CONNECTICUT SENATOR JOE LIEBERMAN IS searching for a firm to manage his campaign's Web site for the upcoming election--and coming up short.


So far, two Democratic Web site consultants have turned down the campaign because they don't want to cross party lines. Lieberman, who recently lost the Democratic primary for Senate to challenger Ned Lamont, is now running as an Independent. Lieberman's campaign did not return calls for comment.

Blue State Digital, an online communications consultancy, was approached by Lieberman's campaign to run the Web site, Joe2006.com, but declined by e-mail, stating, "Thank you for your inquiry about Blue State Digital's technology services. Unfortunately, we cannot be of service to the Lieberman campaign. We work exclusively with Democratic candidates."

Joe Rospars, co-founder of Blue State Digital, also said that there would be a conflict of interest in running Lieberman's Joe2006.com Web site, because they have already been contracted by Ned Lamont's campaign. "We've been with Ned Lamont since the beginning, we've been his Web vendor, so it's puzzling why they would call us," he said.

Lamont's campaign Web site blog also reported that a second Democratic online political advertising firm and campaign site manager, PlusThree, declined to work on Lieberman's Web site. PlusThree did not return calls for comment.