George Will: Lieberman: The Alternative Among Democrats

[Larkspur]

from The Hartford Courant (registration is free)
http://www.ctnow.com/news/opinion/op_ed/hc-will0911.artsep11,1,379628.story?coll=hc-headlines-oped

All candidates for a party's presidential nomination should be Orthodox Jews, at least while campaigning. They would all have a duty, as Joseph Lieberman does, to repair to their hearths from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday, for a needed respite from the physical and moral wear and tear of incessant pandering to the party's most ideologically demanding cadre, its nominating electorate.

Actually, Lieberman needs this respite less than his rivals because he panders less, having a long record of centrism at the national level. That is his perhaps insurmountable problem.

A comparison with Sen. Scoop Jackson in 1976 is imperfect but instructive. Jackson's strong stands on national security issues were unpalatable to the party that four years earlier had nominated George McGovern. Today, the Democratic base is in a similar distemper that Howard Dean's campaigning is deepening.

This distemper - President Bush is as bad as it is possible to be, and Attorney General Ashcroft is worse - calls to mind an exasperated Englishman's characterization of the Irish as people who "do not gladly suffer common sense." To much of the Democrats' activist cadre, this, from Lieberman in the recent debate in New Mexico, is insufferable: "I believe that the war against Saddam was right, and that the world is safer with him gone." Never mind that most of the country agrees with that.
<SNIP>

[CMT]

1. to oppose a ill advised war in Iraq

like Vietnam naturally makes you weak on national security according to Will and his ilk.

[renie408]

6. Well, he did get one thing right

a lot of Democrats really don't like Lieberman. And you know, I don't think George Will defending him is going to change that much.

[papau]

2. See the DU editorial post on how ineffective Bush has been on terror

Seems the Brits at Oxford can speak truth - unlike our US Media.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=10580

[Avalux]

3. George Will

is an ass. :puke:

[renie408]

4. Thank you

I have been sitting here sputtering, trying to come up with exactly what I wanted to say.

But that pretty much covers it.

[BJ]

5. Lieberman's a "Rockefeller" Republican

[Duder]

7. Lieberman = DLC's Al From's choice

As reported in the "American Prospect," the DLC's magazine "Blueprint" was totally financed by the CEO of the Loral Corp. Loral has benefited from lucrative contracts in Afghanistan and Iraq, awarded by the Bush administration. "Blueprint" regularly bashes Democrats who dare to criticize the growing fiasco in Iraq.

[FightinNewDem]

9. Not this again...

Who else has taken money from Loral? Let's take a look...

2004 cycle:

Barbara Boxer
Chris Dodd
Barbara Mikulski
Zoe Lofgren
Nita Lowey
Ed Markey
Jose Serano
Norm Dicks
Anna Eshoo
Jane Harman

2002 cycle:

Dick Durbin
Dan Inouye
Ernest Hollings
Mike Honda
Martin Sabo
Carolyn Maloney
Brian Baird

2000 cycle

Ted Kennedy
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Tom Daschle
Paul Sarbannes
Debbie Stabenow
Jeff Bingaman
Sam Gejdenson
Steny Hoyer
Dick Gephardt
Loretta Sanchez
Grace Napolitano
David Wu

Well, under the DU Protocols of Purity, I guess we have to print up Republican Party membership cards for Ted and Hillary!

[jiacinto]

12. Why do you bother?

People hate Lieberman for reasons that have nothing to do with his political positions. So they aren't interested in the truth.

[Kolesar]

8. Bowtied twerp is delighted that the Dems are struggling with the war issue

I can just read the delight in his verbiage. In his heart, he is probably hoping that we still can keep the oil fields and he can continue to live his dreamy white guy lifestyle.

[lams712]

10. It's VERY magnaminous of George Will...............

....to give props to a Democratic candidate ;-). THANKS George, but we'll take care of our own.


Of course, the fact that George Will is giving props to Joe LIEberman says a lot about LIEberman, doesn't it????

[jeter]

11. Lieberman: Every Republicans favorite Democrat

Need I say more?

[SixDegrees]

13. I wonder what George Will

was saying about Joe Lieberman three years ago when he was Al
Gore's running mate?