So this is where Lieberman, Marty Peretz, Marshall Wittman and the rest of the crowd get their
talking points:
. . . Vice President Dick Cheney . . . went so far as to suggest that the ouster of Mr. Lieberman might encourage "al Qaeda types."
"It's an unfortunate development, I think, from the standpoint of the Democratic Party, to see a man like Lieberman pushed aside because of his willingness to support an aggressive posture in terms of our national security strategy," Mr. Cheney said in a telephone interview with news service reporters. . . .
Mr. Cheney offered warm praise for Mr. Lieberman, who was his opponent for vice president in 2000, though he said he did not want his remarks to be construed as an endorsement of Mr. Lieberman.
He cast Mr. Lieberman's loss in ominous terms, suggesting that it would hearten American terrorist enemies. Terrorists, he said, are "betting on the proposition that ultimately they can break the will of the American people in terms of our ability to stay in the fight and complete the task."
There the Democratic voters of Connecticut go again, emboldening the terrorists.
Lieberman in defeat is an even bigger tool of the party of Rove, and they're going to wring him for all he's worth. It's a risky strategy--if Connecticut showed us anything it's that the electorate has no more patience with the administration's line on Iraq. Fear might just be a political card that's been played out.
It's hard to imagine Lieberman is welcoming BushCo's advances. They can only speed up the rate at which his donations dry up, and certainly aren't going to bring any more Independents around to Joe's side. He can't rely on Republicans alone to bring his Party of One back to Washington. So perhaps we should all thank Karl, Dick, and "the boss" for their strong support. It just might hasten Joe's departure from the political stage.
H/T AMERICAblog.