Definitely the most anticipated speech tonight -- in positive way or a negative way, depending on whom you ask -- was that of Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) It was also the first official RNC speech to employ the words "global warming."
"If John McCain was just another go-along partisan politician, he never would have led the fight to fix our broken immigration system or to do something about global warming," said Lieberman. "But he did!"
As for the political party issue, Lieberman referred to himself multiple times in the speech as a Democrat, despite now aligning himself as an Independent (though he continues to caucus with Democrats). "What, after all, is a Democrat like me doing at a Republican convention like this?" he asked. "The answer is simple: I'm here to support John McCain because country matters more than party."
As Al Gore's Democratic running mate on the Democratic ticket in 2000 and a staunch supporter of John McCain in this election, he's become the campaign's surrogate to non-Republican voters. This was pretty much the focus of his speech, in which Lieberman made sure to drop the words "maverick" and emphasize McCain's "independence." "God only made one John McCain, and he is his own man," said Lieberman.
"I ask the indulgence of those in this hall tonight, as I want to speak directly to my fellow Democrats and Independents who are watching," said Lieberman. "I know many of you are angry and frustrated by our government and our politics and for good reason. You may be thinking of voting for John McCain but you're not sure."
"Some of you have never voted for a Republican before, and in an ordinary election, you probably wouldn't. But this is no ordinary election, because these are not ordinary times, and John McCain is no ordinary candidate," he continued. "You may not agree with John McCain on every issue. But you can always count on him to be straight with you about where he stands, and to stand for what he thinks is right regardless of politics."
He was also sure to include a few jabs at McCain's Democratic rival, Barack Obama. "Senator Obama is a gifted and eloquent young man who can do great things for our country in the years ahead," he said. "But eloquence is no substitute for a record -- not in these tough times."
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Comments
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amazingdrx Posted 3:07 pm
02 Sep 2008
Executive experience:
Palin, Duuhbya, Cheney, Rummi, Wolfi, Chalabi...
BTW, whatever happened to Zell Miller?
Is Lieberman even an american anymore? No matter what side you are on, would you ever trust a rat like this?
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin
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LGT Posted 3:20 pm
02 Sep 2008
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spaceshaper Posted 9:15 pm
02 Sep 2008
The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
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justlou Posted 9:55 pm
02 Sep 2008
Isn't this just more than a little bit of cognitive dissonance or is it just a bald two faced lie to say something like this while also praising McCain's choice of VP?
But like Republicans, Lieberman is a master of the shell game. Why doesn't he give up the charade and just call himself a republican? Any democrat who bought that bullshit is no more of a democrat than Lieberman is.
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KenG Posted 10:50 pm
02 Sep 2008
Why is Joe at the Republican convention? Because the Democrat tent isn't big enough to allow independent thought. And that's exactly why this election is a contested election instead of a walk-over for the Democrats.
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justlou Posted 11:36 pm
02 Sep 2008
He can certainly take whatever position he wants. But we can most certainly question those positions. If he wants to be two faced in his reasoning in the choices he makes that is also his right but don't expect everyone to fall over and accept his ploy in the name of bipartisanship. Had he really been promoting McCain' principles to put national security at the top of his agenda he would have more independently and unbiasedly questioned McCain's choice of Palin.
Both sides and both ways. Sometimes the world is just too ridiculous to live in (Little Big Man).
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Russ Posted 11:40 pm
02 Sep 2008
When he took an independent stand on one issue - Iraq - the party abandoned him and went with another candidate.
In the first place, jumping on the neocon war wagon hardly constitutes taking an independent stand.
More importantly, the "party" (if by that you mean the heirarchy) didn't abandon him, Connecticut's primary voters (i.e. the heart and soul) rejected him, at which point he abandoned the party.
Most importantly, this rejection wasn't just because of his siding with Cheney on Iraq - lots of Democrats did that.
But Lieberman went alot further, posing with Republicans every chance he had, giving aid and comfort to every republican lie and slander, most despicably of all joining in the auto-da-fe of condemning the lack of "patriotism", the implicit treason, of anyone who was against the war.
So, while there has indeed been an assault on those who take an independent stand, it's Lieberman who has been one of the assailants.
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KenG Posted 12:47 am
03 Sep 2008
Contrast that with Jim Jeffords, hailed as a hero by the Democrats. He ran as a Republican and changed parties only after he was safety elected to his last term.
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justlou Posted 1:14 am
03 Sep 2008
Here is Lieberman's explanation:
Mitchell asked a pretty reasonable question, which has come up more than a few times lately: "Do you feel that Sarah Palin is qualified to be commander in chief if, God forbid, something should happen to John McCain?"
Lieberman eventually, grudgingly, half-heartedly said he thought Palin would be ready, but before he got there, he argued that we shouldn't even worry about the possibility.
"Well, you know, let's assume the best," Lieberman said. "John's in great shape, he's going to be the president, and let's assume that nothing bad will happen. Why should we?"
source:http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/
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