Wednesday, August 09, 2006

The Donkey In Winter


The case of Joe Lieberman is symptomatic of what has gone wrong in recent years with the democratic party. Now we can all see what a "loyal party man" he really is. After losing the primary on August 8th, he vowed that he would run as an independent, thereby assuring that his seat would go to the GOP in November. What a pathetic, contemptible crybaby! With democrats like that, who the heck needs republicans? Every once in a while I find myself wondering why I left the democratic party six years ago in the first place. Thank goodness for poor old Joe! He's always there to remind me. One would think that he would swallow his pride, wish Ned Lamont good luck and, for the sake of his country, do everything humanly possible to insure a democratic victory. Not our Joe! No sir! He is as ideologically twisted as any democrat I've ever seen. The only thing Joe Lieberman cares about is Joe Lieberman. Knowing his history, are you surprised by this turn of events?

He is so blinded by his own stupid ambition that he is unable to see that he now has a golden opportunity to make some tasty lemonade out of some seriously nasty lemons. He could be seen as some kind of elder statesman of the democratic party. Instead he chooses to burn all of his bridges behind him. Recently there was serious speculation that the First Fool might fire Donald Rumsfeld and appoint Lieberman as Secretary of Defence. Does he really believe that there will be a place for him in the next democratic administration? After this he'll be persona non grata. Good riddance.

Do you want to have a good laugh? I mean do you want a really great fall on the floor, gut busting giggle? Keep your eye on Hillary Clinton! The democratic voters in the state of Connecticut have made themselves abundantly clear: Any democrat who supports the obscenity now being committed against the children of Iraq - using American children as cannon fodder - will not be getting the nomination in 2008. Period. It's going to be an absolute riot in the next few months watching her as she desperately tries to distance herself from her previous support for what is obviously the stupidest foreign policy blunder since Adolf Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in 1942. At this very moment, she is meeting with her advisers, trying to chart a strategy that will allow her position to "evolve" and yet remain consistent at the same time. She has one thing going in her favor: The American public has become so jaw droppingly dumbed down in recent years with respect to affairs of state that they probably won't even know the difference. By all means, watch the "evolution" of Hillary's position on the war in Iraq. By this time next year, she'll be sharing a bunk with Cindy Sheehan at Camp Casey in Crawford, Texas. I desperately want to see a woman take the oath of office one day - but, please, not Hillary Clinton. The very idea that she is, at the moment, the odds on favorite for taking the 2008 nomination is a joke. And yet there are people out there - a lot of them - who actually take her seriously. Go figure!

I'll be voting democratic in 2008 no matter whom they nominate. They are the lesser of two definite evils - much less. But I have a sinking feeling that when I pull the lever in the voting booth two years from now, I'll be holding my nose. As a matter of fact, the ONLY potential candidate I can foresee myself getting excited about is Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. He has not shied away from his progressive roots as so many of his fellow party members have in the last quarter of a century. Why is it that we constantly have to remind these knuckleheads that they are, in fact, the party of Franklin Delano Roosevelt? Russ is the kind of guy I can envision throwing all foolish caution to the wind and running as an honest-to-goodness liberal. (That's another failing of the democrats. They've allowed the extreme right to turn that once-honored word into an expletive). And let's face it: It's high time a Jewish person called the White House "home". Forty-five years ago, Jack Kennedy erased all doubt that a Catholic could be a good president. Some people actually claimed that he would be more loyal to the Vatican and he proved them wrong. The time has come for Russ to take the same, heroic stand. There will be those who will claim that he will be more concerned with the welfare of Israel than that of his own country but Russ will prove them wrong, as well!

Is his mother still alive?? Oh I hope so!! Wouldn't that be great? I can see it now: Russ is conducting a prime time press conference in the east room and here comes Mrs. Feingold, walking up to him on the podium, pinching his cheek and saying, "He may be your president but he's still my little meshugina! Just look at that punum there"! A nice old Jewish mother. I love it!

The next democratic nominee will have to spend much of his or (God forbid) her time instilling into the mass consciousness all the good that the progressives have done for this country. Everything that we now take for granted - Social Security; Unemployment insurance; Medicaid; Medicare; The Civil Rights Act; The Voting Rights Act - all of these things were put in place by, progressive, liberal administrations and every single one of them were opposed, unanimously, by the right wing. How would the people of this country react if these achievements, some of which have been in place for over seventy years, disappeared overnight? It wouldn't be a pretty picture, trust me.

Conservative causes may look good when viewed through a contemporary prism; But they always, without exception, look foolish, even totalitarian, when viewed through the objective lens of 20/20 historical hindsight. If you don't believe me, look up every conservative cause in American history - starting with slavery! No doubt about it: America is in dire need of a long overdue history lesson - not to mention a course or two in civics.

Is the democratic party dead? It's kind of hard to say. They certainly aren't beyond hope like their counterparts on the right, that's for sure - but they've got to go back to their traditional ideals! They have got to start behaving like democrats and stop acting like, as someone once famously noted, republican lite! The GOP's main talking point today, as voiced by Republican National Committee Chairman, Ken Mehlman, is that Lieberman's defeat is proof positive that the democratic party has been taken over by left wing extremists. As Donald Rumsfeld might sigh feigned in exasperation, "My goodness"! That statement is just too silly to even dignify with a comment. They've been hurling that same, tired accusation for over half a century now - even while the Dems were creeping slowly but surely toward the right. The fact that someone as basically centrist as Bill Clinton could be portrayed as a radical leftist illustrates better than anything the extremist nature of the modern day GOP. It just doesn't pass the giggle test!

The next two and a half years will be the most crucial period in the long history of the democratic party. If Ned Lamont's victory over Joe Lieberman is a sign of things to come, it is a very hopeful sign, indeed.

Pray for peace.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net

14 Comments:

At 11:07 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Tom,

I am totally disgusted with the arrogance of Lieberman and his refusal to accept the wishes of the voters in CT and the Democratic Party. The voters did not want him, he lost the primary and that should be the end of the subject. His stubborn decision to run as an independent simply points out one of the factors that led to his loosing the primary and that is the fact that he is simply out of touch. I find it ironic that Rove is now reaching out to say that "the boss" will help him out in anyway they can. This entire situation smells worse than a pig farm.

I agree with you that Russ Feingold is looking more and more like a good candidate. Let's just hope that some sanity prevails in the next election.

 
At 1:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Need one say anything more about the Lieberman candidancy beyond Anne Coulter's own personal endorsement? Ooooewh! I'd have to slit my own throat on that one. He personifies all that is wrong with the Democratic party leadership, and little that is right. It's time for the party leadership on Capitol hill (that's you Mr. Minority Leader Reid) to begin removing old Joe from committee responsibilities. After all, the man has an independent campaign to run ... for the good of America!

Can't wait to see the likes of Hillary and Biden recanting their past support for the war. They'll be telling us, "we've been against all along!"

I'll take a Feingold/Kucinich ticket any day to the rest of these folks.

 
At 1:11 PM, Blogger stoney13 said...

Liberman is a joke! The very fact that this asshole is running against Lamount should tell anyone who hasn't figured it out by now he's Bush's man to the end! I look back on the theft of 2000 now, and wonder just how much he had to do with it! Bush got a lot for a kiss!

Tha fact that all the Green Party candidates are getting fat contributions from Right Wing doners should clue us all in to what the Repigs are about! They know what's to come and they're trying to split up the competition! I hope and pray that the Democrats csan get together on SOMETHING! Pick a stand, make a stand, AND STICK TO IT!!! Fuck all the side issues and shit! GET ELECTED FIRST!!!! We've got the "war", and the minimum wage as fighting points. The American people have made it clear on both, and the Republicans are against the mainstream! WE'VE NEVER HAD A BETTER CHANCE!!!

If we let Karl Rove, (who has already been in contact with Liberman and his staff), split the party up, the Repigs will keep the senate, and the house. With a lame duck president in the White House with nothing to lose, we shall all be well and deeply fucked!

 
At 4:43 PM, Blogger landsker said...

How about if the democrats propose an immediate withdrawal of all troops from all overseas postings. (132 of them).
Then a unilateral and total disarmament. Yes, everything, all the missiles, warships , airplanes... the lot.

Then, abolition of capital punishment, and legalisation of cannabis.

State-run medical insurance. Flat-rate taxes with no exemptions.

Oh yes, it can be done, then there would be a clear and definite difference between the two parties.

Because it would seem that a pacifist policy such as that espoused by Lamont is what american voters are backing.

 
At 9:44 PM, Blogger Nancy said...

I've said it before (1980 campaign) and I'll say it again: third party campaigns are stalking horses. The Republicans invariably win whether it's the Greens or the 'independents' making it look like there is a difference.
Here it seems that one may run on more than one ticket so the Democratic candidate is often also on the Green line in the vote machine booth (we don't have the touch screens yet I'm relieved to say.) I vote Green when that's the case, but only then.

 
At 11:26 AM, Blogger billie said...

tasini for new york state senate.

 
At 8:12 PM, Blogger stoney13 said...

Landsker,

I have to agree on everything except the unilateral disarmament. That's just so NOT going to happen! War is to ingrained in human nature as to expect it to just disapear.

I do however feel that unilateral destuction of nuclear weapons WORLDWIDE must happen! The very fact that the "Nuclear Club" think that their thermo-nuclear device serve as a deterent should prove just how baddly this is needed!

There is no viable long-term use for nuclear devices! What good is a power source that results in wate products that remain poisonous for 20,000 years! Either get rid of it, or find a new way to use it without poisoning the whole fucking world!

 
At 8:15 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Delighted Joe Blow lost but my joy is tempered by the possibility that he will be the spoiler that hands the Senate seat to the Repugnican. The Rs are going to pour money into his campaign coffers and Swift Boat the Democratic candidate.I have never felt quite the same way about my country after a Medal Of Honor winner who lost 3 limbs in VN had his patriotism "questioned" by a crowd of cowardly draft-dodgers without a peep from our pusillanimous press.(Who are now living off the fat of the land with the world's best health care free for life and raping the treasury at the same time. Who said crime doesn't pay?

 
At 4:14 AM, Blogger Fenrir said...

To Landsker:
If such a thing were ever proposed, I would immediately side with the Republicans. But I would be greatful for the disambiguation between the two parties.
And such an action would effectively SPLIT the Democratic party into two smaller parties. We would have the Red (Republican) party, the Green Party, the Blue Party, and the Purple Party. And the Republicans would continue to dominate in an overwhelming majority, seeing as the voice of anything liberal would be CUT in HALF.

 
At 4:15 AM, Blogger Fenrir said...

To Stony13:
Oh yes, I do agree that worldwide nuclear disarmament is absolutely necessary. And therein lies the problem. What should we do about Iran and North Korea when they refuse to cooperate? It would lead down a road that could only end in invasion, and then Democrats would cry out that they've been betrayed by the Republicans (again).

 
At 6:43 AM, Blogger landsker said...

Reading the news, it seems like Lieberman will be getting financial support from all pro-war quarters.
As will Lamont, from those who oppose the war. Because it really was a vote for war or against it.
How coincidentally convenient, and clearly contrived, the farcical reminder of "islamic fascists" and their plans to destroy american values and freedom with a few soft drinks and an mp3 player, or was it a bottle of babies` milk and a cell-phone?

Incidentally, how goes the war in Iraq? The balance of foreign debt?
Housing loans? Unemployment?


Stoney, you point out that, in your opinion, american disarmament is impossible, as does, in his fashion, Fenrir.

65 years ago, all Europe was in flames. Now, one can drive, or walk , unchecked, from Berlin to Paris to Madrid, from Rome to Copenhagen. No frontier guards, no restrictions.
I repeat,(apart from the u.k.) there are almost no more border controls in Europe.
One medical plan, one currency. Just like Mussolini and Hitler wanted, except that it has been accomplished through negotiations, rather than at the point of a gun. Most european ountries have a military, however, they are commited to defending, rather than... uh..."pre-emptive overseas incursions".
We still have elections, and many wrongs to right.

 
At 8:20 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lansker Good article. You point out we still have elections but for how long and of what integrity? No need to remind you of Florida and Ohio and many more, those were the most attention grabbing.I am very pessimistic about Democracy's future, real Democracy, not what Bush spouts

 
At 4:09 AM, Blogger landsker said...

Wilma Lamb.
Well thankyou, let me just say, (before my head gets too big!), that whilst we have a pan-european system of healthcare and reciprocal citizenship, we also have crime, racialism, homophobia, poverty and corruption....
We know that the current trough feeders at the white house are capable of cheating in elections, and capable of invading other countries for material gain.
A solution will be found, somehow or other, the problem has been identified and it bears a name, "military-industrial complex", which also includes "american chem-oil", and "private healthcare/big pharma". These are the ones that will support any politician, rep. or dem., who obeys their wish.
At least we know who they are.

 
At 9:08 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Right on Landsker, as usual you hit the nail on the head, tho i still say the biggest problem starts with a B as in Bush.

 

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