Consumer activist Ralph Nader, who has tangled publicly with both Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman, is quite pleased that Lieberman will be leaving the U.S. Senate after 24 years.
Democrats praised Lieberman throughout the day on Wednesday, but Nader did not join in on the accolades.
"He couldn't leave the Senate fast enough as far as I'm concerned,'' Nader said in a telephone interview with Capitol Watch from his office in Washington, D.C. "He's not only driving Democrats nuts down here, but he's become a right-wing extremist on everything except the environment and gay rights.''
Despite Lieberman's career as a national figure and a major player in Connecticut politics for three decades, Nader said that his decision to retire from the Senate is not the end of an era.
"It's the end of a nightmare,'' Nader said.
Nader, who maintains his voting registration in Connecticut, has followed Lieberman since his days at Yale Law School in New Haven.
"He was working on a biography of John Bailey,'' Nader recalled.
As Lieberman will be leaving the stage when his term expires in two years, Nader is now pushing a longtime friend to run for the open seat.
"I've got a favorite in the race: Bill Curry,'' Nader said. "He was six months too early on Rowland when he ran against him'' in 2002.
"He's got enormously good insight,'' Nader said of Curry. "He's a strong political talent. He's enormously knowledgeable on a lot of subjects.''
Concerning the expected candidacy of U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy of Cheshire, Nader said, "He's not seasoned enough. Bill has been through it all.''