"[T]he most significant portent for the Dems may not be their
stupendous flopperoo in the California special election nor the
death of Zarqawi nor the non-indictment of Karl Rove---though,
taken together, they render pretty threadbare the Democrat strategy
of relying on Republican immigration splits, bad news in Iraq and
the GOP's 'culture of corruption.' No, the revealing development is
Joe Lieberman's troubles in Connecticut. Six years ago, he was the
party's beaming vice presidential nominee. Two years ago, he was
an also-ran for the presidential nomination. This summer, he's an
incumbent senator struggling not to lose in his own primary to a
candidate who's the darling of the anti-war netroots left. What's
the senator done to offend the base? Nothing---except be broadly
supportive of the Iraq campaign and other military goals in the
war on terror. He's one of a very few Democrats who give the
impression they'd like America to win. But in today's Democratic
Party it's the mainstream that gets marginalized. Forty years ago,
George Aiken recommended that in Vietnam America 'declare victory
and go home.' Today, the likes of Jack Murtha, John Kerry and
Ted Kennedy have come up with their own ingenious improvement:
Declare defeat and go home."
---Mark Steyn
We have all seen the treatment given to people like Lieberman and Zell Miller by the now-majority of their fellow party members, like Kos and Dizzy Dean. There is no room there for common sense, no nonsense Democrats.
I almost hope that happens. Republicans would stand a great chance of picking up his Senate seat, adding to the GOP majority, and the Administration would pick up a quality contributor.
ReplyDeleteHave you noticed we haven't been hearing much nonsense about the "stolen" 2000 election lately?
Perhaps that's because they realize that Lieberman would have been VP if they had managed to sucessfully pervert the process.
Having relatives (of both parties) in Connecticut, I can assure you the issue is a good deal more complicated than Steyn makes it out to be.
ReplyDeleteTrue, Lamont is campaigning against Lieberman primarily on an antiwar platform, but there are an awful lot of people up there pissed off at him because in his 18 years in the Senate they've never seen or heard from him, and not for lack of trying on their part. Connecticut ain't that big, population-wise or geographically, so people expect more in terms of personal appearances and personal contact from their senators up there than they do (or should) here. That particular kind of dissatisfaction crosses party and ideological lines.
The key point is this:
ReplyDelete"But in today's Democratic
Party it's the mainstream that gets marginalized."
Lex says:
"I can assure you the issue is a good deal more complicated than Steyn makes it out to be."
Details?