On Lieberman, Likability, And (Sore) Losers

Karlo (the man who JUST can't ever get enough cat blogging) notes in Comments regarding my post about the possibility of a John McCain/Joe Lieberman ticket, This refers to Republican presidential nominee Sen. McCain's talk the other day where McCain - perhaps kidding, perhaps not - pointed to allegedly but not actually (Indy) Democrat Sen. Joseph Lieberman, there to provide support and an endorsement for his fellow hawk Republican ::cough::, and mentioned that Joementum might make a great vice president.

Specifically, Karlo asks "does anyone actually like Lieberman?" given his "new and disproved, not improved" status as the far right wing's and Bush's favorite Orthodox Jewish lackey. After all, it can be hard for the loony right to offer anyone who is not a fascist Christian the time of day much less that most minute hint of respect. Thus, when looking for a token "not me" to suggest they aren't racist, too, it helps that they can wrap a crazy war hawk together with a Jew who wants to see the Biblical rapture and armageddon occur every bit as much as they do, regardless of how many Jews and Muslims they have to consign to hell to do it.

So yes, Virginia...er... Karlo, someone likes Lieberman. His wife. The loony right just pretends to tolerate him, just as they often utter the words, "Some of my best friends are black" and "I don't hate gay people. I just feel justified in telling everyone gays are promiscuous and mentally ill while I deny them the right to marry and make their lives miserable."

However, in fairness, I have to say that there was a time when, as Lieberman's constituent, I had some respect for the man. He's always been prissy, a bit holier than almost everyone else, and likely to side with some weird issues, such as when he joined "Second Lady" (and I use the word "lady" very, very, VERY loosely here) Lynne Cheney and "morality czar" (and dominatrix-loving, millions-lost-in-casinos) William "Bill" Bennett in an effort to turn college campuses to the right while discriminating against those educators who don't think it's their job to tell students what to think, how to vote, and that their grades will be hurt if they don't believe in the same God as James Dobson and Jerry Falwell.

Quite seriously, I think a HUGE part of why Lieberman has turned so far to the right - and not simply because of 9-11 and his zealot's hatred of Muslims - lies right in the lap of the 2000 presidential election. Lieberman blames then presidential candidate Al Gore for not winning (and the American people for not choosing Joementum himself) which turned him into a sore loser and then he jumped on the ultra-hawk bandwagon, with all of his high praise for Bush and other tighty righties, SOLELY to advance his own position.

His pouting brat sore loser attitude soured him further to Dems after the capitulation to rigged voting so he had to realize Democrats would never support another candidacy for him - and they didn't; Republican money returned him to his Senate job when Dems wanted to flush the turd. Also, he saw the writing on the wall in terms of how completely the fascist right was willing to go to keep a Jew from the White House; to keep from becoming nothing more than a footnote to history, he switched sides. While the right will never like him, they might be willing to hold their nose to let him be a bridesmaid (VP) but never the bride (President).

McCain-Lieberman Ticket?

Did you catch the love-in between John McCain and (he's such a liar he still calls himself a Democrat) Joe Lieberman? The one where there was more than just a slight suggestion that McCain might actually consider the hawkish Orthodox Jew-slash-Unorthodox lawmaker as his running mate?

While anyone with a brain knows that among the countless reasons why Lieberman, in his current incarnation as loyal Bushie, should never be allowed near Capitol Hill, much less 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, his religious affiliation is not at all one of them, I still found myself wondering what the hell McCain is thinking.

Granted, McCain has tried to rebuild himself in the far right image, courting and getting the warm and wormy embrace of the late (and never great) hate mongerer, Jerry Falwell, and granted that the far right has painted itself the "great defender" of Jews of late. But this scurrilous crowd hardly "likes" Jews - no, they see them (most and revulsively despicably) as a "necessary evil" for the Rapture to occur the way they want.

But can even the increasingly erratic McCain think he can help his chances on Super Tuesday, or in South Carolina's primary, by suggesting he would consider as his vice president a man like Lieberman who is despised by most Democrats for his "me first" politics of late while many Republicans hold their nose as they try to find something nice to say about Joementum?

Bush Gives Kiss of Death to Dems on Day That Will Live in Ignominy

You have to hand it to Dubya. (I doubt the spoiled frat boy thinks these up himself since it would interfere with his naps, his four days off from every seven day week, and scratching himself. Also, that's why he's got The Dick Cheney and Karl(oad) of Rove on hand.)

Today, he walked into the White House Rose Garden and gave the Democrats the kiss of death - much as he planted on Senator Joe Lieberman (D... no, I.... who the F knows anymore) on that infamous night a few years ago at one of his famous addresses.

By "kissing" the Dems today with his thanks for their capitulation on Iraq, he made sure that the vast majority of thinking Americans will be SURE to hold the Democrats responsible for the work of his corrupt administration that still holds razor grip on all of Capitol Hill. [Did you also note how Bush was saber rattling even louder at Iran as well? Is this the reason for doubling the American troop presence in Iraq when he originally wanted to send less than 20K more soldiers to Iraq?]

I suspect the Democratic 2008 presidential candidates who can show their concern for the troops WITHOUT letting Bush steamroll anymore are the ones most Americans will listen to in the coming months. So far, I'm not seeing standouts (and we need them, badly).

Your take?

Lieberman Won't Leap To GOP - Or So He Says

Apparently trying to quell conjecture that Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman (and remember: you can't spell Lieberman without L-I-E) would jump from "independent Democrat" status with which he was only just elected to the Senate (after years as a Dem) to the Republican Party, Joementum says he won't go.

One issue is that - no longer so tainted by all that non-Connecticut money the Rovean Empire pushed into Joe's campaign - Connecticut voters could impeach and/or remove him if he switched.

This is called trying to have one's cake (Republican war rhetoric) and eat it, too (hope that once Iraq ends, maybe voters won't remember how much he wanted us in there, to stay there). Joe has to realize, very sadly, that today's far right ranking Repugs are never going to let someone non-Christian white extremist anywhere near a position of true power.

And that brings me to my next post.

Will Senator Joe Lieberman Leap - With Joe-Mentum - to the Republican Party?

Not that he's not there in their camp already but...

Keith Olbermann on "Countdown" on MSNBC just now raised the question of what the state of Connecticut, who elected Joe last fall for the first time as an Independent Democrat rather than as a Democrat, can do in light of strong indication Lieberman will change parties to Republican.

Now, I wasn't blogging back on May 24, 2001 (yeah, I remember the date by heart) when Vermont's own "Jumpin'" Jim Jeffords bolted from the GOP, saying the party had gone far too far to the extreme radical right nutwing for him to remain a Republican. I considered it a late birthday present. So yes, I favored his switch and spoke out loudly against those who muttered last of impeaching him or repealing his position.

With that in mind, I don't think anyone but the voters of a particular state - and not all states have laws on the books that allow this; Connecticut does not appear to have - who decide what action to take when the man or woman they send to Washington turns into a wholly different creature.

I just hope Lieberman realizes that the jump will end any possible hope EVER of getting near the oval office as elected leader in chief or VP. The extreme nutwing, sadly, will not allow a Jew to be considered which, in general, is much their loss, separate from the fact that the Lieberman of the last several years is a disgrace to Connecticut. He certainly is not the Lieberman I voted for while there.