Posted on 08/19/2004 11:43:11 AM PDT by Reagan Man
WASHINGTON - Get ready for some more "Zell zingers" from the political convention in New York. But this time, a Bush will be the beneficiary, not the target.
Yes, the Zell Miller who Republicans tapped Thursday to deliver the keynote address for President Bush at their convention next month is the same one who lampooned Bush's father 12 years earlier at the Democratic convention in the same New York arena.
In 1992, Miller was Georgia's governor, famous for his Southern style and populist initiatives. Today, he's a maverick senator months away from retirement - still a Democrat in name if not voting record.
With a recent best seller that details his political transformation, Miller's national star is still bright, even in the twilight of his career. Republicans say he's finally free to express his true views. Democrats say he's a turncoat and opportunist.
"This is emblematic of what the Republicans are trying to do with their convention - namely mislead the American people," said Democratic chairman Terry McAuliffe. "Republicans claiming that Miller is a Democrat doesn't make it true."
In accepting the Republican Party's offer to speak Sept. 1, the third day of the four-day convention, Miller, 72, called the president a "strong commander in chief who is guided by the right principles."
That's a far cry from his assessment of Bush's father during the keynote speech for Bill Clinton.
"George Bush is a timid man who hears only the voices of caution and the status quo," Miller said back then. "Let's face facts: George Bush just doesn't get it, he doesn't see it, he doesn't feel it, and he's done nothing about it. That's why we cannot afford four more years."
That was just a sample of the "Zell zingers" peppered throughout the speech.
As for John Kerry, Miller has found kind words for Democratic presidential nominee, calling him "one of this nation's authentic heroes" during the Georgia Democratic Party's Jefferson Jackson Dinner three years ago. Kerry made a return trip to the gathering in April, cracking, "Back then, Zell Miller was a Democrat."
Miller contends his views haven't budged much but that the party he has called home all his life abandoned Southerners like him who care about tax cuts and military strength. He brushes aside suggestions that he should switch to the GOP, particularly this late in his career.
One topic where he has experienced a change of heart is civil rights. As a congressional candidate 40 years ago, Miller argued President Johnson was "a Southerner who sold his birthright for a mess of dark pottage" because of his support for the Civil Rights Act. Miller later disavowed those remarks, even leading an unsuccessful charge to take the Confederate emblem off the Georgia state flag.
Civil rights pioneer John Lewis, the dean of Georgia's congressional delegation, recently called Miller's decision to speak for Bush "a shame and a disgrace." Lewis quipped that, this time, Miller was the one selling his soul for pottage.
Miller, who was appointed and then elected in 2000 to fill the term of the late Republican Sen. Paul Coverdell, isn't seeking re-election when the term ends in January. He doesn't caucus with his party, never meets with lobbyists and hasn't had a fund-raiser since joining the Senate.
His typical day with Congress in session involves showing up for votes, then going home to his wife, Shirley. Often, he doesn't even show up for votes.
"Because frankly, I'd rather spend those hours with Shirley than with anyone else," Miller said. "I don't know how many hours or days I've got to spend with her, and I wasted a lot of that time in my youth out chasing votes."
In recent months, Miller has attached his name mostly to longshot legislation. He has proposed measures to get rid of Senate filibusters and prohibit court rulings that infringe on a public acknowledgment of God.
The former college history professor, who would like return to that line of work next year, says he is under no illusion that Congress will rush to pass such things. However, he explains the next time one of his students asks him why he didn't enact what he advocates, Miller wants to be able to say he tried.
"There will be that footnote in there that this guy, Miller, did point this out back there in 2004," Miller said. "It's part of the 'To thine own self be true.'"
For those wondering if the Dems ever had their act together, listen to Zell at the convention. A class act if there ever was one in the Democratic party.
Zell hit piece from MSM..discredit..don't deal with the issues..just smear, smear, smear.
John Edwards: The political equivalent of breast implants.
That's one Democrat I'd vote for, if he were running for anything.
My brother-in-law is a Blue Dog (Southern) Democrat who is voting Republican more often and will vote for Bush. He says he is now a man without a party because the radical left has taken control of the Dem party.....kinda like Zell.
I for one would love to see MoveOn.org, A.N.S.W.E.R., and a host of other socialist agencies stripped of their political clout.
The Liberals think they should get a pass at anything. Note how they view their boycotts and dissent as "free speech" while they consider Conservative boycott and dissent as "McCarthyist blacklisting." And note how they see nothing wrong with multi-million dollar support for 527 negative campaigning via MoveOn.org and their ilk, but get their panties in a wad over the Swift Vets' ads.
Democrats...they want to have their cake and eat yours too.
Will the media have technical difficulties and not broadcast Zell Miller?
3 to 1 odds, no matter the hour, the Nets black it out.
That would be ugly, but consistent with the LMSM agenda.
Hey McAwful, if Zell isn't a RAT, then why did ULTRA LIBERAL Roy Barnes (RAT-GA) APPOINT him to that Senate seat? In Governor Barnes fond of conservative Republicans and giving them high positions of power? Bwahahaha.
Was Zell a Republican when he voted for your boy Dasshole for majority leader back in 2001? I don't recall anyone reporting that a "conservative" wanted Dasshole for the leadership.
Seems McAwful's really pissed that an INDEPENDANT, CENTRIST Dem realizes how bad the party's nominee is!
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