Posted on 08/10/2006 1:33:03 AM PDT by NapkinUser
"Joe, why are you doing this?"
That is a question Joe Lieberman will hear again and again from old friends, as he mounts his "independent" campaign for the Senate seat his own party voted on Tuesday to take away from him.
And there is no compelling answer Joe can give.
Joe insists he's a progressive Democrat in the mainstream of the party and has a voting record to prove it. But Ned Lamont is a progressive (i.e., liberal) Democrat, and the Connecticut party chose him as its Senate nominee, not Joe.
Joe could say Iraq is the dividing line and the critical issue facing America. But Tuesday's primary was a referendum on Iraq, and the Connecticut Democratic Party voted to declare itself antiwar. And Joe does not even intend to run as a war Democrat in November. For he knows it would drive away an even larger share of the Democratic and independent vote than he lost on Tuesday.
But if he will not run as a principled pro-war senator, what, then, is the argument for re-electing Joe? For the transparent conclusion is that his independent campaign is simply about Joe's unwillingness to accept the verdict of his party and give up his cherished Senate seat.
Thus we find Joe declaring, in his concession speech where he announced his independent candidacy, that the true great divide between him and Ned Lamont is on the burning issue of -- civility in politics.
"I am, of course, disappointed by the results," said Joe. "I'm disappointed not just because I lost, but because the old politics of partisan polarization won today. For the sake of our state, our country and my party, I cannot and will not let that result stand."
Joe is running to save Connecticut and America from the savage politics of Ned Lamont?
Joe is a nice and decent man, with many friends across this town, but this is just not sustainable.
First, it is a slur on the Democratic Party of Joe's home state, which bought into Lamont's supposedly low-road tactics. Second, to strip votes from Lamont on the issue of his "politics of partisan polarization," Joe will have to rip into the Democratic nominee for running a dirty and divisive campaign, which is certain to enrage all the Democrats working to elect Lamont.
Third, Lamont is a "Pepperidge Farm" candidate, in the witty phrase of columnist Mike Barnacle. He did not call Joe a warmonger or a fascist, or run Willie Horton ads against him.
Fourth, if Lamont won only by McCarthyite tactics, how does Joe explain why every national and state Democrat -- including Bill and Hillary Clinton and Al Gore -- is hastening to endorse Lamont?
What are the real reasons behind Joe's defeat? Like J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, dumped in a 1974 primary, a senator must beware of becoming so taken with his stature as a statesmen that he loses touch with the home folks. Second, pro-war and pro-Bush Democrats are an endangered species in deep blue states.
This is good news for Gore, an authentic antiwar Democrat and Mr. Global Warming, who will open with a pair of aces, if he enters the primaries. John Kerry and John Edwards have already defected to the antiwar camp. And Hillary's scourging of Don Rumsfeld and call for his resignation suggest the Clintons are not missing any signals.
But this week has also provided a glimpse into the character and convictions of our neo-conservatives, who claim direct descent from Ronald Reagan. In a lead editorial, the Weekly Standard called on Bush to fire Rumsfeld and make Joe Lieberman secretary of defense. And the Pentagon is only to be a stepping stone.
Rhapsodizes editor William Kristol, "Is it too fanciful to speculate about a 2008 ticket of McCain-Lieberman, or Guiliani-Lieberman ... ?"
In short, the Weekly Standard wishes to see, on a Republican ticket and a heartbeat away from the presidency, a proud liberal Democrat who supports partial-birth abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, gay rights, affirmative action, reparations for slavery, gun control, higher taxes on the top 2%, distribution of condoms in public schools and driver's licenses for illegal aliens.
What does Joe oppose? School prayer, the American Legion's flag amendment, Sam Alito, drilling in the ANWR and any phase-out of death taxes.
Last year, Joe's rating by Americans for Democratic Action was 80. The ACLU gave him an 83, the NAACP an 85, the AFL-CIO a 92, LULAC a perfect 100. In 2004, Joe got a 100 rating from the National Abortion Rights Action League and a zero from National Right to Life. His American Conservative Union rating was zero. His Christian Coalition rating was zero. The National Rifle Association, which grades by letters, gave Joe a big, fat "F."
But as long as you support war in Lebanon, war in Iraq and a "war-fighting Republican Party," in the Weekly Standard's phrase, you get a pass on everything else. Beat the drum for permanent war for global democracy and against Islamo-fascism, and all other sins are forgiven you.
Such is the state of conservatism, 2006.
Pat is a neo-dumbass.
That's like everybody and their grandmother.
I'm willing to bet that there are a lot more neo-cons (like me, but non-Jewish) than there are neo-libs. Something about getting older and maturing.
The word Neo-Con has undergone a transformation something like the word "Liberal".
Neo-Con just used to mean someone who was not a generational Republican. Ronald Reagen was a Neo-Con because he used to be a democrat. As time went by the blue blooded Republicans became alarmed at the influx and did their best to keep these new conservatives out of anything that resembled policy making or party power. As they put it "We may be glad to see the town whore come to church but we will never let her lead the service."
Things went down hill from there.
Well, he learned something from running with Gore--never give up, even if it hurts The Party or The Country.
Pat just enjoys an opportunity to bash a Jew in public.
"retro-lib"
I love it. Smart magazines and bloggers will pick it up. The Cindy Sheehan/Michael Moore branch of politics. Chicago68 socialists.
Neocon is the new [k word]. The insulting [k word] developed as a joke from the yiddish word kiekel, which means circle in yiddish. The recently arrived Jewish immigrants to this country jokingly used to refer to themselves as a circle (kiekel). This was later shortened to the [k word]. Blame it on neo
We are fast approaching an inflection point with Iran and the 'Chamberlains' must not be allowed to prevail.
BUMP
Pat doesn't use the word neoconservative; he uses the anti word, neocon. And I explained in my earlier post what he means by it.
Correction, Pat doesn't use the word neo conservative that much. His basic terminology is neo con and his paleo conservative friends use it too.
How far the man has fallen.
In a lead editorial, the Weekly Standard called on Bush to fire Rumsfeld and make Joe Lieberman secretary of defense.
. . . Rhapsodizes editor William Kristol, "Is it too fanciful to speculate about a 2008 ticket of McCain-Lieberman, or Guiliani-Lieberman ... ?"
In short, the Weekly Standard wishes to see, on a Republican ticket and a heartbeat away from the presidency, a proud liberal Democrat who supports partial-birth abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, gay rights, affirmative action, reparations for slavery, gun control, higher taxes on the top 2%, distribution of condoms in public schools and driver's licenses for illegal aliens.
I'm very interested to know what the hell their agenda is over at the Weekly Standard.
Like I said -- love him or hate him . . .
Buchanan is this war's Charles Lindbergh, wasting no opportunity to persuade his fellow Americans to capitulate to the most unspeakable evil abjectly and early.
Um. OK. I wasn't aware there was an "anti" word. Whatever.
I would think a word is used to describe something. An anti word is used to conceal one's meaning and in this case it's the Joos or the nefarious Joos.
Charles Lindbergh was against foreign entanglements, BEFORE the war started. Once the war started he tried to join up to fight the war but LEFTY ROOSEVELT would not let him join.
He went to work for Lockheed to work on the P38 and went to the pacific to train pilots. During his time there he shot down at least 1 Jap Zero. When news of this got out he had to leave the south pacific as he was a non combatant shooting down enemy combatants and that was a no no.
Yeah, PB is right on this one. The only time Lieberman has any semblance of conservatism is when he is supporting home state business interests (e.g. WOT, his meager defense of gun makers amidst otherwise terrible 2-A record, etc).
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