I often vote for the more extreme Democratic candidates in a primary, like Al Sharpton in the presidential primary. I have no desire to see these people in office, but I like being a trouble-maker. Isn't that what good Democrats do, speak truth to power and all that? By voting for the far-left Democratic candidates, I help open space for moderate independents and Republicans to maintain their iron grip on power. And in the mean time, I get a valuable voting record to trot out when I need to show progressives that I'm not really a crypto-fascist Texas gun nut. Somehow my past support for John Anderson and Ross Perot never impresses people, so I figured I'd better get some Democrats on my voting record.

Now I could support Lieberman. I like his record, his willingness to support Bush. The Republican nominee, Alan Schlesinger, has been involved in local politics but has had gambling debt problems in the past, so he's not going anywhere but back home.

So, what's a Democratic Jew to do? Being that I'm well-versed in the Dick Morris school of deep-thinking political triangulation, my idea is to vote for Lamont and let him be the Democratic nominee. Then, get behind Lieberman's independent bid, now being planned in case Lamont unseats him with the August 8 primary. With Schlesinger (if he stays on) as the non-entity GOP candidate, the November election would rematch Lieberman v. Lamont, this time with non-Democrats in the fray.

If Lamont wins the nomination wth heavy moonbat support, expect him to become even more strident, and get totally tangled up in Israel issues. Lieberman, who has said he would continue his Democratic affiliation if re-elected as an independent, can sweep into office with support from moderate pro-Israel Democrats, aghast Republicans who won't vote for the tarnished GOP candidate, and independent mavericks like me who vote in bizarre, unpredictable patterns (but I only vote once per election, promise).

Bottom line: a win-win-win-win situation. The Democrats get to say a far-left progressive put up a good fight, the independent types chalk up a moral and actual victory, the GOP keeps a sometimes-ally in the Senate while blocking a left-wing presence in the Senate, and America's favorite Orthodox senator gets to keep his day job for another six years.