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Lieberman's Snow Job for John Bolton
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Joe Lieberman knows the ways of the Senate.
He knows that there are votes that matter -- and votes that don't.
There are cheap ways to mug a President of one's own party, much like House Democrats did to Bill Clinton during his presidency rejecting "fast track trade authority" because they were ticked off about welfare reform and wanted to send Clinton a message on a bill that wasn't all that popular anyway.
However, there are also cheap ways to applaud a President and to deceive a public.
Along these lines, Senator Lieberman decided to play "fluffer" for the Republican leadership and Bush with his statement today in the New York Daily News that he has flip-flopped on Bolton and would now support his confirmation as US Ambassador to the UN.
Lieberman knows that after the next election, when there is a lame duck session of Congress called, all of the controls on party discipline come off.
Some Senators will be on their way out -- some will be planning to move in. While Lieberman might vote for Bolton in a new game plan, several Republican Senators are so irritated by the confirmation that has been kicked to near death twice that they won't save it and may even kick it to definitive death to help reach out to progressives they may need to "kiss and make up to" after the election.
Lieberman just used a false stilt to prop himself up before some of Connecticut's pugnacious isolationist Republicans.
What Lieberman doesn't understand is that Bolton's confirmation has been killed twice by Republicans -- not just by Voinovich, Thune, and Chafee but by many behind the scenes. Bolton represents a wing of anti-internationalist Republicans and that's all. And this wing is small.
Most Connecticut Republicans are MODERATES and are decent people who want confident and admirable stewardship of American interests at the United Nations. Lieberman hopefully just ticked off a whole lot of them.
I have hesitated pounding too hard on Senator Lieberman who has been a great advocate of advanced technology development in this country and has been (until the Iraq war) a generally sensible voice on national security issues -- particularly at home. But to quote George Soros, "Lieberman has gone off the rails."
Soros said in a public speech in Tokyo this Monday at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan that "now that Lieberman is out of the picture, he'd support any Democratic candidate for President -- just to get balance back into the system."
This snuggle-snuggle with John Bolton by the newly Indepent Joseph Lieberman really is something that deserves to be put under a big spotlight.
Moving into the pro-Bolton camp is a desperate move and places Lieberman no longer in the "Zell Miller-lite caucus" but rather with the "Neocon-heavy cabal."
-- Steve Clemons
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Reader Comments (32) - post a comment
One thing that worries me at this point is the idea that Lieberman might actually choose to caucus with Republicans in a 51-49 split Senate. Not the most likely outcome, but with a one-seat Democratic majority getting easier and easier to imagine...
Just want to point out that the person two rungs from the presidency is accusing the opposition of pampering terrorists. There would be nothing illegal today if the President chose to arrest the entire opposition on this suspicion, and effectively throw away the keys. No functionary that the President commands will be able to say, you're asking me to break the law by doing this.
Inconceivable? Well, was the country's collective yawn at this threat to liberty ever conceivable?
Joe's hangdog face must be fairly attractive to Oakley the Amazing Weimaraner. Actually, I think Joe's really more of an "old nag." That's a horse, right?
What amuses me is that somebody like Lieberman actually thought he had a snowballs chance in hell of being President. And lord, was his campaign awful in 2004. If he weren't a U.S. Senator supporting a historically tragic lost- cause-from-the-beginning war I could laugh at him.
"I have hesitated pounding too hard on Senator Lieberman who has been a great advocate of advanced technology development in this country and has been (until the Iraq war) a generally sensible voice on national security issues -- particularly at home. But to quote George Soros, "Lieberman has gone off the rails.""
Steve, thank you for your brief explanation about why you "have hesitated pounding too hard on Senator Lieberman." Now, if only you'd name the alternate position that you have decided Bolton could fill in capable service to his country, or describe in detail why that mewling fraud Reid remains in your good graces, I might just be closer to an understanding of what keeps you teetering on the fence.
Lieberman just needs the good asskicking that he never got, but deserved, as an adolescent. Then he can retire into obscurity, and bore the shit out of his unfortunate grandkids.
brilliant commentary.
i agree with uwsny,
steve nails the matter on the head.
"clem" is a force of nature.
tdy
And this at a time when Bolton's incompetence at the UN is on full display re North Korea. We seem to be saying to North Korea that if they sell nukes to Al Qaeda, then we'll cut off their supply of Louis Vuitton handbags.
Just when I thought I had all the reasons I needed to oppose Joe Lieberman, there comes another one. I have been quietly lobbying Dem leadrship to strip Joe of his seniority, which they've apparently promised him.
Supporting that damned Military Commissions Act is grotesque enough and supporting John Bolton's confirmation makes it plain that Joe is representing AIPAC, not CT. voters. I think I'll caoll his office and leave a message. Sig Heil, Joe. go goosestep your way into oblivion.,
This action is a prelude to Lieberman, despite his previous statements, deciding to vote as a Republican when the new Senate convenes. Conservative Democrats in Ct who vote for Lieberman will get a Republican Senator.
Greg hits it. Liebs is just a few months away from switching sides. While a crazy Dem *may* look at the war alongside the R's, NO Dem no matter how crazed would/should/could support Bolton. That he has chosen to do so leaves me convinced he's about to hop on the Elephant.
Say what you want about Sen. Lieberman's position on Bolton, but don't discuss its electoral implications without first taking a deep breath.
Bolton is popular among devoted supporters of Israel, one of Lieberman's core constituencies and a bigger factor in Connecticut than in most other states. Outside of that group, most Connecticut voters don't know John Bolton from Michael Bolton, and the ones who do include a lot of Republicans. This is not a big factor in the Connecticut race, and to the extent it's a factor at all Lieberman is making the smart political move.
Israel loves Bolton. Lieberman loves Israel. It follows that Lieberman loves Bolton.
Israel needs Bolton to defend its right of "self defense", in the expected UN "donnybrook" , resulting from Israel taking out the nuclear facilities in Iran. Bolton is second to Bush, in defending Israel, whatever unconscionable human rights violations, (ala Lebanon), Israel's bombing may do. Bolton is Israel's quintessential champion in the UN.
Neo con calculation is that Israel cannot afford to "lose" the house and senate before they bomb Iran. The bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities, is a "by product gift" to Bush, and expresses the October surprise. Such bombing is thought to "rescue" Bush and the republicans from their miserable expectations before election day.
How depressive a prediction.
Geez, now Alec's gonna have to disembark from the African Queen again. Damn.
According to the "inside source" in Orrin Hatch's senate office, Joe Lieberman wants to kill and eat Iranian children. Golly, that seems worlds of cannibalistic. Wait, the Boosh government is all about cannibalism and the end of Iran and Iranian children. Joe Lieberman is really close pals with der Fuhrer George Boosh. That's according to the "inside source" residing in the deep corners of Orrin Hatch's senate office.
Oh sigh, and here we sit waiting on Gestapo and the trip to Guantanamo. Alas habeus corpus, we knew ye not hardly at all.
I've seen speculations about the neo-con Zionist lovers wanting to get that October surprise Rove referred to going before the elections. The speculators were wondering if an American sporting event, family theme park or even a mid- size American city would be targets for their dirty bomb.
All of this would be quickly blamed on terrorists.
All of this would be a last minute attempt to bolster the Repubs in the election while stripping away what little rights American citizens still cling to.
Last night Keith Olbermann on Bush said,
“The Military Commissions act specifically permits the introduction of classified evidence not made available to the defense. Your words are lies, Sir. They are lies, that imperil us all.â€Â
Olbermann added, "Habeas Corpus? Gone. The Geneva Conventions? Optional. The Moral Force we shined outwards to the world as an eternal beacon, and inwards at ourselves as an eternal protection? Snuffed out. These things you have done, Mr. Bush… they would be "the beginning of the end of America."
From today's news --
Security high as dirty bomb threat puts NFL on alert
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/15794367.htm?source=rss&channel=dailynews_sports
"...What Lieberman doesn't understand is that Bolton's confirmation has been killed twice by Republicans -- not just by Voinovich, Thune, and Chafee but by many behind the scenes. Bolton represents a wing of anti-internationalist Republicans and that's all. And this wing is small..."
What Lieberman understands is that Bolton is the neocons' pitbull let out of his cage when there is a job to be done. We'll see him again, its a given. In essence, Lieberman knows he can only gain a foothold because of his neocon associations, but he just does not get it he has no useful cajones. Thus, he is of no more value than a PlasterCaster. A flawed wanna-be riding the coatails of terror for self-promotion.
Well, Pauline, that'd do it. They either need to get us all back on the Fear Train by staging an event such as you allude to, OR they need to hand us another fraudulent statesman for President, that represents the same interests, (but does so from the democrat's side of the fence). Kerry comes immediately to mind.
My bet??? Another false flag terrorist attack, killing masses. OR, a staged attempt, that is foiled in the nick of time by these lying son of a bitch's fascist tampering with our constitution......
"See, we DO need to spy on you and flush Habeus Corpus down the toilet. See, we DO need these sick fascist bastards like Cheney to institute policies of torture."
Lieberman's "fluffing" is such a joke and distraction to what all American citizens should right now be attenting to. Lieberman tries to come across as a "soft shoe", gentle thinking-type guy when, in both the old and new reality, he's really nothing more than another member of the high profile list of neo-con/Zionist bigtime flag-waiving supporters. His rather recent Repub leanings only support this thought.
Steve, you need to wake up from your Far East travels and smell the coffee. America has changed dramatically for the worse since you left.
How many American citizens really know and understand what The Military Commissions Act that bushwacker signed yesterday means??
The new law removes the right of habeas corpus for detainee trials. It ALSO ALLOWS any US President to declare ANY American an enemy combatant and imprison them without a court review.
This is obviously the new reality of the neo-con/Zionist rulemakers. I can't think of an uglier law that could change America for the absolute worse! Can you?
Hello, Steve, can you?
While many American families are getting busy planning Halloween, the real devils are out there ready for dirty tricks or worse on potentially untold numbers of innocent people.
Note to world: Joementum is going to win. And then he is going to vote for John Bolton's confirmation which will be successful.
Note to world: Joementum is going to win. And then he is going to vote for John Bolton's confirmation which will be successful.
Posted by Robert Morrow
Pitching for Diebold, Morrow?
Screw ya.
Speaking of Diebold, any fool could "deliver Ohio" to the president in 2004 with John Kerry leading the ticket. They need to earn their stripes this year - just kidding.
So, if the Dems do well in Ohio in 2006, it is all due to a bunch of rigged Diebold voting fraud, eh?
As for Joementum, I told you folks on primary night you had exactly 15 minutes to celebrate LaMont's win, because after that it would be "Hasta la vista, baby," to the anti-war libs in Conn.
You can email President Bush, VP Cheney, Congressional Leaders & Rush Limbaugh from my eclectic homepage. Check it out here...
http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/8889
Lieberman is not America's national treasure, but rather Israel's. You betcha Lieberman will win. When you have a combination of hypocrit republicans and democrats, AIPAC, and Israel, well, I'll bet on little Joe winning his "last hurrah's" go around. Hypocrosy is always a wining choice for the lumpens in this country.
Little Joe will never live that primary down. His subsequent actions and comments, have torn the mask off the real Lieberman, and has enshrined and justified that humiliating "kick" out of the party. What has been, has been, and the democrats, sick of this criminal war, have had their Connecticutt hour..
Yesterday, Wayne Madsen exposed Lieberman's mob money connections. If this is true, imo, Connecticut voters (and Diebold machines) are
to blame.
"Independent (pro-GOP) senate candidate Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut has been financed by mob money ever since his first run for his US Senate seat in 1988. That was the year Lieberman, who was broke, became awash in campaign money from the late Miami-based Cuban right-wing leader Jorge Mas Canosa. The funding for Lieberman was arranged by his primary GOP backer, William F. Buckley, Jr. Buckley was so incensed that the Republican incumbent Lowell Weicker had opposed the nomination of Buckley's brother, James Buckley, for a federal judgeship, he pulled out all his markers with the Cuban exile community to fund Lieberman's campaign.
With the Cuban money flow turned on, Lieberman soon began attracting mob money tied to the Cuban gambling interests of mob financier Meyer Lansky and the Genovese crime family. Much of that money was laundered through dubious Wall Street hedge funds."
"So, if the Dems do well in Ohio in 2006, it is all due to a bunch of rigged Diebold voting fraud, eh?"
Former delegate gets purported Diebold code
Diebold Election Systems Inc. expressed alarm and state election officials contacted the FBI yesterday after a former legislator received an anonymous package containing what appears to be the computer code that ran Maryland's polls in 2004.
Cheryl C. Kagan, a longtime critic of Maryland's elections chief, says the fact that the computer disks were sent to her - along with an unsigned note criticizing the management of the state elections board - demonstrates that Maryland's voting system faces grave security threats.
'Ill-equipped' states brace for Election Day chaos 'Ill-equipped' states brace for Election Day chaos
"As dozens of states are enforcing new voter registration laws and switching to paperless electronic voting systems, officials across the country are bracing for a chaotic Election Day with long lines, heightened confusion and an increase in the number of contested results," writes Ian Urbina. "Talk about panic," said one top election official. "I've got gray-haired ladies as poll workers standing around looking stunned."
"So, if the Dems do well in Ohio in 2006, it is all due to a bunch of rigged Diebold voting fraud, eh?"
Blackwell purged Ohio Voter Rolls Oct 1st.- Vote Early.
Then, one insider, probably an extremist, but certainly very close to Mr. Ken Mehlman abruptly stopped the conversation. He told table that it was impossible they would lose either house. He also predicts an Ohio GOP sweep.
He informed the group that over the last year, in four critical states the GOP needs to hold huge purges of the voter rolls have just been finished.
The insider did not say which four states, but did say Ohio was among them.
Our Rigged Elections (Part II); The GOP Playbook: How to Steal the Vote
"So, if the Dems do well in Ohio in 2006, it is all due to a bunch of rigged Diebold voting fraud, eh?"
California: State investigators have linked a Republican campaign to letters sent to thousands of Southern California Hispanics warning them they could go to jail or be deported if they vote next month, a spokesman for the attorney general said.
New Laws and Machines May Spell Voting Woes
"So, if the Dems do well in Ohio in 2006, it is all due to a bunch of rigged Diebold voting fraud, eh?"
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3630
The Clint Curtis / Tom Feeney Vote-Rigging Scandal as Seen in the New E-Vote Documentary 'Eternal Vigilance' 10/19
Missouri Voter ID Ruling Renews Importance of Elections Assistance Commission Report Being Made Public
"So, if the Dems do well in Ohio in 2006, it is all due to a bunch of rigged Diebold voting fraud, eh?"
Ohio Lawsuit to Reinstate hundreds of thousands of Purged Democratic Voters to be Filed Fri or Monday
Jeb's New Katherine Harris Continues to Try and Help Steal the Election for Foley's Vacated Seat
Lieberman a "fluffer" to the Republican leadership...?!! Perfect. Just perfect.
Senator Lieberman refuses to help ct veterans see his letter posted on this site www.webetrayamerica.com
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