Liberal activists, including some California Democrats, are furious with Sen. Barbara Boxer -- a leading critic of the Iraq war -- for her active support of Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Democrat who staunchly defends the war in Iraq. Lieberman is fighting for his political life in Connecticut, facing an anti-war opponent, cable magnate Ned Lamont, in an Aug. 8 Senate primary. Lieberman, his party's nominee for vice president in 2000, has already announced he will run as an independent in the fall if he loses the primary.That decision has divided his Senate colleagues and Democrats nationwide. And the Lieberman race has ignited a fiery debate among Democrats, now raging on political blogs, about loyalty, political principles and whether the three-term senator has betrayed his party and should be tossed out. Boxer, a California Democrat, said she decided to support Lieberman, and campaign for him in Connecticut, even though ``we have no common ground surrounding the issue of the Iraq war.'' Lieberman has been one of her ``staunchest allies'' on the environment and reproductive rights, two issues very important to her, Boxer said in a statement. ``I will be campaigning with him to let the voters know about his record on those issues.''