Troy Senik
Staff Writer
Robin Williams’ most recent film, “Man of the Year” represents the embodiment of a trend that has been ubiquitous in the American electorate over the past several years. To wit, it wonders aloud at the possibility of a national leader plucked from outside the realm of professional politics, free from cornfed partisan bilge and ready to tell Americans the hard truths on issues ranging from gay marriage to illegal immigration, though inevitably in liberal-lite tones.
A continuum running from the film “Bulworth” through the overwhelming national popularity of Jon Stewart to today’s fervor for a 2008 presidential campaign by Barack Obama all have their origins in this same Capraesque longing for a day without partisans. But forget what Hollywood has told you. The real solution lies with an aging, Independent, Orthodox Jew from New England.
You see, American politics contains a tension that generally prevents such unconventional stars from rising. Voters, for all of their caterwauling about the need for more choice, possess undeniable fetishisim for the Democratic and Republican brands. Those who try to break the mold from within these venerable institutions tend to either lose in primary elections or embrace a moderation of medians, splitting each issue down the middle rather than examining them independently on their individual merits. Only one man in national politics is now in a position to flout these constraints — that man is Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut.
From his stint as the center of Democrats’ moral universe during the Clinton impeachment, Lieberman became the vice-presidential ballast for Al Gore’s narrowly unsuccessful 2000 presidential bid. Only four years later, his presence in the Democratic presidential primaries was paid only marginally more notice than Dennis Kucinich’s.
After just another two years, Lieberman’s party has now denied him their nomination for a fourth term in the Senate and forced him into an independent bid, simply because of his ultimately sensible view that U.S. foreign policy might not be best served by feckless imperial guilt (as has often been noted, Lieberman’s votes have been consistently liberal outside the realm of foreign affairs).
The most recent polls from the Nutmeg State point decisively toward a Lieberman victory in early November. Though officially running as an Independent, he has already committed himself to caucusing with Senate Democrats upon his return to Capitol Hill. But rethinking that commitment could earn Lieberman a place in American history.
If Lieberman is re-elected, he will turn 65 within a few weeks of taking his oath of office in January. The congenital mistrust of the Democratic Party’s far left already ensures beyond a shadow of a doubt that no other political office will be open to him, meaning that Lieberman will be in his early 70s and likely longing for retirement by the time that he is up for re-election again in 2012. In those six years, Senator Lieberman possesses a rare window in which to allow the truth to set him free.
Rather than embracing a Democratic Party that happily injected venom into his bloodstream during the Connecticut primaries, Lieberman should leave an empty chair in caucus meetings. He should not align himself with Republicans though, not only because of many salient policy differences, but because the conservative support that Lieberman has received against opponent Ned Lamont is much more meaningful as a tithe than a down payment.
Lieberman has an opportunity to spend the next six years as America’s Senator. There should be absolutely no fundraising, no genuflecting before special interests and no thoughts of re-election. Rather, Lieberman should reclaim the legacies of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, subsuming factional to national interests.
Who knows what conclusions an invincible Lieberman might create? Imagine the effect on a red-blue nation of an elder statesman simultaneously calling for a robust foreign policy, expanded health care, school vouchers and environmental protection.
Ultimately, Lieberman has two options for his legacy: he can be part of a catalogue of historical also-rans or he can depart with a parting shot that permanently alters the tone of U.S. politics.
10-26-2006