The hottest story in the 2006 political election season is the U.S. Senate primary in Connecticut between Joe Lieberman and Ned Lamont.

Lieberman is the 3-term incumbent senator, former Democratic vice-presidential nominee, and presidential candidate.  Ned Lamont is more or less a political upstart, yet recent polls show Lamont with a slight lead.   Now, Lieberman is a bonafide leftist, a consistent supporter of government regulatory practices, and he's never met a tax hike he didn't like.  Lieberman generally leans left on virtually every position....except Israel.

And that's where the problem comes in, and where you understand why Lieberman has so many problems winning the Democratic primary despite being a loyal Democrat in a strong Democratic state.

Lieberman is losing the primary because he is Jewish.  Plain and simple.

You can't say it's simply because Lieberman supports the War in Iraq.  Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Evan Bayh have supported the war, and while they have received criticism, not to the extent that Lieberman has experienced. 

Lieberman's Jewish heritage and his staunch support for Israel makes him a key target for the left, which has a extreme dislike for Israel and blames the country for the unrest in the Middle East.  In certain circles they still believe that Israel talked Bush into going into Iraq for their own safety.  Thus, Lieberman is placed as a symbol of American support for Israel and a foreign policy that the left despises like no other.

If this had been a Republican primary, you would see tons of stories in the media "discussing" the hidden anti-semitism within the Republican Party, and the vocal dislike for Israel.  Hell; they just went through that with the Dubai ports deal debacle.  Of course, it won't be discussed in detail, and the primary race will only be depicted as the up and coming political novice taking on the Washington insider and the Jewish lobby, when it is actually so much more.