The Connecticut for Lieberman party has a new chairman

I hope this fellow is successful in keeping Lieberman's self-importance, pomposity and self-regard in the spotlight for the next six long years.

According to bylaws established by Orman, anyone whose last name is Lieberman may seek the party's nomination - or any critic of the senator.

Orman seized control of the Connecticut for Lieberman Party this week after registering as its sole member and electing himself as chairman.

Orman has triggered a process that will force Lieberman and state elections officials to decide the future of a party created solely to return the senator to Washington.

"It's an interesting little wrinkle," said Michael Kozik, managing attorney for the secretary of the state's legislation and elections administration division. Orman has forwarded his intention to register with the party and keep it alive to the secretary of the state for review.

"I'm just trying to get the ball rolling so the state will say if it is a legitimate party or not," Orman said yesterday.

After losing the August primary to Ned Lamont of Greenwich, Lieberman and his supporters collected 7,500 signatures necessary for him to run as a petition candidate in the general election. He then got the support of 29 friends and relatives to establish the Connecticut for Lieberman Party - 25 people are necessary to form a new minor party.

Lieberman prevailed over Lamont, Republican Alan Schlesinger and two other minor party candidates Nov. 7 and returned to the U.S. Senate. He will caucus with Democrats but wants to labeled an "Independent Democrat."

Orman, a registered Democrat, challenged the legitimacy of the Connecticut for Lieberman Party before the Elections Enforcement Commission in late August. Orman said the party was created for one man, its members had not changed their party registration, and it lacked a platform and the required rules for nominating candidates.

In an interview at the time, Kozik said Lieberman and his supporters had followed the proper procedures. He also said a new party is not required to submit nominating rules until it wins 1 percent of the vote in its first election.

With Connecticut for Lieberman having achieved its victory earlier this month, Orman made his move. He contacted the secretary of the state, learned the new minor party had no registered members, then visited the registrar in Trumbull, where he lives, to switch from a Democrat to a Connecticut for Lieberman-ite.

Via Charles Pierce.