CLIFFORD SMITH
Staff Writer
Joe Lieberman is one of the most popular senators in the United States, a former vice presidential candidate, and currently, the loser of Democratic primary in his home state of Connecticut. He lost to a man named Ned Lamont, who dislikes the Iraq war, has a big pile of cash, and absolutely nothing else.
Lieberman’s only rival for most popular senator in the United States is Republican troublemaker John McCain. Like McCain, Lieberman had a high-profile national run. Like McCain, he had strong bipartisan appeal. Like McCain, Lieberman is disliked by some in his own party.
Truth be told, he is McCain’s mirror image. McCain is despised by some purists in the Republican party because he bucks the party line occasionally, and vocally chastises his party when he thinks they are wrong. However, by no objective measure can McCain be called anything but a conservative. Likewise, Lieberman is despised by a part of his own party because he bucks the party line on a few issues, yet by no objective standard can he be called anything but a liberal.
The problem, however, isn’t with Lieberman’s voting record. It’s with his tone. He isn’t sufficiently angry, sufficiently vitriolic, and seems to be more interested in doing what he thinks is right then scoring political points for his party.
What does Lieberman’s loss mean for the country? It means this: “Average Joes”, for whatever reason, do not seem to be having a meaningful voice in the Democratic party anymore. It’s McGovern’s or nobody. Actually, it’s worse then that. The 1972 Democratic presidential nominee, and anti-war extremist McGovern, was at the very least, even according to his most bitter enemies, a decent, honest, and honorable man. These qualities don’t seem important to his modern anti-war kin.
What is important is “George Bush equals Hitler.” Anybody who sees it differently is a traitor. What’s important is what they are saying at the DailyKos, a liberal Weblog, not what they are saying on Main Street.
This is not the way “Average Joes” think. Average Joes are upset that we haven’t found the amounts of WMD’s that were predicted (although we have now found over 500 aging chemical weapons), they are upset that our troops seem to be dying with no clear exit plan. They are also concerned that if we leave now, we could leave a giant hotbed for terrorists and leave millions to the mercy of radical Islamic groups. What they are not interested in is “purifying” efforts in either party to squelch dissent.
Unfortunately, that is not the current state of the Democratic Party. They may do well in the 2006 elections because of the Republican’s lack of unity and seeming paralysis on far too many issues, but it won’t be because they have actually convinced anybody they are the party closer to them. How could they? They just tossed the second most popular senator in the United States in the primary in a suicidal “purge” of those who aren’t sufficiently “pure”. The funniest thing is they seem to think it is a victory over George Bush.
Yah, that’s a victory over George Bush all right. Kind of like it would be a victory over Al Gore if Republicans beat John McCain in the primary because McCain agrees with Gore on global warming.
Of course, McCain didn’t get a serious primary challenger in his 2004 senate race, and wouldn’t have lost anyway. Can you imagine the laughing stock the Republican Party would be if McCain lost in the primary, all while claiming it was a slap at Gore? They would rightly be ridiculed across the land.
Clearly, both parties have extremists in them, especially at an activist level. But it says something about the modern Democratic Party that Joe Lieberman isn’t acceptable. It says that “only extremists may apply.” Average Joes don’t have a home in the Democratic Party anymore. Not even Average Joe liberals, of which Lieberman clearly was one.
Make no mistake. While George Bush may well prefer Lieberman in the Senate over Lamont, given Lieberman’s Independent run, his loss in the primary is great news for Bush. It will now be much, much easier to paint the Democrats as extremists.
No, Lieberman’s loss is great for Republicans.
Unfortunately, it’s bad for the country.
8-28-2006