Democrazies

Here is the petition you are urged to sign at http://liebermanmustgo.com/

"We CANNOT tolerate a leader of the Senate Democratic Caucus who supports George Bush and McCain's War in Iraq. We CANNOT tolerate a Democratic chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee who endorses and stumps for McCain. We call on the Senate Democratic Steering Committee to strip Joe Lieberman of his chairmanship and his leadership role."

This is preceded by the statement:

"Demand the Steering Committee remove Joe Lieberman's position within the Democratic Caucus in 2009."

These people are so busy foaming at the mouth that they can't even write plain English. Do they want Lieberman removed from the Caucus entirely or just as chairman of Homeland Security. What is his "leadership role", other than his chairmanship." He is not on the Steering Committee, according to them.

As for the petition itself, it is laughable. These people are clearly living in the past. The election campaign is over. Obama is President-Elect. He says he will be president of all the people, which include Lieberman and McCain. The latter even referred to him as “My president” in his concession speech.

So this group who “cannot tolerate…” is indeed intolerant. And hypocritical as well. They refer to “George Bush and McCain’s War.” Let’s see. Those voting for it included Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and John Edwards, among others. (But not my Senator, Carl Levin, to his everlasting credit.)

This group also wants to disenfranchise the people of Connecticut, who re-elected Lieberman (running as an "Independent Democrat") in 2006. They seem indifferent to the following facts.

1) Lieberman has always been a hawk. When first elected in 1988, he was endorsed by none other than William F. Buckley. He defeated incumbent Republican Lowell Weicker, who was the dove in the race.
2) On most matters, Lieberman votes as a liberal Democrat, much as Senator Henry (Scoop) Jackson did in days of yore.
3) If Lieberman hadn’t caucused with the Democrats, they wouldn’t have had a majority in the Senate the past two years, and they may still need him in the future to prevent filibusters.

Joe Lieberman is an honorable person, and he doesn’t need to be dishonored in this way.

The members of the Democratic Steering Committee are
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (MI) Chair, Sen. Harry Reid (NV), Sen. John Kerry (MA), Sen. Daniel Inouye (HI), Sen. Robert Byrd (WV), Sen. Edward Kennedy (MA), Sen. Joe Biden (DE), Sen. Patrick Leahy (VT), Sen. Christopher Dodd (CT), Sen. Tom Harkin (IA), Sen. Max Baucus (MT), Sen. Richard Durbin (IL), Sen. Kent Conrad (ND), Sen. Carl Levin (MI), Sen. Herbert Kohl (WI), Sen. Barbara Boxer (CA), Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY), Sen. Jeff Bingaman (NM), and Sen. Mark Pryor (AR).

If one of your senators is on the list, I suggest that you contact them and urge them to
“Keep Joe Lieberman right where he is!”

P.S. One “solution “ would be for Obama to appoint Lieberman to the Cabinet as Secretary of Homeland Security. Now that would be an act of bipartisanship!