"Kerry's grandfather changed his name? Hah."
"Did I ever tell you my grandfather, Senor Shaquille
O’Liebermanelli Fu Man Ching changed his name?"
Posted on 02/18/2003 10:40:05 AM PST by Liz
...............we do not yet know which version of Joe Lieberman plans to run for President. His decision will in large part shape the nature and tone of the race for the Democratic nomination.
Senator Lieberman has an interesting resume and personal story. Initially a political unknown, Lieberman’s big break came when he won a huge upset in the race for Connecticut Attorney General. He then scored an even bigger upset by defeating the long time liberal giant of Connecticut politics, Republican/Independent Lowell Weiker.
Prior to running for national office, Lieberman staked out a reputation as a real and somewhat entrepreneurial moderate. He supported Social Security reform and argued for personal retirement accounts. As a Orthodox Jew, he pressed for school choice – illustrating the real issue is improving education, not so-called government support for faith-based schools. He chaired the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) and actually used the position to challenge much of the liberal dogma of the left wing of his party. This version of Joe Lieberman won the praise of the likes of conservative Jack Kemp, who called him “one of us.”
And then there is the national candidate Joe Lieberman. This version turned out to be a real disappointment. Within a week of Al Gore selecting him as Vice President, Lieberman has renounced his support for Social Security reform. He called personal retirement accounts a “terrible idea.” Previous support for marginal rate reductions morphed into a daily attack on the Bush tax cut. To his credit, while he stopped talking about school choice, he never renounced his support for the idea.
It would be easy to say Lieberman had no choice as Al Gore’s running mate but to adopt his boss’s policy. He has recently criticized the Gore Lieberman “people vs. the powerful” message of 2000. So perhaps it might be unfair to judge him on the four months he traveled the country as a national candidate. Perhaps. That’s Joe Lieberman’s dilemma.
Lieberman has not yet won the chance to run his own general election against President Bush. He first must master the process and collect the delegates to win the Democratic nomination. So he must decide which version of Joe Lieberman is running for President of the United States. Where does he stand on personal retirement accounts? Former president Clinton recently hinted to the DLC that he thinks they are a winning idea. Can Lieberman use this cover to stake a bold, entrepreneurial position in the primaries?
What about school choice? Here things get really tough for Lieberman. Almost one-third of the delegates to the Democratic convention in 1996 were members of the National Education Association. It will take one heck of a politician to manage his way successfully through the Democratic primaries as a school choice supporter.
No other candidate in the potential democratic field has more difficult decisions to make about the nature of his candidacy. But, at the same time, no other potential candidate has the ability to shape the entire nature and tone of the race. Lieberman, if he’s willing can use his candidacy to try and move the Democratic Party to the mainstream center. In other words he could demonstrate leadership by risking his candidacy on issues and ideals that have defined his career. Or, he could decide to play it safe and use his name ID and life story as his hook to the presidential nomination.
Should he decide to take the path of boldness, Lieberman would be a tougher opponent in the general election against President Bush. But the country would be better-off with that type of campaign.
Paul Beckner is president and CEO of Citizens for a Sound Economy.
A good question voters might ask Lieberman is what life-changing event caused his slippery, unpredictable moods, taking contrasting, sometimes diametrically opposed, political positions.
This guy is truly one for the books.
"Kerry's grandfather changed his name? Hah."
"Did I ever tell you my grandfather, Senor Shaquille
O’Liebermanelli Fu Man Ching changed his name?"
Correction: It would be accurate to say that Lieberman has no scruples and will dump his own beliefs (if they really ever were his own) just to become vice president.
LIEberman epitomizes the expedient, opportunistic, conscienceless politician who will do or say anything to win.
How does this numbskull get away with it? We have the "Stepford Democrats" to thank. Mind-numbed robots who don't think or challenge or ask questions. These automatons vote the Dummycrat ticket no matter what lowlife is running.
Unfortunately, the rest of us are forced to endure Dumbocrap lowlifes like LIEberman.
algore did the exact same thing in 88 when he ran for POTUS. He abandoned most every position that he ever espoused previously - all in order to get the nomination in the more liberal states.
This is one of the reasons that I admire Ron Paul so much. While I don't agree with all of his stands, he doesn't back down, he doesn't reverse himself, and he doesn't bend with the prevailing winds no matter how unpopular his views make him.
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