Joe Lieberman: Shunned in his own party

Because he refuses to back down on his belief that going into Iraq was the right thing to do:

Five years after running as the vice-presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket and a year after his own presidential bid, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut has become an increasingly unwelcome figure within his party, with some Democrats seeing him more as a wayward son than a favorite son.

In the last few days, the senator has riled Democratic activists and politicians here and in his home state with his vigorous defense of President Bush’s handling of the Iraq war at a time some Democrats are pressuring the administration to begin a withdrawal.

Mr. Lieberman particularly infuriated his colleagues when he pointed out at a conference here that President Bush would be commander in chief for three more years and said that “it’s time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that.”

“We undermine the president’s credibility at our nation’s peril,” Mr. Lieberman said.

Much of the open criticism has been from liberal groups and House members. But his comments have also rankled Democrats in the Senate. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the minority leader, phoned Mr. Lieberman this week to express concerns with his views, Mr. Reid’s aide said.

“Senator Reid has a lot of respect for Senator Lieberman,” said Jim Manley, a Reid spokesman. “But he feels that Senator Lieberman’s position on Iraq is at odds with many Americans.”

An aide to another leading Democratic senator who insisted on anonymity said the feelings toward Mr. Lieberman could be summed up as, “The American people want to hold George Bush accountable for the failed policy in Iraq, and Senator Lieberman doesn’t.”

Mr. Lieberman, who remains immensely popular in his home state, is aware of the hornet’s nest he has stirred.

“Some Democrats said I was being a traitor,” he said in an interview on Friday, adding that he was not surprised by the reaction, “given the depth of feeling about the war.”

Not really surprising, considering the things Sen. Lieberman has been saying all along about the Iraq war – especially lately (here and here). And as they keep pushing away from one of the very few in their party who makes sense on the Iraq war, the GOP releases an ad that appropriately describes the Democratic position on the Iraq war: Retreat and Defeat.

Oh, and the President’s ratings are up, Dems. Again. Perhaps this is the reason?

7 Responses to "Joe Lieberman: Shunned in his own party"

Anders says:

December 10, 2005 at 3:02 pm

Pro-torture Loserman should just join the republicans-democrats are tired of him!!
Francis W. Porretto says:

December 10, 2005 at 4:53 pm

The Democrats are attempting to persuade a few percent of the politically unaffiliated that anyone with a shard of morality and three functioning brain cells is against the Bush Administration’s Middle Eastern strategy. Lieberman, an obviously intelligent, sober, and moral thinker, has cross-cut that strategy.

The Democrats are beyond desperate. They can’t tolerate the smallest degree of division within their numbers; their special-interest coalition is too fragile to endure it. Lieberman, like Zell Miller, has demonstrated to the world that, while it might help, you don’t absolutely have to be an anti-American lunatic to be a Democrat. Spoils their whole game plan.

Don’t you just love party-unity campaigns?
rick vid says:

December 10, 2005 at 7:46 pm

Lieberman is a traitor to his party like white people who support civil rights are traitors to their race. The dems cannot point to anything Lieberman has done that violates the tenants of the party, EXCEPT to tell the truth on the issue of Iraq. The dems’ holy faith is the drivel espoused by the braying KennedyKerryDeanPelossiReid klan. The following is a lie:

“Senator Reid has a lot of respect for Senator Lieberman” said Jim Manley, a Reid spokesman. “But he feels that Senator Lieberman’s position on Iraq is at odds with many Americans.”

What he means is at odds with the party lie, uh, line.

As well as:

“The American people want to hold George Bush accountable for the failed policy in Iraq, and Senator Lieberman doesn’t.”

The truth would be that the party wants Bush to be accountable for failure in Iraq, and failure is the goal they are aiming for. Denials of this are brazenly bull**it.
Lorica says:

December 11, 2005 at 3:04 pm

Yes Poor Lieberman should just join the Repulican party. It would cement our majority even further. I wish Zell would have done the same thing. Both of these men would be awesome in the Republican party. It appalls me that the “party of ideas” throws out people of different ideologies. That is how I felt when I left the Dem party. You can go back in the last 40 years and see this. Men like jimmy & bj are hailed as great, but men like Lieberman, and Miller, are traitors. If there is a traitor in the camp it is the extreme left that hides itself with middle of the road phrases, in the Dem party. I wouldn’t trust Dem leadership as far as I could throw the lot of them. I feel for Lieberman at least he is not going thru this alone. – Lorica
Pam says:

December 11, 2005 at 9:48 pm

Lorica- I think the fact that Joe and Zell didn’t change parties says a great deal for their integrity, party loyalty and ability to think critically on issues. I find them both to be men that I admire in that they don’t follow the pack, but rather think for themselves. I don’t like it when McCain is referred to as a RINO. I think it is unfair to say that the man is not allowed to follow his heart on certain issues. He is a moderate Republican. He never claimed to be anything else. Joe has not wavered on his Iraq stance, and the fact that the man has actually visited the country 4 times in the past 2-1/2 years as opposed to how many by Boxer, Kerry, Reid, Pelosi or even Dean? He puts his money where his mouth is. He is also smart enough to realize that Iraq is but 1 issue that his base will look at. Too bad his party can’t see that.
Pam says:

December 11, 2005 at 10:58 pm

How about this for the party that is all inclusive? Talk about racist idiots!
Big Bang Hunter says:

December 12, 2005 at 2:24 am

– One of the phrases you hear used over and over by the leftist gaggle, that calls itself the Democratic party these days, is this “a large number of the American people believe”, and “the majority of Americans think” memes they use in almost every anti-Bush mini-speech that the “terrible dozen” spews forth these days. They love saying that repeatedly, although they know full well its generally an outright lie in itself.

– Now comes Dean trying to gamely back-pedal his canoe, claiming his “the idea of winning the war in Iraq is just wrong” comment has been taken out of context.

– Based on their willingness to say anything, no matter how destructive or disrespectful of our service people or our Pres., the inescapable conclusion is rather that the best way to lose not only Iraq and Afghanistan, but most likely the entire WOT, would be to have the Defeat-o-crats in high office.

– The idea that this whole “get-bush” campaign might devolve into exactly that in the minds of the electorate is what has the Dems in complete dis-array and panic right now. Liebermans honesty and forth-rightness on the actual facts of the state of Iraq, which hes seen with his own eyes, is the hardest sort of “truths” for the Dem’s to counter, and thus the open animosity and confusion. Dean, Kerry. Pelossi, Reid, and Kennedrunk may soon find themselves isolated within their party as defeatists if they aren’t already. Moreover, trying to hide behind a red herring theme of “patriotic dissent” doesn’t cut it when you make comments like “Our young men and women in the military don’t need to be terrorizing women and children in the middle of the night….”. Kerry ran this scam once and got away with it. But that was an entirely different time and situation, and no matter how desperately the Dems need to politicize Iraq, and equate it to Viet Nam, its a losing battle because hardly anyone gives that idea credibility.

– The idea that their rabid anti-everything American comments are being taken out of context or mis-understood is just plain laughable for a group of people who fancy themselves “elite” thinkers. It shows a clear lack of respect for the general publics understanding of the Washington political dance, and worse a total disregard for reality.

– What isn’t so laughable is the potential harm it does to our military’s morale on the one hand, and the decidedly bad position the Dems will find themselves in come the 2006 elections if the best “plan” they can put forth is a whiney “we’re so misunderstood”.

– Bang

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