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Ned Lamont on Principles & Values

Democratic Challenger

 


Running to stand up for our progressive democratic values

I am running for the US Senate because we deserve a Senator who will stand up for Connecticut and stand up for our progressive democratic values. Rather than spending hundreds of millions of dollars a day in Iraq, it is time for America to refocus on issues back home: fixing our healthcare system, upgrading our schools, and rebuilding our aging infrastructure. We will start winning in Iraq as the Iraqis take control of their own destiny, just as America has to start investing again in our own future.
Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, nedlamont.com, "issues" , Apr 23, 2006

Progressive government can make a difference

I believe government has a role in ensuring fundamental rights and equal opportunity for all Americans. Good, progressive government can make a difference in people's lives-from social security and Medicare to the national highway system and the Civil Rights acts. Rather than replacing the hard-earned social safety net with partially funded savings accounts, Democrats should be ready again to defend and build upon all that we have accomplished-equal rights and equal opportunity for all.
Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, nedlamont.com, "issues" , Apr 23, 2006

Served as Greenwich Selectman, and in local press

While I have spent some time in and around politics, at heart I am an outsider to the political process. I have covered local government as a journalist ( a local weekly in Vermont), served as a selectman (Greenwich's lonely Democratic selectman), Chair of the CT State Investment Advisory Council (under Weicker), and am an active policy wonk with the Brookings Institution.. The other 80% of my time I have built and operated a telecommunications company (video services to college campuses).
Source: CT Local Politics blogspot, "Six Questions for Ned Lamont" , Jan 17, 2006

Lamont forces August primary at state convention

Sen. Joe Lieberman was nominated for a fourth term by state Democrats, but his anti-war challenger garnered enough delegates to force a primary in August. Ned Lamont, a Greenwich businessman who has sharply criticized the moderate senator for his support of the war in Iraq, shouted with delight after learning their candidate will be the first to challenge Lieberman to a primary. Lieberman won 1,004 of the 1,509 votes cast, while Lamont won 505. Lamont captured 33% of the delegates, well more than the 15% he needed to force the primary.

Lamont said he believes the level of support he received at the convention will send a message to Washington that people are fed up with the war. "They are saying this war was a mistake and bring the troops home," he said. "I think 33% of the people in the convention want a change."

Lamont is from an old-money Connecticut family with strong Wall Street ties. He founded his own telecommunications firm, Lamont Digital Systems, in 1984.

Source: Susan Haigh, AP Political Write , May 19, 2006

I say what I mean, and I mean what I say

People tell me that they want their political leaders to stand up, think big ideas, dream big dreams, say what you mean, and mean what you say. And with Ned Lamont as your next Democratic senator, I mean to do just that. It won't take me 18 years to sign onto a bill that says health care is a basic right for every American. And I'll vote to roll back the Bush-Cheney-Lieberman energy bill, which provides billions of subsidies to big oil and does so little for energy independence and the environment.
Source: 2006 Connecticut Democratic Senate Primary debate , Jul 6, 2006

If Lieberman won't take on George Bush, I will

As a volunteer teacher, I was talking to the kids and telling them that if you work hard and you play by the rules and make good choices, opportunity is going to come your way. But as I was saying this, I was thinking, in Washington, we are making a lot of bad choices right now. We're losing a lot of our good-paying jobs here in the state of Connecticut, and I wonder about the opportunities for our kids as they get older. And, Senator Lieberman, if you won't challenge President Bush on his failed agenda, I will.

Look at the record. Gas prices have doubled. Skyrocketing health care costs are bankrupting families and small businesses alike. Connecticut families are working harder and harder and earning less and less. We're more dependent upon foreign oil. We're more dependent upon foreign capital, and we have 135,000 of our bravest troops stuck in the middle of a bloody civil war. And I say that those who got us into this mess should be held accountable.

Source: 2006 Connecticut Democratic Senate Primary debate , Jul 6, 2006

My support is grassroots -- stand up and be clear

Q: This contest between the two of you has been described as a fight for the soul of the Democratic Party. Who are your supporters? And if you were to win the primary, would you broaden your appeal to more of the party?

A: In terms of support for the Ned Lamont campaign, it's grassroots support. We have got tens of thousands of people across the state of Connecticut and beyond who want the Democrats to stand up and be counted, be clear about where we stand, think boldly, talk boldly about what we want to do, offer real, constructive alternatives to the Bush agenda.

Right now we have got 63 lobbyists for every Congressman in Washington DC. You have got the best Congress that money can buy. But when it comes to the Democrats, I think it's important we go down to Washington DC, and start talking about the common good. I think that's where we make a difference as Democrats, and I think that's when we start winning again.

Source: 2006 Connecticut Democratic Senate Primary debate , Jul 6, 2006

Democrats should present constructive alternatives to Bush

LAMONT: I think it's so important that the Democrats stand up and present a constructive alternative to the Bush administration. I find that Sen. Lieberman too often is willing to undermine the Democrats, be it on issues like the war in Iraq, or on a variety of other issues, be it Social Security, be it affirmative action, be it vouchers. These are important issues that say a lot about what we stand for. We stand for the public good. We stand for public education. We stand for universal health care for every American, and when Democrats say that, that's when we start winning again.

LIEBERMAN: On Social Security privatization--I looked at it in the late 90s. I decided it was a bad idea. I opposed it in 2000. I voted for resolutions against it. On the day that Pres. Bush started his campaign to privatize Social Security in 2005, I was one of 41 Democratic senators to say explicitly that I think it's a bad idea, it would hurt Social Security. So why don't you stop spreading that kind of untruth?

Source: 2006 Connecticut Democratic Senate Primary debate , Jul 6, 2006

Challenging Bush is checks-and-balances, not partisanship

Q: How would failure in Iraq affect US policy?

LIEBERMAN: One of the major problems in Washington is too much partisanship. The best way to fix Washington is to elect people who will stand up & do what's right regardless of the political consequences. Someone who will work across party lines to get things done for the people they serve. That's what I've done for 18 years. Negativity and partisan game-playing couldn't have accomplished anything.

LAMONT: I don't think it's bipartisan to rubber-stamp George Bush's rush to war in Iraq. That's a time we needed checks and balances, and tough questions asked. Every time someone says it's time for a change, Sen. Lieberman suggests they're too partisan, or too negative. We got ourselves into this mess not because we asked too many questions, but because we asked too few.

SCHLESINGER: The Senator likes to bring up partisanship all the time. Partisanship is not the problem in Iraq. Being a crutch to the Maliki government may be the problem.

Source: CT 2006 Debate with George Stephanopoulos (X-ref Lieberman) , Oct 23, 2006

Important to reset relationships with regional states

Two years ago I stressed the importance of resetting the relationships with our neighboring and regional states. For too long, those relationships had been neglected. And as our neighboring governors understood, this virus doesn't respect state borders. When the federal government failed to come up with a national strategy, I worked with Gina [Raimondo] and Charlie [Baker] in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, Phil [Murphy] in New Jersey, and of course Andrew [Cuomo] in neighboring New York.
Source: 2021 State of the State Address to Connecticut legislature , Jan 6, 2021

I have zero tolerance for any ethical malfeasance

I will hold anyone accountable who breaches that trust, starting in my administration. I have zero tolerance for any ethical malfeasance. We hold ourselves to the highest standards. If you see something, say something, and if you don't get the response you deserve, give me a call.
Source: 2022 State of the State Address to Connecticut legislature , Feb 9, 2022

Just turned 69; getting older is kind of liberating

So, I turned 69 yesterday. Time marches on, so we better hurry up. Maybe I am less guarded, a little more blunt, and feeling more urgency to get to yes. Getting older is kind of liberating. I don't want you to wait a generation before you feel equally liberated.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to Connecticut legislature , Jan 4, 2023

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