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Joe Lieberman's Endless Hypocrisy

By Cliff Schecter, AlterNet. Posted October 30, 2006.


If you don't like Sen. Joe Lieberman's position on an issue today, just check back with him tomorrow.

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In 1988 a slightly younger but no-less-father-on-the-show-Alf-looking Joe Lieberman stared into a camera during one of his commercials in the Senate race, with that false earnest façade that has aided his electoral fortunes for years. He proclaimed, taking a clear shot at his opponent, three-term Republican incumbent Lowell Weicker, that "after 18 years, it's time for somebody new ... it's time for a change."

Lieberman claimed he wouldn't miss more than 300 votes, he wouldn't have one of the worst attendance records in the Senate and that he would retire after three terms (the tally for Lieberman after three terms and 18 years in the Senate: 418 votes missed, the second worst attendance record over the past six years and still clutching his Senate seat). Apparently, all of these statements are no longer operative.

In 2006, Lieberman is now playing the role of Weicker 18 years ago -- the only difference is his party affiliation. After his own party told him they'd had enough and decided to send him packing in the Democratic primary, he continued running against actual Democrat Ned Lamont and actual Republican Alan Schlesinger as a member of the exclusive Everybody Loves Lieberman Party, which I believe is its nom de guerre these days.

It is this willingness to say or do whatever is necessary to hold on to his U.S. Senate seat, damn the consequences to what he claimed to believe last year or even last week, that makes Lieberman, a smarmy, power-hungry little yapping poodle of a politician, the perfect poster-boy for the amoral might-makes-right culture that currently animates our political system.

Ever since Lieberman defeated elder statesman Weicker in that 1988 race, largely by portraying him as weak on Communism -- along the way garnering the support of William F. Buckley and the McCarthy-loving National Review -- there hasn't been a single issue on which Lieberman has been willing to risk an unpopular position or maintain a modicum of consistency.

He would seemingly invade Cuba tomorrow, but charges forth into slave-labor trade deals with Communist China at the behest of his corporate paymasters (and at the expense of his constituents' jobs). He once marched with Martin Luther King Jr., yet now forebodingly and dishonestly refers to Al Sharpton as "one of Ned Lamont's closest advisors," hoping the mere mention of the controversial African-American preacher will summon white-suburban fears of unruly invading black hordes who crave white women and seek Rotary Club membership.

Sharpton's response? "I've given more advice to Joe Lieberman than I've given to Ned Lamont," he told Election Central's Greg Sargent.

Last year Lieberman thought John Bolton wasn't worthy of being U.N. ambassador and voted accordingly. Yet, now that he needs Republican votes to win his do-over bid to hang on to his job, Bolton -- a "person" who has chased subordinates around a hotel trying to shoe-beat them -- has suddenly become the second coming of Adlai Stevenson or Daniel Patrick Moynihan on the international stage.

This propensity for changing positions like Angelina Jolie adopts children has been rightly covered and mocked by members of the Connecticut media and Lieberman's opponents. From support for privatizing Social Security to abortion rights, school vouchers to gay rights, there is not an issue that Lieberman won't jettison if it becomes politically expedient to do so. Yet, a few of Lieberman's more craven political maneuvers -- and their disastrous results -- have not received a full airing.

Lieberman takes pride in his reputation as an environmentalist and plays it up whenever he gets the chance. He's able to do it because the usual short-sighted single-issue groups in Washington have fallen merrily into his embrace.

In the League of Conservation Voters' March 10, 2006, endorsement of his candidacy, the League's press release stated, "As a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator Lieberman has worked hard to preserve and strengthen our nation's clean air and clean water protections." Apparently they never read George W. Bush's energy bill, which Lieberman was the only Northeastern Democrat to support.

The final version removed a provision in the Senate bill requiring that a paltry 10 percent of the country's power be produced by "renewable energy" sources by 2020, or around the time Lieberman will have been receiving checks for a baker's dozen years from the Social Security system he wanted to privatize. Yet, the bill did find space for $6 billion in taxpayer subsidies for the oil and gas industry, according to the nonprofit watchdog organization Public Citizen.

When Ned Lamont, in an October 24 debate, pointed out that Lieberman's support for the flawed bill might have something to do with energy industry campaign contributions Lieberman has received, the candidate stormed up to Lamont after the debate and called him a "goddamn son of a bitch," according to blogger Matt Stoller. Not the language one might expect from such a self-described pious man.


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Cliff Schecter, a contributor to MSNBC, is also political analyst for the Talk Radio News Service, writer for The Huffington Post and weekly guest commenator on The Young Turks on Air America. His meanderings can also be found at cliffschecter.com.

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View:
usual
Posted by: rsaxto on Oct 30, 2006 1:55 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Instead of the usual slow decline in decency that US Senators adopt after getting elected, Lie Berman has lately created a precipitous decline in decency by supporting most of the grossly indecent stands of the Bushies from mass murder in Iraq to pushing mass murder against Iran. That these warlock affairs cause huge environmental degradations seems to have completely escaped his mentality. If Lie Berman wins against his clearly more decent opponent it will only be because he has sold his last remaining bit of decency to the worst corporate devils.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» Liberal is as Liberal does! Posted by: Conservasaurus
» RE: Liberal is as Liberal does! Posted by: karma_ran_over_dogma
» RE: usual Posted by: Doubtom
And you thought..
Posted by: edith on Oct 30, 2006 2:08 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Lieberman is shocking? I read all his "sins" which were clearly laid out. Sounds like a typical day in Washington DC to me. Most of the high rent glass and marble buildings in th Capital of the US are not inhabited by federal employes but high paid lobbyists. Where do you think all those fresh faced Georgetown and Harvard graduates with public policy degrees go after they do their "internships" with Congress or the White House? I mean someone is eating at all those $100 per customer restaurants in DC that you can't get a reservation for, right?

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Lieberman: Clinton on Steroids....
Posted by: CatDad on Oct 30, 2006 2:26 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Take any position that will ingratiate you with the current power elite and will get you elected/re-elected...Build your power base by moving right to attract votes, while taking traditional progressive votes for granted and selling them out at the first available opportunity...yet dutifully attend progressive cause events to charm those you betrayed with your smug charm...

Like Bill, Joe recognizes an opportunity when he sees one...a weak Democratic Party which can be played and exploited for personal power and enrichment.

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Most of them are like Joe, I saw that when the opposition party - dems-
Posted by: Prophit on Oct 30, 2006 6:28 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
... wouldn't stand on principle on all those bills they voted for that gutted our Constitution, Bill of Rights, Habeas Corpus, allowed for martial law, military occupation of American soil, the building of internment camps for civilians, etc.

The list could go on and on..... who are the few statesmen left in both parties??? Here is who I think are....

1. Feingold

2. McKinney (and we know what they did to her)

3. Conyers

4. Ron Paul

5. Tancredo

6. Leahy

7. Harkin

and folks, thats about it. Pathetic, huh??? Leiberman is just more visible but reflective of what is going on and lately locally and daily, I see the same thing among my fellow Americans. I am beginning to understand what the problem is here. We are electing people who reflect the sea change in America, and I believe HItler did the same in Nazi Germany. The majority were as psycho as Hitler. That is why we bombed the crap out of them. Its getting to be the same way here.

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Lieberman has the background to be a good one,
Posted by: symcokid on Oct 30, 2006 7:15 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
BS'er that is, he thinks - never knows and of course the 'old standby', "I don't remember saying that". If he can develop a convincing flamboyant lying style, he would make Bush proud and be a 'shoe in' for Prez.

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Sacrificing Our Liberty for "Freedoms"
Posted by: rwa on Oct 30, 2006 8:11 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Thursday, December 13, 2001 San Jose Mercury News
Lynne Cheney-Joe Lieberman Group Puts Out a Blacklist

An aggressive attack on freedom has been launched upon America's college campuses. Its perpetrators seek the elimination of ideas and activities that place Sept. 11 in historical context, or critique the so-called war on terrorism.
The offensive, spearheaded by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a Washington-based group, threatens free speech, democratic debate and the integrity of higher education. In an incendiary report, ``Defending Civilization: How Our Universities Are Failing America,'' the American Council claims that ``colleges and university faculty have been the weak link in America's response'' to Sept. 11. It also asserts that ``when a nation's intellectuals are unwilling to defend its civilization, they give comfort to its adversaries.''

The report documents 117 campus incidents as ``evidence'' of anti-Americanism. More than 40 professors are named, including the president of Wesleyan University, who suggested in an open letter that ``disparities and injustices'' in American society and the world can lead to hatred and violence.

Other examples abound. A Yale professor is criticized for saying, ``It is from the desperate, angry and bereaved that these suicide pilots came.'' A professor emeritus from the University of Oregon is listed for recommending that ``we need to understand the reasons behind the terrifying hatred directed against the U.S. and find ways to act that will not foment more hatred for generations to come.''

Dozens more comments, taken out of context and culled from secondary sources, are presented as examples of an unpatriotic academy.

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni was founded in 1995 by Lynne Cheney, the vice president's wife, and Sen. Joseph Lieberman. Its Website claims that it contributed $3.4 billion to colleges and universities last year, making it ``the largest private source of support for higher education.'' Cheney is cited several times in the report, and is reportedly a close associate of its authors, Jerry Martin and Anne Neal.

Although the council's stated objectives include the protection of academic freedom, the report resembles a blacklist. In a chilling use of doublespeak, it affirms the right of professors to speak out, yet condemns those who have attempted to give context to Sept. 11, encourage critical thinking, or share knowledge about other cultures. Faculty are accused of being ``short on patriotism'' for attempting to give students the analytical tools they need to become informed citizens.

Many of those blacklisted are top scholars in their fields, and it appears that the report represents a kind of academic terrorism designed to strike fear into other academics by making examples of respected professors.

The report might also function to extend control over sites of democratic debate -- our universities -- where freedom of expression is not only permitted but encouraged.

At my campus, symposiums, teach-ins and lectures about religion, terrorism, central Asia, the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy have been organized recently. A teach-in entitled ``Background for Understanding'' drew hundreds of students, faculty and citizens from many political and intellectual perspectives. The audience had the opportunity to ask questions and comment freely. The discussion was lively and at times contentious.

As a microcosm of society, the university is a place where people of different ethnicities, religions, generations, and class backgrounds exchange ideas and opinions.

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Sacrificing Our Liberty for "Freedoms"-2
Posted by: rwa on Oct 30, 2006 8:12 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The vigorous and often heated debates typical of such encounters are a hallmark of democratic processes. On most campuses this can still be done freely, but official accusations of anti-Americanism might intimidate and silence some voices.

That is not patriotism, but fascism. The American Council's position is inaccurate and irresponsible. Critique, debate, and exchange -- not blind consensus or self-censorship -- have characterized America since its inception.

Our universities are not failing America. On the contrary, they are among the few institutions offering alternatives to canned mainstream media reports.

The targeting of scholars who participate in civic debates might signal the emergence of a new McCarthyism directed at the academy. Before it escalates into a full-blown witch hunt in the name of ``defending civilization,'' faculty, students and citizens should speak out against these acts of academic terrorism.

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Cheap shot
Posted by: mdwoade on Oct 30, 2006 8:38 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
In the middle of the article, I see the statement:
"This propensity for changing positions like Angelina Jolie adopts children has been rightly covered ..."
I notice that Ms. Jolie is never mentioned again. This sort of character assassination is needless and mean-spirited. Why confuse a justified attack on a hypocritical politician with a cheap shot at a movie star? Why, because it is easy, and we can all smile knowingly.

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Please stop insulting politicians
Posted by: xbj on Oct 30, 2006 9:13 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Lieberman is not, nor has he ever been, a politician.

What he is, and has been, is a whore, a shill, a spy, and a traitor, to his party, his country, and his heritage. While this is true of almost everyone in the GOP, Lieberman carries it a bit farther. In the death camps they called them collaborators, who earned the privilege of being killed last by informing on their friends and by shoveling their kin into mass graves.

And through Diebold and ES&S, he will STILL be in office, wearing kneepads, to carry out his nefarious "duties" and various "services" to his masters come Wednesday, with that great big ejaculation-swallowing smile on his face, disgusting even those he pleasures.

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Great Article
Posted by: Soco on Oct 30, 2006 10:06 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
But where were you when the Democratic Party endorsed and back Lieberman as Al Gore's Vice Presidential candidate? Was this type of behavior already a part of him them at that time? You bet it was. You can thank the Democrats for propping up favored candidates and nixing Iraq War Veterans like Paul Hackett in favor of jackasses like Lieberman. Can you imagine this buffoon as a VP? Yea, a droopy version of Cheney. What 2 party system? If the Dems would have cleaned up his mess then you wouldn't have to worry about it now.

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» RE: Great Article Posted by: Joshua Holland
joes a bush guy
Posted by: wleming on Oct 30, 2006 10:09 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Lieberman has profitted from his sycophant corporate pr.
A congress of Delay, Lieberman, Foley et. al.? You get what you pay for-as the corporations who employ these people know all too well.

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He is the perfect example why the USA is NOT a "democracy"
Posted by: petkov on Oct 30, 2006 10:09 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
In USA you got a 2 party system where the ONLY difference between the parties is their name. Both US parties have sold their souls to the devil. They have stopped representing the common man long ago. The common man has no voice in USA. The Americans need to understand that before they can even begin to comprehand how docile they have become and how they are all the mass victim of all powerful interests. If USA was really a democracy, the people will be ruling. For example, now 80% of US citizend dont aprove of the so called war in Iraq. So why cant they force Bsuh to listen to them? Where is their voice? Where is thweir "will"?
From looking at USA's history I havent seen the last time people's will and desire have been implemented by the rulling party being it Democrat or a Republican. USA as presented as some democratic system where people's will is whats driving is a fantasy childrens tale perpetually repeated untill most mindless American sheeple begin to believe in it.
and I DO know what I am talking about, I lived in USA for 23 years and I did see how it really is.

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Mel Sembler of Straight, Inc. is raising money for Lieberman
Posted by: spacecadet on Oct 30, 2006 12:41 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Alternet ran a story about Mel last year
http://www.alternet.org/story/27725/

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Lieberman
Posted by: fg on Oct 30, 2006 3:06 PM   
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Joe's a pill.

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What a putz
Posted by: opeluboy on Oct 30, 2006 4:49 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Like someone said once in describing this weasel, "all yarmulke and no Torah."

It is hard to find much to be happy about in the fact that a psychopathic moron has been sitting in the White House lo these many years, but I admit I do take some comfort in the fact that Elmer Fuddstein has not been our veep and has not been able to use that position to springboard to the Presidency.

But still, he just doesn't go away. Lamont is imploding. I guess we'll find out in a week or so if Connecticut is comprised entirely of assholes. My bet would be yes, yes it is.

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Lieberman's alternate title:
Posted by: susten88 on Oct 30, 2006 7:00 PM   
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"The Senator from Tel-Aviv"...it is well earned. Israel can do no wrong and the Palestenians can do no right. And our tax dollars are supporting this.

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Send Joe a message
Posted by: Grouchoman on Oct 31, 2006 9:51 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Everyone send joe a message...

"Where is that $387,000 Joe? Why won't you tell us where it went?

send to info@joe2006.com

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rube
Posted by: RYancey on Oct 31, 2006 11:42 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
3 to 6 months into the session Lieberman will change parties.

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» RE: rube Posted by: Bozwell