Politically Tone-Deaf

Josh Marshall hits the nail on the head in regards to Joementum :

I talk to various of Sen. Lieberman’s political friends and we wonder between ourselves: What is it exactly? Is he just a man out of time now? Too stung by how the 2004 primaries went and just doesn’t care what Dems think? Or maybe he thinks he’s legislating for history here. A lot of folks who are generally in line with Lieberman, and like him, ended up not supporting him in the primaries because they worried not about his political views but about his political judgment. So the irony here is that he’s displaying the same political tin ear and questionable judgment that kept many like-minded Dems from supporting him. And their very lack of support stung him so badly that it has accentuated those tendencies that kept them off the Joe team to begin with.

That’s it exactly. I don’t doubt Lieberman’s sincerity or dedication to liberal causes. For all the shit he takes about being “Republican-lite”, Joe’s got a fairly solid voting record when it comes to women’s issues, the environment, the GLBT community, civil rights, and labor. Unfortunately, when it comes to “playing the game” of politics, he’s completely incompetent. No, it’s not just that he “sleeps with the enemy”, but that he’s a repeat offender. Despite the fact that the GOP plays dirty and will stab anyone in the back, Joe keeps living under the illusion that nice guys finish first. That doesn’t mean he’s a Democrat in name only. It means he’s a goddamned fool.


posted by greg on February 25, 2005 @ 1:13 pm

5 comments

  1. I think we need to expand the definition of DINOs to include collaborators. It doesn’t matter how ‘liberal’ Joe’s voting record is, he keeps bending over backwards to make the other side look good, and he’s simply on the wrong side of culture issues. He’s gone from being a centrist to an achilles heel.

    On that note, the rest of the post you link to discusses mounting a primary compaign against him - what do you think about that? Is it a good idea, a pointless idea, a revenge move without any political merit? Just desserts?

    Comment by the eligible Ross Lincoln — February 25, 2005 @ 2:45 pm

  2. On that note, the rest of the post you link to discusses mounting a primary compaign against him - what do you think about that?

    If he’s incapable of being a team player, then fuck him. I’m all for mounting a primary campaign against him, but I’d hate for the primary to distract from Democratic efforts to regain the Senate and House.

    Comment by greg — February 25, 2005 @ 3:01 pm

  3. It’s like Leiberman is unaware how polarized things have become. He may vote like a Democrat but he would harm the party by going on Hannity and saying whatever was necessary to be liked.

    Comment by jim marquis — February 26, 2005 @ 4:40 pm

  4. Except for his Climate Stewardship Act in collaboration with McCain, I don’t give a toss about Lieberman.

    Sure if you look for qualities you can find them, but he’s deeply flawed as a politicians and did great damage by praising some of Bush and the neocon’s worse decisions.

    Comment by Mikhail Capone — February 26, 2005 @ 8:48 pm

  5. Someday, in the distant future, the Republic may once again need men like Ole Joe. But until that magical, much less-partisan day comes, we can’t afford men like this. A primary challange is the solution.

    Comment by JOe — February 26, 2005 @ 9:45 pm

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