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August 09, 2006
Joe Lieberman Needs to Step Aside
If Connecticut voters needed any more evidence that Joe Lieberman is not a "true Democrat," as many have exclaimed, or, at the very least, is not loyal to his party or his constituents, they got it when JoeMentum confirmed last night that he would run as an "Independent Democrat," against Ned Lamont and the Republican nominee to hold onto his Senate seat.
"For the sake of our state, our country, and my party, I cannot and will not let that result stand," said Lieberman about his failed primary bid (emphasis mine).
Conventional wisdom says that Lieberman's move will split the Democratic vote and ensure a Republican victory. While the November election could prove the exception to the rule (since many Connecticut Republicans support Lieberman and, so far, the likely GOP nominee for the seat, Alan Schlesinger, isn't gathering much steam), Lieberman's willingness to risk a GOP victory in Connecticut and retention of the Senate in 2006 just proves that he cares more about himself than his party or his constituents.
Lieberman is calling himself an "Independent Democrat." There is no such thing.
Sadly, the political reality on the ground in the modern United States is that a candidate either represents a party or is an "Independent." Lieberman's "Independent Democrat" nomenclature is window dressing for the kicking and screaming child within.
Add this childishness to Lieberman's decision to support Bush's Iraq policy and you get what Lieberman himself ironically dubbed "JoeMentum" -- a downward spiral to political loss.
Many politicians cross party lines on an issue here and there, and are not tarred and feathered for it. Much has been made of Lieberman's unwavering support for Bush's Iraq policy and it is true that his support for a policy that is acutely unpopular with Democrats and, increasingly, with voters of all parties was, in the end, beyond the bounds of political safety.
But his real death knell, of course, came from the venom Dems felt over Joe Lieberman's complacent willingness to offer a reacharound to the same man who, in 2000, unapologetically reamed him out of his just claim to the vice presidency.
There's the rub. To many Democrats, Lieberman simply looks like a lapdog to the GOP. To appear as Bush's little Dem bitch in a time when the GOP's lockstep unity has marginalized anyone left of Dick Cheney, is unacceptable. The majority of Connecticut Democrats last night made it clear that they want their party and their representative to face the GOP head on, not prone. That the newcomer Ned Lamont better reflects their ideals, values, and interests than does Joe Lieberman.
But Lieberman just doesn't care. He is thinking not of his constituents, but of himself. He just wants to keep his Senate seat, probably to foster his delusion that one day he can still win the presidency, or at least the vice presidency.
Joe, if you want to prove to your accusers that they're wrong -- take one for the team. Bow out gracefully, go out with some dignity and complete your corrupt bargain with Bush to replace Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense.
Posted by MJuhre at August 9, 2006 09:46 AM