Why no outrage over spoiler Lieberman?

[TechBear_Seattle]

When rank-and-file Democrats wanted Lamont as their senator, Lieberman turned his back on the party and ran as an independent. As such, Lieberman pulled votes away from the designated Democratic candidate and now, he effectively holds the balance of power in the Senate. If the Democratic leadership does now kiss his wrinkled ass and complement him on how sweet his farts smell, he can just side with the Repugs (not that it would be the first time) and leave the Democrats dangling in the wind.

Why no outrage over this spoiler? Why no vitriol over those Democrats and independent progressives who voted for the spoiler rather than for the Democratic candidate? Why are DU posters allowed to brag about voting for the spoiler unchallenged, why the slightest whiff of support for a Green candidate who lost to a Democrat is verbally beaten to within an inch of his life?

Serious question here: why the outrageous hypocricy?

[wyldwolf]

1. the majority of rank-and-file Dems got what they were entitled to...

... Lamont as the Dem nominee.

[Bobbieo]

4. Tech Bear = Welcome to the wonderful world of politics

It's kiss and make up time - we will need him!!!!!!!

[Boston Critic]

2. Because like it or not...

...we've got to live with the guy for the next two years. In 2008, let's increase the majority and then tell him he can be in charge of the Post Office subcommittee.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

3. It's not hypocrisy in the least.

For one simple reason - they did it the right way, by voting for whom they wanted in the primary.

What we could not control is Lieberman running as an independent, nor could we control the fact that the Republican candidate rolled over and died. If any legit Republican were running in the race, I have few doubts that Lamont would have won in the end.

All of that said, I did vigorously warn against voting for Lamont and I still stand by that. I'm not going to call other hypocrites for not joining me, however.

[FighttheFuture]

23. Bullshit!! Lamont did vey well, and if the feckless Dem leaders had supported him AND

condemmed Lie-berman rather than winking while they drove the knife into Ned, we would today have a very solid Dem in the ranks rather than a whiny narcisstic lying two-faced vengeful little dicked putz name Joey "it's all mine" Lie-berman!

The party asshats have shown another great moment in their usual "strategeryizing" that's put them in the cellar for so long. Hell, what's a PRIMARY for anyway? Fuck CT Dems, it's just for show, you know!

Thank God, at least, Dean told Shumer and Emmanual to go pound sand up their asses when they wanted DNC money for their conservative Dem candicates!!

[gully]

5. You missed the outrage?

Lieberman has promised to caucus with the Democrats, he was a Democrat and has voted with Dems for 20 years in the Senate. Lieberman did not set out to assist Bush in taking the white house like Ralph Nader did, for example.

[JeffR]

6. The situation IS outrageous

but it is what it is.

My guess is that very few progressives, independent or otherwise, voted for this smarmy little man. But it's unquantifiable, really. If the Senate majority depends on Lieberman, well, that's outrageous indeed. But here we are.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

7. If the vote was fair

then the people have spoken and you really can't fault people on the way they vote. It's a personal choice and a personal right. And it is sometimes very hard to swallow.

[stepnw1f]

8. Yes... Let's Rehash This

the GOP LOST! Yeeehaaaawwww

[Stoic]

9. Jeeze

Can't I enjoy just a little while of our victory without thinking about that sonofabitch Lieberman? And excuse me, but the Dems (at least the rank-and-file who make up the MAJORITY of the party) KICKED LIEBERMAN OUT OF THE PARTY! HE'S NO LONGER A DEMOCRAT. He's a party of one.

[Bobbieo]

13. Jeeez - Not if George gets his hand on him!

[bowens43]

10. There was plenty of outrage but now we need him.

It's not hypocrisy, it's politics.

[FighttheFuture]

24. Don't hold your breath! We need Joe like we need cancer.

[The Magistrate]

11. There Is A Great Deal Of Anger At The Man, Sir

But he is in the Senate, and he must be dealt with.

Having carried the election in his state demonstrates he is not a mere splinterist. He is not a character who presence simply siphoned off a small number of voes sufficient to give an election to a Republican. That, as you well know, is the basic chatge against the Green party and its adherents. A charge they have yet, by the way, to come close to presenting an adequate rebuttal to.

[FighttheFuture]

25. Amazing what $16M+, a $380K illegal slush fund and tacit support of Dem leaders will do for Joe's

vanity candidacy! He splintered the Dems in CT and it cost them a solid Dem seat in Ned Lamont for a lying, untrustworthy fuck named Joe Lie-berman. It's really simple when you look at it.

[bloom]

12. Those are good points

But there has always been more love for Lieberman in the General Discussion: Politics section.

I think of him as a Republican, myself. And I think that this board should as well. It was the Republicans who supported him - FOX which put out the signs for him. So what the hell. AFAIC - DU should consider support of Lieberman to be like support of any other Republican - or worse, really. He's essentially the anti-dem.

[SaveElmer]

14. What's the point...

It is past...and Lieberman is needed to maintain the majority...

Simple as that!

[LoZoccolo]

15. What will it do? It's a useless two-minutes hate. n/t

[dansolo]

16. Joe was not a spoiler

As much as I hate the bastard, assuming no vote tampering, he won fair and square. His role was not the same as a Green or independant who has little chance to win. You can't be a spoiler if you actually win the election. There is no hypocricy here. But he is a DINO in the truest sense of the word. I don't trust him beyond his vote for majority leader.

[FighttheFuture]

26. Yes he was a spoiler. From ignoring the Demcratic Primary and fucking his "party" at the

first moment by lauching his vanity bid to his shitty campaign, illegal $380K slush fund and doing whatever mojo he did on the spinelss Dem leadership (not too hard, really). SPOILER is much to kind a lable for that DLC fuckhead.

[lumberjack_jeff]

17. Okay, I'm gnashing my teeth and pulling my hair.

Any difference?

Aside from needing a dentist and a comb, I'm right where I started.

We need Lieberman. We don't have to like it.

[geek tragedy]

18. There's plenty of outrage. However, we need to work

with the guy. He may be a vainglorious, narcissistic, self-righteous prig, but he's our vainglorious, narcissistic, self-righteous prig.

[FighttheFuture]

27. Really? Ours? What world do you live in? You think the $16M+ thrown into his

campaign by mostly right wingers is becasue they love Joe (well maybe they do...). HE i sbought and paid for and whenit comes to a crunch, I have no doubt to what way he will suck.

[Vidar]

19. Because we are stuck with the SOB.

[question everything]

20. You wanted us to respect the wishes of the CT Democrats

when they voted for Lamont during the primaries.

You now need to respect the wishes of the CT voters who chose Lieberman.

Personally I think that Lieberman was treated shamelessly. He has been a loyal Democrat and still holds core value that Casey and Harold Ford Jr. - and perhaps more of the new members of the House from the red states - do not.

He is the senator from CT, and if he does not vote the way you want it, that's too bad. He said that if he lost he would run as independent - accept it and move on.

[FighttheFuture]

29. Idiots do not deserve respect. Please do tell, what are Joe's "Core values"? I can use the laugh!

Joe is a republican, plain and simple. Even worse, he is a turncoat. He holds the values of MBNA, CAFTA, crazy Christians, not of the Democratic party, the party of Jefferson.

I do not have to "accept it and move on".

What you need to do is accept the facts of what Lie-berman is and move on with that new knowledge!

[Clarkie1]

33. Well, if I were a citizen of CT I would say YOU do not deserve respect.

I'm not a citizen of CT, so I'm not saying that, but I do respect the will of the people of CT and I do not call them idiots.

[T Town Jake]

21. Yeah, it'd REALLY be just soooo much better...

...if the Democratic leadership adopted your attitude, wouldn't it? After all, that would just send him packing over to the opposition side of the aisle and hand our hard-won control of the Senate right back to the Republican Party: what's not to like about that?

:sarcasm:

Jeesuz. About every time I start to forget why I don't take Greens all that seriously, a post comes along to remind me of exactly why I hold that sentiment...

[Vinca]

22. We are where we are.

Somehow Joe has managed to get himself the best seat in the Senate. We must make nice to keep the numbers on our side. If we don't, there's a whole lot of Republicans rolling out the welcome mat. I'm disappointed Ned didn't win, but it's over. Time to move on.

[FighttheFuture]

31. Yeah... $16M+ into Joey's campaign, but don't worry, he'll kiss and "make nice" with Dems!

Any other fantasies of "making nice" you want to present?

[AntiWarPoster]

28. Just KEEP on whining about it!

You don't live in CT. You don't have a vote. YOU DON'T HAVE A VOTE, Seattle!

People in CT decided that they wanted Joe to represent them in the Senate for another 6 years.

Lieberman got:

a majority of the male vote
a plurality of the female vote
A plurality of voters age 30-44
A majority of voters age 45-59
A majority of voters age 60+

42% of voters said Lieberman agrees with Bush the right amount of the time
9% of voters said Lieberman agrees with Bush too little
44% of voters said Lieberman agrees with Bush too much.

So a majority of CT voters(51%) agreed that Bush does not agree with Lieberman too much.

Sorry, but you lost. Respect the wishes of CT voters. I love Joe, gave money to him, made calls for him, he rocks.

[Clarkie1]

30. Lieberman is the people's choice. I am not outraged with the people of CT.

I simply disgree with their choice. Democracy won in CT, as it did everywhere in America on Tuesday!

[dsc]

32. We should have taken away his senority and made him

swear he wouldn't join the GOP. We didn't and now we can't. I am not happy but if he were to decide to go to the GOP we would be screwed. He won the election fair and square.

[fujiyama]

34. This isn't hypocrisy

It's about pragmatic politics.

Or would giving the senate up be worth it just out of spite - and to have a chance to be vindictive?