Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Lieberman Redux

Joe Lieberman drives me up a fucking tree. Let’s take a look at Joe’s career over the last few years. In 2004 the guy does an end-run around his own party to run as an independent even though the Connecticut Democrats voted for a staunch anti-war candidate, Ned Lamott, in the primaries. He goes on to win the general election while continuing to act as a shill for Bush on the Iraq war. Because of the general spinelessness of the Congressional Democrats, Lieberman is allowed to retain his committee chairs, even though he is no longer a Democrat. While the Democrats make much of the fact that the reason for rewarding the traitor was the single-vote majority in the Senate, one could plausibly argue that the Democrats never really needed the vote anyway because they passed most of Bush’s agenda by wide margins and failed to exhibit any real leadership on a single issue. (As The Washington Post's Dan Froomkin observed at the end of last year: "Historians looking back on the Bush presidency may well wonder if Congress actually existed.") Fast-forward to 2008 when Lieberman actively campaigned for John McCain in the presidential race. Surely, one would think, now that the Democrats have taken the White House and both houses of Congress, Lieberman would finally be taken to the wood-shed and receive his much-deserved comeuppance. Think again.

The vote to keep Lieberman in his Chair was hardly a nail-biter -- 42-13. Everyone involved in the process tacitly acknowledges that it was Obama's desire that Lieberman retain his chairmanship of the powerful Homeland Security Committee-which doesn’t bode well for Congressional independence in the new administration, although I suspect Congress has simply forgotten how to say no to the President.
I can’t out it better than Glen Greenwald in Salon today: “Senate Democrats believe it's important to reward someone with a powerful Chairmanship who has been a vehement supporter of George Bush, the war in Iraq, the full panoply of anti-constitutional abuses, and an amplifier of the most toxic right-wing toxic points. At the same time, they consider it a good thing to scorn their supporters on what they consider to be "the Left." For anyone willing to hear it, they've made as clear and resounding a statement -- again -- about who they are and who they do and don't listen to.”
Is that Change We Can Believe In? I have my doubts.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mr. Libermann is a good man who has done many good things for my country. If you do not admire my jewish peoples, you should just come out and say so much on your blog, for you have already implied such that a thing.

Your hate for him is very apparent. Why must you be such a small and hateful man.

Mark said...

Lieberman deserves neither respect nor admiration. He is a man who sold out his principles for political expediency. I have no use for the traitorous bastard.

As for your other insinuation, I happen to think think that supporting Israel at all costs, despite its grievous human rights record, is a terrible foreign policy mistake for the United States. That doesn't make me an anti-semite. Or a small and hateful man, come to think of it.

Buddee Wang said...

Isaac Goldberg, you can kiss my yerrow ass. How come if you make
a regitimate criticism of one person who happens to be Jewish, some of other Jew comes out of the woodwork and accusees you of being hatefur? I await you answer. And prease, don't say buddee wang a Nazi or KKK man, show us where the Patriot was hateful and if you can't, crawr back into your rat hole and shut you mouth

You Buddee Wang

Anonymous said...

All these recriminations.
Can't you leave idiocy alone to stand on it's on merits.

And regarding Buddee Wang? Mark do you need an 'Asian' Steppin Fetchit to fight your battles for you?

Let it go. Ridiculous comments are arguably better than none at all.

And yes I'm anonymous, so what?

Mark said...

I only take issue with anonymous comments when they're directed against me. As for Wang, he has been a dependable supporter since the bygone days of mid 2007 so I welcome his strident defense of my positions with open arms.

Anonymous said...

Ha! How do you feel now! Mr. Libermann has retained his Chair of the Homeland, and we will be safer for it. He will prevent the inevitable attack from Iran by getting them first!!!

I am sorry I said you were hateful, but your feeble ignorance made me very mad and I lost my temper.

Anonymous said...

HEY I'VE BEEN READING THIS BLOG AND WHAT ISSAC SAID IS ONE OF THE FIRST SENSIBLE THINGS I'VE READ ON IT, THAT IS THE PART ABOUT IRAN. WE NEED TO NUKE THOSE MUSLIM BASTIRDS BEFORE THEY TAKE OVER OUR WHOLE COUNTRY. GOD HELP US WITH OBAMA, THE ANITCHRIST IN THE WHITE HOUSE.

Anonymous said...

I know Melvin you are right on about that. The muslims are a definite threat, and these liberals will not acknoledge reality. joe Liberman is the most sensible in the democrat party that there is, and it upsets me to see irrational libearal websites like this that say so many rotten things about him. But I can't help what shows up in my web browser sometimes. Maybe you can help with my computer problem?

Mark said...

Interesting. I've never had a troll on the site before. Goldberg/Krauss, you ain't foolin' anyone. I can tell you're the same person because you both misspell the name of your pal Lieberman the same way. But if this is how you get your jollies now that your fascist puppet masters are on their way out of town, who am I to stop you? Since you are no doubt expecting it, here goes:

Don't you right wing assholes have some hole you can crawl into somewhere? And if the blog offends you so much, go watch FOX or listen to Limbaugh or something.

Flame on, losers.

Anonymous said...

WHAT KIND OF WEB BROWSER/ OPERATING SYSTEM YOU USE ISSAC? MAYBE ITS A VIRUS FROM THIS SITE

Anonymous said...

Golberg and Krauss, I suspect, are neither jewish or right wing. But if they are, then neither their jewishness or conservatism have anything to do with what they are writing. It is the nature of the troll. The game is to get under your skin. They believe they have pegged you as someone of a certain political bent. So they attack you on that bent and throw in some personal insults to inflame you. So they say you're an anti-semite and of feeble intelligence and you go back at them and call them losers. Next thing you know you are helping them finishing that school yard fight from so many years ago. What Goldberg and Krauss need to realize is that that fight is over and that kid who stole their lunch can't hurt them anymore. Let it go.

Now, this is what I suspect. If it is true and the two haven't trolled away, I imagine they will write back and say what I say is not true and have some choice words for me, as well. If what I say isn't true, and that these are two legitimate commenters on the site, then they are obliged to stop with name calling and threats. If their argument for Lieberman or this country's need to take serious action against Iran is indeed serious then surely they can write a post backed by some serious well thought arguments, sans personal insults. If the Patriot disagrees with those arguments, then he is obliged to respond with his own well thought out counter arguments. The next thing you know, people may learn something from you differing perspectives and be more inclined to join in on the discussion. But fairly to act as decent folks isn't going to make that happen.

So that's that. And if you all don't like it than here is a preemptive choke on it, just so I'm not out of step with my own school yard demons.

Anonymous said...

ok you can help me then, i think it's windows explorer, i don't understand why this site is always on my browser, it's in the top of the browser. maybe a virus like you said. send me a message mjennings020@gmail.com we'll figure it out

thanks for your help it is weird the nice people you meet in strange places.

Anonymous said...

hey it doesn't matter if i am jewish or not, my wife is okay? like you liberals always say, so what if he is a muslim. it doesn't matter to you the religion and somebody has to defend their .

Mark said...

Anonymous,
Well said. Some times I simply cannot resist getting under the bridge and fighting the trolls in their natural habitat, but it is usually a waste of time.
M