Which Way, Joe?
Will Joe Lieberman support the Republican candidate for President in 2008, reasons why or why not, and what’s the political value to him?
Hmmm…. my answer right now would be, “It depends.”
Lieberman — who will still have four years left on his term when Candidate X is sworn in — faces some tough choices:
If he supports the Republican candidate, and if the Democrats gain the WH and sizable majorities in Congress — as expected — then Lieberman’s support of a Republican will see him lose all the perks that accompanied his so-called “caucusing” with the Dems – namely the chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Assuming those gains, Joe will be stripped of what power he has by the Democrats, and we all know Joe isn’t about to be relegated to the back of the pack, below even the freshman Dems.
On the other hand, if things come down to a horse race in the Senate, supporting the Republican candidate for President could work out for him. By agreeing to caucus with them, he gains access to all those rich Republican donors and gets to keep his committee assignments — just as he did when he agreed to support the Democratic Party’s agenda.
My prognostication right now is that Joe will play his “centrist” card for the next year in order to position himself as the “elder statesman” who’s thinking of “what’s best for the nation” while garnering plenty of blog mentions, column inches, and air time in which to undercut the Democrats. His goal will be to prevent sizable wins by the Dems, while simultaneously pretending to be one.
Whichever party looks to gain the most power in August/September 2008 will be Joe’s BFFs for life.
A Republican In Dem’s Clothing
Like many people, I hate finding out I’ve been snookered. I really dislike feeling as though I voted for a pig in a poke. I really, really dislike discovering that I campaigned for a wannabe-Republican.
So, I can only imagine how Howie Klein feels on realizing that a Blue America-approved candidate turned out to be….another one of them.
Chris Carney, our PA-10 CongressCritter voted with Republicans and against the Hate Crimes bill.
Unfortunately for those of us living in the 10th District, it isn’t the only time he’s voted against his party and against the progressive values he claimed while running and soliciting money from progressive voters.
At Firedoglake, Howie delivers the bad news:
… even in the short time Chris Carney has been in Congress, he has moved further and further away from all the other Blue America endorsees who won seats.
In terms of supporting progressive issues in general, he has established himself at the bottom of the barrel among the freshmen, along with candidates we chose not to endorse […] Some of us were disappointed but none of the writers at DownWithTyranny, Firedoglake or Crooks & Liars chose to castigate Carney. And then something happened that has made us decide to speak up. We realized Chris Carney lied to us.
In the course of last year’s midterms I had several relaxed and pleasant conversations with candidate Carney and, unlike other netroots groups, Blue America endorsed him. We encouraged our members to volunteer for his campaign and to help raise consciousness in PA-10 about Don “The Choker” Sherwood… and to donate money to the campaign. 722 of our members made donations to Carney’s campaign.
[snip]
When he wanted our support he told us he favors equality for the GLBT community, something he also made clear to the folks at Project Vote Smart when he checked the little box that indicates he would like to “Require that crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, and disability be prosecuted as federal hate crimes.” So weren’t we in for a surprise a few days ago when Congressman Carney joined 13 of the most die-hard reactionary Democratsto vote against the Hate Crimes bill. in the House — near-Republicans who almost always support a reactionary social agenda …
[snip]
Based on my research and interview with candidate Carney, Blue America had endorsed him and hundreds of our members had donated effort and money to his campaign. Some of these donors are members of the GLBT community and others have friends and family who are part of that community and others just like to think that the candidates they contribute to will support equality as a core value. Chris Carney let us down, violently. [all emphasis mine]
One thing for sure, I’m not about to blame Blue America or Howie Klein personally for not being prescient enough to realize Mr. Carney was checking all the right boxes in order to get some financial help from the netroots. (Oh sure, maybe it wasn’t premeditated…and maybe I’ve got some ocean-front property in Arizona up for sale.)
I’m counting myself lucky that I didn’t donate a large amount to Carney’s campaign, but I would like a refund on the $10 I spent on lawn signs and bumper stickers.
NARAL and Planned Parenthood Endorse Lieberman?!
What in the hell is wrong with these people??
Like others, I begin to suspect an addiction to cocktail weenies among the national organization’s Powers-That-Be that blinds them to reality.
Nothing else could explain the dissonance between their stated goals and the actions of Joe Lieberman.
From FireDogLake, I learned that Ned Lamont wasn’t even included in the process. WTF?
What process could result in something this stupid? National must be smoking something good if they’re incapable of looking at these two particular candidates and seeing which one firmly supports their cause of women’s reproductive freedom, and which one who barely pays lip service to the cause.
I sent NARAL a little note from their feedback page and asked if they plan to endorse Rick Santorum next? At this point they’ve done so much damage to their own organization, a little more isn’t even going to be noticed.
I also told them that I’m hoping their chapters throughout Connecticut break with the nationa organization l and encourage their members to vote for Lamont.
Three cheers for NOW which is supporting the right candidate.
Send NARAL a message here.
Support Ned Lamont.
Support the National Organization of Women.
*
Much more (and better) on this topic at: FireDogLake, MyDD, and Tennessee Guerilla Women.
Ned Lamont – Veni, Vedi, Vici
He came, he saw, he conquered – the Democratic party establishment.
No, he didn't 'win' but by gaining a full one-third of the vote, and thus a spot on the ballot in August, Ned Lamont has just shown the Democratic party big-wigs that listening to the people and standing up for what one believes in is more than just speech filler. The people are listening to Lamont and other challengers because they know the party is not listening to us.
Most estimates prior to the convention had Lamont winning lessing than the 15% needed to be on the ballot. Conventional wisdom said there was no way an unknown – without a huge warchest and with 'only' netroots support – could ever seriously challenge Joe Lieberman.
Joe Lieberman, a man who tells rape victims that it's 'only' a short ride to another hospital for emergency contraception, who voted to put Strip-Search Sammy on the bench, who votes against his party and sides over and over again with the corrupt Republican monolith, was supremely confident that he'd twisted enough arms, made enough deals, and feathered enough nests to make sure Ned's name would never be seen again.
But what Joe forgot was the 'little' people – the ones with no real power, no real voice. He ignored those who couldn't do anything for him, and it came back to bite him.
Here's my favorite tidbits from the convention conversation at FDL:
Fairfield “realizing that our country and Sean Hannity’s favorite Democrat is going in the wrong direction” goes 18-6 Lamont.
"We asked for a visit from Lieberman in February and we’re still waiting for a call back. Southbury proudly casts 5 votes for Ned Lamont."
As I pointed out in the previous post, the voters are tired of being ignored. We're tired of Schumer, Clinton, Emmanuel, etc telling us how we ought to feel. We're tired of them following politely – and two steps behind – the Rubber-Stamp Republicans. We're tired that none of them has the spine to speak up. We're tired of being figuratively patted on the head and told not to worry about any of that 'grown-up' stuff when we question their stance on Iraq, the deficit, lying, spying, bribes, and so much more.
As the Connecticut Democratic Convention just showed, the Democratic party big-wigs can ignore bloggers and activists…at their own peril. The voices of the American people have been gaining strength over the past 6 years, and now the activists in the netroots and the grassroots are asking the Democrats one thing:
"Can you hear me now?"
Activists ‘Punishing their own’
Aside from the writing of the article, which implies progressives are being unreasonable, this is just one more example proving that the Powers-That-Be in the Democratic Party just don't get it.
Bloggers and others can talk until they're blue in the face, but in the end, the PTB will continue feeding each other the same bullshit while standing in the same echo chamber. They don't want to hear what we're saying, and they don't want to know anything that contradicts their own limited view of the world – which is restricted to DC.
From Common Dreams: [all emphasis mine]
Democratic activist groups that mounted an aggressive campaign against President George W. Bush in the 2004 election have a new target: Democrats who support his policies.
A loose network of organizations, ranging from women's groups to Internet bloggers, is pressuring incumbents such as Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Representatives Jane Harman of California and Melissa Bean of Illinois, in some cases by backing insurgent candidates in primary elections.
The groups charge that these and other Democrats have been too supportive of Bush on issues like Iraq and trade, and say they're trying to energize voters disillusioned with a party that has failed to draw clear distinctions with Republicans.
With Democrats holding a wide advantage in public-opinion polls six months before the congressional elections, the party must define its identity, said David Sirota, a Democratic activist.
“If Democrats are really about to get into power, now's the time to let them know what they need to be for,'' said Sirota, who wrote “Hostile Takeover,'' a book about political corruption.
The organizations and Web logs that identify themselves as the party's ``progressive'' wing include MoveOn.org, a coalition of groups that raised $60 million and enlisted 100,000 volunteers in the 2004 elections; DailyKos, a blog that averages 20 million visitors a month; and Democracy for America, a political action committee with 500 affiliates.
Lovely use of 'insurgent' as a descriptor – thus ensuring readers identify progressive candidates with terrorists. Also, note the use of quotes around progressive, creating the impression that progressive is just another word for…..you guessed it…….ultra-liberal.
Ed Kilgore, vice president for policy of the Democratic Leadership Council — a Washington-based group that says it represents the party's “vital center'' — cautions that the primary challenges risk undermining the Democratic Party just as it may be poised to regain control of Congress.
“At a time when we're desperately trying to take back Congress and win a majority of governorships, I'm not sure it makes a whole lot of sense for Democrats nationally to be wasting money on primary challenges,'' Kilgore said.
Yo, Ed. Wake up and smell the coffee! This isn't about wasting money. This is about the fact that YOU and nearly every other Democrat or advisor or policy wonk doesn't seem to understand that the voters want YOU and your PARTY to take a stand.
We're sending a message here: LISTEN to – and STAND UP for – your constituents or GET OUT OF THE WAY and let someone else do the job.
``The other part of this is getting candidates to stand up for what they believe in and not being mealy-mouthed about it,'' said Jim Dean, president of Democracy for America, a group inspired by former Vermont Governor Howard Dean's presidential run in 2004. Jim Dean, Howard's brother, cited Massachusetts Senator John Kerry's call in October for a phased withdrawal from Iraq and expression of regret over his vote for the war.
That's what it's all about, Ed.
Had the Democratic incumbents grown some spines before now, had they stood up to El Jefe and the Republican Rubber-Stamp Congress, had they supported their own members – Russ Feingold, Jack Murtha, John Kerry – when they took a stand, then we might have allowed them to keep their jobs.
Instead, they ignored us, they played nice with the other side on every issue, and they continue acting like Republican-lites.
So now….game on.
Got it?
Lieberman – as compassionate as a serial killer
Via FireDogLake:
Remember when Bush's favorite Democrat, Joe Lieberman said Catholic hospitals shouldn't be forced to give emergency contraception to rape victims and that "In Connecticut, it shouldn't take more than a short ride to get to another hospital,"?
Well, Connecticut Bob had an idea:
But here's a suggestion: Why don't you provide maps for the victims, so they can walk out of the Emergency Rooms of the various Catholic hospitals around the state, hail a cab, and take that "short ride" to another hospital?
But, he must have realized he was talking to the wrong guy. Compassionless Joe wasn't likely to do that, so CT Bob went ahead and did it himself.
[…] knowing how difficult it is to even GET a cab at 2AM, I'll include the distance between the hospitals, in case the victims have to walk (or crawl) there.
So here ya go, Joe. Just print these out and send them to the Catholic hospitals Emergency Rooms. (Of course, we all know they wouldn't even give them to the victims, but it can't hurt to try…)
The maps make it very clear just how much 'love' Joe has for rape victims.
In New Haven, the distance between the Hospital of St. Raphael and Yale New Haven Hospital is 1.37 miles, or a 27-minute walk. It's worse for women raped in the Bridgeport area. The distance between hospitals is 2.73 miles, or a 54-minute walk.
Naturally, this assumes the rape victims are able to walk. Unfortunately, Bob didn't include expected times for those women who must crawl between hospitals due to the severity of their injuries and the lack of available cabs at late hours.
You Have Spoken
-
Commenting Notice: Because spammers are getting faster in finding workarounds to my spam filter, I'm now moderating all comments containing links.
If your comment doesn't show up right away, it's caught in the filter and will be released at some point - usually within 24 hours.
-
“I don’t have an agenda, I don’t have a program. I’m not a communist or a socialist. I guess I’m a left-libertarian and a populist, and I believe in the Bill of Rights the way some folks believe in the Bible.”
– Molly Ivins, 1944-2007
Stats
The Lady Speaks 