On Lieberman and Stevens, Democrats and Republicans Took the Easy Way Out
Neither political party in the Senate earned any profiles in courage awards for actions last week. When it came time to deal with waywards, both wilted.
The Democrats told Sen. Joe Lieberman to go to his room for a timeout. That was his punishment for several betrayals of his party, of which he was open and blatant.
First, he spent most of the last year as a shirttail to Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee. At home and abroad, Lieberman was nearly always in the photo ops with that big smirk on his face. Several sources said McCain wanted to tap Joe as his running mate but was talked out of it.
At the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn., Lieberman said he would only praise McCain and not criticize Barack Obama. Of course, he did so by calling him naive and unqualified to be commander in chief.
Lieberman went on the road briefly with Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, introducing her with flourishes and citing Obama's early life association with radical William Ayres as "fair game." He was a willing player in the guilt-by-association game played out by the Karl Rove-trained consultants.
Going another step, Lieberman got involved in the Minnesota Senate race between Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken. He praised Coleman's role in the Senate. That race is still unsettled and will be decided in a ballot-by-ballot count into December.
When the Democrats met last week on Lieberman's transgressions, it was decided to strip him of a minor subcommittee post but leave him as chairman of the important Homeland Security Committee. The vote was 42 to 13 after Obama gave his blessing to the minor slap.
So what? It was up to the senators to decide the issue.
Count me with the 13 who wanted more severe punishment for a man who knew exactly what he was doing. One question: Will Joe go running to McCain next year to tell him or others what the Democrats are doing behind closed doors?
On Meet the Press Sunday, Lieberman used the word "reconciliation" several times to explain how he was
looking ahead in the Democratic caucus. He said he regretted some of his words in the campaign. It wasn't an apology at all for a year full of stabs in the back.
As for the Republicans, they took a pass on voting to expel Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska from their caucus. Stevens had been convicted last month on seven counts of lying about a quarter-million dollars in gifts from home state pals.
The GOP senators, rather than give the boot to a convicted felon, delayed the decision for 48 hours. They had to know that Democratic candidate Mark Begich was picking up an insurmountable lead and had defeated Stevens' bid for re-election. The matter became moot, and the senators did not have to take a stand on their 85-year-old colleague.
The decisions in the two parties sent another message to voters: When it comes to dealing with their own in
Congress, members take the easy way out.
Reader Comments
Lieberman,Stevens - Easy Way Out
One of the main criticisms of Bush was that he was an Ideologue, i.e. that he made policy based on his political philosophy rather than doing the will of the people. Now we seem to be switching back to favoring political ideology as we criticize the parties for not punishing political independence in their midst. It shouldn't take a genius to see that Lieberman, as a Jew, was very concerned by the stance against Israel taken by Obama and his advisers during the campaign. Frankly, I vote for people who see the world as I do, not for Bill Clintons who put focus groups and pollsters in charge of American policy.
Joe and Ted
The voters in CT will take care of Lieberman
when he comes up for re-election.The
voters in Alaska have already taken care of Stevens
Mashek rightly points out one of the great weaknesses in our p systems-the failure of Congress and other bureaucracies (ie, corporations) to self regulate and discipline their wayward colleagues. Certainly,effective, outside oversight is needed to keep groups and the individuals in them on the straight and narrow-especially when vast sums of money are involved. If we learn nothing else from the messes Congress has made -starting with the Delay/Gingrich et al regime and since- then we must learn this and take effective action to prevent further abuses by like minded groups or individuals.
And,the last chapters have yet to be acted,so the criminals and traitors may get their comeuppance eventually-we hope!
It's amazing how quickly many are judging an administration that was elected only 3 weeks ago and won't even be installed for another 8 weeks!! It must be that the realities of the current Bush/Cheney mob are too hard to face up to, so may as well divert attention from all that ruin...eh?
Some bloggers(MC-NY) seem to have a need for others to be betrayed by the newly elected just as they were betrayed by Bush, Rove, Cheney,etc. who so used the radical right for their own greedy purposes. We can understand their pain. Obama is not a sociopath, however. So far, he seems to be trying to make honest assessments and find the best solutions to the hideous destruction he is inheriting. No one is going to agree with any President 100%, but just having one who wants and works hard for the best for the USA and its citizens is a relief and a welcome change.
Most did not vote for Obama to support a far left agenda; we're simply looking for intelligence, honesty, capability, wisdom, respect for the law and civil rights, and doing the best things-a version of morality that most understand and want, and very unlike what we've had for 8 years. Most will be happy with a centrist governing philosophy that is healthy and not dysfunctional,and respectful rather than contemptuous of its citizenery.
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