Jack & Jill Politics

THIS SHOULD HAVE GIVEN US A CLUE ABOUT THE TREACHERY THAT IS JOE LIEBERMAN

…basically means being a horses’ ass royale. Never mind that any political value he purported to bring to the Democratic Party was really an illusion.

JJP readers may wonder why I’m writing about Herr Lieberman when, really, he’s in the toilet along with Harold “The Dark Sith” Ford, Jr., and the Tidy-Bowl Man. I’m writing this piece, because my colleague, Rikyrah, has made several entreaties that I take this on. I am a team player, after all.

At least the Tidy-Bowl Man, when last seen in commercials, was in a rowboat. Joe Lieberman doesn’t even have a life raft, and at the rate he’s pissing off the Democratic side of the Caucus in both Houses of Congress, I’m willing to wager that there are very few members that would pee on him if he caught fire. But, I’m digressing from the points I want to make about why Joe Lieberman’s tenure in the Democratic Side of the Senate needs to be brought to closure, and quickly.

Here’s some reasons why the man known as “Holy Joe” needs to be stripped of his committee assignments and shown the door:

(1) He lost the Democratic Primary to Ned Lamont. However, Connecticut being the state she is, allowed for Joe to come back as an Independent. That election also allowed ReThugs to turn their back on their own candidate and back Joe. Their backing should have served as a warning to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, that Lieberman couldn’t be trusted to keep his promise to caucus with the Democrats when he won re-election.

(2) On salient issues, such as Israel and the Iraq War, he has voted like a ReThug all the way, and chided fellow Democrats for not doing the same; going as far as to call them out on Fake Noise Network.

(3) On issues such as Supreme Court Nominees, he failed to filibuster Roberts and Alito; in fact, he supported their nominations, despite the fact that he voted against one of them (Alito). The issue was supporting a filibuster and cloture to prevent their nominations from coming to the floor for a vote. Doesn’t matter how you voted if you had the chance to prevent their nominations from coming to the floor for a vote and you didn’t try to stop it.

(4) He has been trying to paint Barack Obama as a Muslim, despite the furor over Obama’s membership in a decidedly Christian church (and Obama was forced to end his membership over the controversy). This was so bad, Obama had to drag Lieberman into a corner, twice, to tell the man to shut up with the slander or else he’s getting into that ass.

(5) He’s agreed to headline at the Republican National Convention this summer, a la Zell Miller. At least Zig-Zag Zell was planning to retire when he pulled that stunt back in 2004, because even in his rabid state, Miller knew he couldn’t return to the Senate after all but deserting the Democratic Party and becoming a Republican. Lieberman is indicating, by his actions, that he’s going to actively campaign against his own party’s Nominee. Under these circumstances, he should not be considered neither a Democrat, nor an Independent – his actions spell out G-O-P.

These stunts I’ve listed usually results in the stripping of Committee Chairmanships and party-line status. In other words, you’re neutered and have no real influence, credibility or power. This is how the ReThugs maintained their party unity; wayward members of the GOP were disciplined for defection and stripped of power for any break in unity. How do you think Tom DeLay got the nickname “The Hammer”?

He got that nickname for dropping the Hammer on any ReThug even smelling like he/she would be thinking independently of the party leaders’ agenda. It is also the reason Bush managed to railroad a crapload of bad legislation through Congress in eight years, and it is also the reason why Congress has managed to all but eliminate the concept of Checks and Balances. The passage of most of that legislation eliminated Congressional oversight and accountability, and abdicated responsibility to the Executive Branch of Government. Lieberman facilitated all, if not most of that, especially with that “Gang of 14” nonsense involving alleged “bipartisanship” that resulted in Democratic members of Congress continually being screwed over. Especially in Supreme Court Nominees and the like.

Honestly, if your ideology matches that of your opposition party, you really need to join them and quit infecting your caucus beyond mere dissent. One would wonder why Zell Miller pulled his stunts, but when watching Lieberman act in similar fashion, I think I have the answer to his machinations.

When Lieberman found himself with a primary challenger in Ned Lamont, several Democrats, loyal to the party line, decided very early that they would wait and see who won the contest, and they would get behind the winner of the contest. Sounds fair and logical in many ways. But you must also understand in the scheme of things, since Lieberman was inflicted upon Al Gore as a running mate back in 2000, on his way to the VP nod, he made a few enemies on the Democratic side of both Houses of Congress, especially with his stance on Israel, his war hawkishness, and his “moral” stance on the Monica Lewinsky-Giving-the-POTUS-a Blow Job Scandal.

They saw a way to evict him from Congress and minimize AIPAC influence by supporting and actively campaigning for Ned Lamont. Some of Lamont’s supporters were CBC members and gave me laundry lists of their issues with Joe Lieberman. His connection to AIPAC in particular, resulted in several southern CBC members being challenged and defeated by Black candidates primarily financed with AIPAC money (see Davis, Artur; Majette, Denise;, and Johnson, Hank).

What they didn’t count on was the fact that Joe Lieberman would refuse to be gracious in defeat and leave the stage. They didn’t expect him to utilize that quirk in Connecticut election law that allows for a candidate to file to run simultaneously as both a Democrat, and in defeat, re-file to run as an Independent. When he won re-election, I remember getting a sinking feeling in my stomach, and instinctively knew that Lieberman was not going to be gracious in dealing with who he now perceived to be his enemies. In fact, that was the one time I almost wished Harold Ford had won his Senate campaign because it would have, in appearance, given the Democrats and Harry Reid another Democrat in the Senate to counteract and nullify any shyt Lieberman might try to pull.

I only had that thought for 30 seconds; then I remembered that it was HAROLD FORD, JR. I was thinking about, and, given his history of being a ReThug in Democrats’ clothing, there was no earthly reason to give that Senate seat to an African-American version of, ahem, JOE LIEBERMAN. All Ford’s victory would have done is to ensure Lieberman had back up when he began to wreak havoc on the Democratic Caucus in the Senate.

At most, I sensed he was going to pay back most of the Caucus for not supporting him against Lamont in the General election, by holding the Democratic Caucus hostage and threatening to vote with the ReThugs if he didn’t get his way.

He has done exactly that. And now, he believes that his position gives him license to continue holding Harry Reid and the Democratic Caucus hostage by continued threats to tie up the votes on important issues, and thereby allow Dick Cheney to come to the Floor and cast the tie-breaking vote – so he pulls all of the stunts I’ve listed, and a few I haven’t, as reasons to openly court the GOP without consequences and repercussions.

The main line is that Holy Joe’s actions should be fraught with consequences and repercussions. I don’t mean that the Democratic Caucus needs to wait to see how their majority in the Senate is going to pan out in the November elections. As it is, Lieberman has done far too much damage to be allowed to continue to caucus with the Democrats in the Senate. If there is worry about his voting with the GOP, Harry Reid knows of several parliamentary procedures that could tie things up until he gets the majority he needs to overrule any antics Lieberman pulls. In fact, Reid has already used one of those tactics to shut down the Senate three years ago.

Sometimes, one has to engage in strategies that deviate from the norm, but maintains the situation until it can be changed.

With the Democratic nomination of Barack Obama, the guard is changing, and if Lieberman doesn’t buy himself a clue, he’ll realize it when he becomes the Congressional equivalent of a homeless guy begging for change in front of Union Station after the November elections. It doesn’t matter if Obama wins or loses the general; the fact is that the Democrats are primed to be swept into greater majorities in the House and Senate on Obama’s coattails and momentum, which creates many problems for Lieberman dissing the people he has to work with.

The main problem with Lieberman is the problem all lunatics have when you have the same situation, apply the same solution, and hope for different outcomes. The only thing I will say is Lieberman better be glad he’s not the Senator from a state that allows for their elected officials to be recalled when they piss off their electorate.

He should ask Gray Davis about that.