O, Connecticut! How low have ye fallen! Weicker 1973 v. Lieberman 2006

[BurtWorm]

Weicker 1973:

http://www.barnesreview.org/March_2003/Watergate_Revisited/watergate_revisited.html

And then there was Weicker—all 6’ 6” of him—the bull in the china shop, the Jolly Green Maverick who had no love for Nixon and Chuck Colson in particular. Weicker’s father, who was then with the tariff-concerned Textile Conference, had been contacted at some point by Colson. The White House underling told the senior Weicker that the administration would appreciate junior’s pro-vote on the controversial anti-ballistic missile system. It was not exactly a bribe offer, but when Weicker heard about it from his father he rushed down to the White House and blasted the ears off Colson.

Colson never seemed to learn. He approached Weicker in his office during the hearings to plead his case. Before he opened his mouth, Weicker went ballistic and a shaken Colson fled the office. The run-in made headlines.

Like no other member of the committee, Weicker was prepared. Before the panel was even formally announced, Weicker had formed his own investigative unit that interviewed scores of former and current White House employees and campaign officials. Weicker was astutely aware that there were bigger culprits out there than G. Gordon Liddy and James McCord. He zeroed in on Nixon’s chief-of-staff Bob Haldeman.

Weicker’s five-man team put in 16-hour days, and by April they found enough evidence so that the senator could confidently drop two bombs. First he called a press conference and implied his fellow senators were wasting resources concentrating on pawns like Liddy and McCord—which was precisely what the White House wanted—and overlooking bigger fish like Haldeman and former Attorney General John Mitchell who headed the Committee to Reelect the President (CREEP).

At a follow-up press conference, Weicker called for Haldeman’s resignation since he supervised the people who planned and attempted to cover-up the Watergate break-in. Weicker was blasted by his fellow senators for speaking out of turn, but Weicker had achieved his goal in upping the ante of the investigation.



Lieberman 2006:


http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-noreax0408.artapr08,0,7940594,print.story?coll=hc-headlines-home

Perplexing No-Show By Joe

Lieberman Reacts With Silence After Report Ties Leaks To Bush

By MARK PAZNIOKAS
Courant Staff Writer

April 8 2006

News of President Bush authorizing leaks of intelligence reports to discredit critics of the Iraq war broke before noon Thursday. Democrats quickly lined up to demand a public accounting.

Conspicuous in his silence was Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., the politician analysts say could have benefited most by speaking out.

Analysts and operatives in both parties said Friday they were puzzled that Lieberman, whose perceived coziness with the Republican president is fueling a primary challenge by Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont, found nothing to say about Bush for 28 hours.

"Say anything. Even something mildly critical would have no doubt helped in his primary," said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist.

[femmedem]

1. Weicker's still a good man.

Before Ned Lamont announced, Weicker said he might come out of retirement to run against Lieberman if no one else stepped up.

[killerbush]

2. Weicker was a buffoon

I remember him walking through a crowd, and getting pelted by eggs. I would have loved to see Lowell run, just so Lieberman would have kicked his ass one more time. Also, Ned Lamont is a one trick pony. when all is said and done, he'll be just another footnote in the long line of people Lieberman wiped out.

[femmedem]

3. Why don't you like Weicker?

Sincere question: it sounds like you've lived in CT longer than I have. Because of the state income tax (a good idea,IMHO) or was it something else?

If Lamont can defeat Lieberman, I'd consider that one damned good trick.

[BurtWorm]

5. Welcome to DU, femmedem!

:toast:

[femmedem]

6. Thanks for the welcome.

And thanks for the post. I had forgotten that bit of history about Weicker. I was still a kid back then, and not a CT resident.

[BurtWorm]

4. I seriously doubt Lieberman will be longer remembered than Weicker.

Lieberman's main accomplishment: First Jewish nominee to run for VP for a major party. And look what hay he may of that opportunity! :eyes:

Weicker's main accomplishment: Being a nonpartisan (albeit officially Republican) leader in the Senate Judiciary Committee's case against Richard Nixon, the only president so far to resign in disgrace.

[Neil Lisst]

7. Weicker was a great, great senator! Joe L. is terrible.

[BurtWorm]

8. kick

[BurtWorm]

9. Lieberman doesn't rule out running as an independent

if he loses the primary:

http://connecticutblog.blogspot.com/2006/04/joe-lieberman-refuses-to-rule-out.html

Here's the audioclip of Joe's stunning answer that shocked all who attended the meeting. Below is the transcript

Joe Lalli: Ned Lamont has already stated that he would support you if you won the Democratic nomination and Zell Miller once stated that he would always be a member of the Democratic party. Can you make similar promises?

LIEBERMAN: I'll always be a member of the Democratic party. I hope there's not a primary. I'm confident if there is one, I'll win it, but I'm not gonna rule out any other option for now because I feel so strongly that I can do better for the State of Connecticut for the next six years in the United States Senate that I want to give all the voters a chance to make that decision on Election day in November. I want to do it as a Democrat. If I didn't want to do it as a Democrat, I would choose to run in some other party, trust me. But I want to do it as a Democrat because I believe in the Democratic party, so really the choice is up to my fellow Democrats...

In other words, stop the primary challenge or I'll jump ship and allow all the voters (including that 70+ of Republicans who LOVE me) to vote for me in November as an Independent.