Cuddly, Wuddly Old Joe

Democrats are eager to kiss and hug Joe Lieberman (literally) now that he holds the balance of power in the Senate. But The New York Times reports he is still "miffed, if not bitter, about what he considers the betrayal of allies who supported an unknown, untested and unfamiliar candidate."  That is, they supported their party's nominee, Ned Lamont, after Lieberman lost the primary  to him and decided to run for re-election on the newly invented Connecticut for Lieberman ticket. I confess that I find party loyalty almost as hard to understand as sports team loyalty, given how little the parties stand for. But isn't this the way it's supposed to work? When you lose the primary, aren't you supposed to graciously congratulate your opponent and then support him in the general election? And if you're such a self-aggrandizing, disloyal prick that you refuse to do so, can you you really be angry when your fellow party members do what passes for the honorable thing in politics and support a candidate about whom they may have qualms, because he's the one the voters preferred? Apparently you can, if you're Joe Lieberman.