 (CNN) -- Officials with U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman's re-election campaign say that "dirty politics" and "Rovian tactics" are to blame for what they call an online attack on their campaign Web site as Connecticut voters headed to the polls Tuesday. The Web site, http://www.joe2006.com, has been unavailable since Monday afternoon, and Lieberman campaign manager Sean Smith suggested that the campaign of senator's primary opponent, Ned Lamont, or his supporters were responsible for the disruption.
| That'd pretty much be my first guess, too. Prob'ly my second guess, too... |
"This type of dirty politics has been a staple of the Lamont campaign from the beginning, from the nonstop personal attacks to the intimidation tactics and offensive displays to these coordinated efforts to disable our Web site," said Smith in a statement e-mailed to reporters Monday evening. "There is no place for these Rovian tactics in Democratic politics, and we demand that our opponent calls off his supporters and their online attack dogs."
| Karl is no doubt enjoying a Rovian chuckle at this very moment as his political opposition gnaws each other... |
The Lamont campaign has denied any involvement.
When asked by reporters at a campaign stop Tuesday if he or his campaign was responsible for the incident, Lamont said, "No, it's just another scurrilous charge."
| "Yasss! A scurrilous charge made up out of whole cloth by my enemies!" |
Liz Dupont-Diehl, a Lamont spokeswoman, told CNN that the campaign "denounced and condemned" the action, and denied any involvement by Lamont or members of his campaign. She added that the Lamont campaign did not know who was behind the incident.
The site became unavailable at some point Monday afternoon and features the message: "This account is under construction. Please check back soon. It will be available shortly. Thank you." Various messages have appeared since Monday night in place of the Lieberman Web site, including "There is no Web site configured at this address" and "This account has been suspended. Please contact the billing/support department as soon as possible." |