Lieberman a "Devoted Democrat?"

Joe Lieberman, who recently lost the Democratic primary for his U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut, says he is still "a devoted Democrat." Well, maybe he meant "devoted democrat," or de-voted Democrat." That's the trouble with oral communication, sometimes it's difficult to parse the true meaning. Let's examine the possibilities here.

After losing the primary to progressive Democrat Ned Lamont Joe Lieberman LEFT the Democratic Party, formed his own independent party, and continued to run for re-election. In other words, he refused to follow the rules set forth by the Democratic Party which say whoever wins the primary is the nominee. So, we know he isn't a "devoted Democrat" since he's no longer even a Democrat.

Perhaps he meant he was a "devoted democrat." The small d makes a big difference. That means he believes in democracy and the democratic process. Hmmmmm...... The process is pretty well set. You declare a Party affiliation and run for that Party's nomination (so far, so good) and then respect the process by either winning or supporting the winner. Oops. Houston we have a problem. Lieberman didn't respect the process because he refused to respect the choice of the Democratic voters in the primary. Ok, we cross out that possibility.

That leaves us with de-voted Democrat. Bingo! I believe we have a winner! Yes, Joe Loserman was de-voted out of office in his Democratic primary. THAT must be what he meant.