never won. He has about 8% in the polls.

Lieberman's prospects in the general election -- once, he led the general by a wide margin. My guess is that should Lamont win today, that margin will also narrow. And whether or not Schlesinger remains in this race, after all of these disclosures regarding the rest of his life, is a big, big question. Schlesinger could be Joe Lieberman's ticket to re-election. If there's someone in that Republican slot, whom Republicans simply can't vote for, you get not only the ones who would be inclined toward Lieberman, but lots of others who feel they haven't a choice. Should he depart and a stronger candidate replace him, I think that would also affect him.

Also, this has an effect on -- there are at least two, possibly three, congressional races here in just our little state that are very close and in which the outcome in the House could depend. And there's a pretty bitter disagreement as to whether or not Lieberman's presence as an independent candidate in November would impede their prospects, the prospect of the Democratic candidates winning control.

AMY GOODMAN: Bill Curry, we had invited both candidates into our studio. Ned Lamont took us up on the offer. And I asked him how much pressure there was on him not to run.

NED LAMONT: I think he's representing himself. I think that the people of Connecticut have it right. They know that “stay the course” is not a winning strategy. It's time for us to change course, time for us to get our troops out of harm's way and start bringing them home. And I don't think the senator has been in the state. He hasn’t listened. And I think he's wrong on that.

AMY GOODMAN: How much pressure was there on you not to run, not to weaken a Democratic candidate in this midterm time when the Democrats could take the House and Senate?

NED LAMONT: There was some of the party brass in state central there in Hartford, Connecticut, didn't like the idea of a primary. They thought we might be rocking the boat. Don't jeopardize the safe seat. But by the same token, I can tell you that the grassroots support was overwhelming. And that’s at the town committee level, the delegates at the convention, as you pointed out, where we far exceeded anybody's expectations. And I think going forward, people realize that this is good for the Democratic Party. We’re having an old-fashioned kitchen table debate about what type of a party we are. What do we stand for? It’s for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party. And on August 9, we get together again and we go forward. And so I think it's going to be good for the Democrats, and I think the party brass will eventually come around to that.

AMY GOODMAN: We did that interview on June 6. Bill Curry, final comment on who Ned Lamont is, where he comes from.

BILL CURRY: Well, I’ve had some long conversations with him. First of all, he's a bright, very capable guy. He strikes me as somewhat closer to Lieberman in his own politics than people, some of his supporters, may expect. He describes himself as a centrist. The New York Times, in their strong endorsement of him, called him a moderate. I think in this general election, whether Lieberman is a candidate or not, should Lamont win, he'll be at pains to present himself that way.

There are lots of things that they haven't gotten to. What is your theory of national security? We've moved passed the age of nation states and passed the age of fossil fuels, and we're still presenting ourselves as the first superpower. We're going to war over oil, among other things, for sure. And what is a theory of national security based on mutual security and cooperation? We need a whole new approach. That kind of thinking isn't in a political debate in an election.

A fundamental question, though, of whether this political party, the Democrats, is about to stand up more strongly than it has against the cowboy unilateralism of the Bush administration and against the divisive cultural politics that have racked this country, I think coming out of tonight, there will be at least an improvement in that. The Democrats will know a little better than they have in a long time what they're not for.

AMY GOODMAN: Bill Curry, I want to thank you very much for being with us, former Connecticut state comptroller and state senator, currently writing a weekly column for the Hartford Courant. Yes, the primary in Connecticut is today, and we'll certainly bring you more on this race tomorrow on Democracy Now!

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