Sometimes I feel like we have piled on this person enough on this site, but then, I am trying to choke down my dinnertime snack while listening to this member of the 51 member Democratic Majority, and I am using that term very loosely in recognition of reality, spew Republican Party talking points like he was working for Roger Ailes over at Faux News.
I could not make this stuff up if I tried, I am not this talented at trying to spin a disaster into a policy.
If Lieberman is part of the Democratic majority, we have no Democratic majority on this issue.
Grab an airline sickness bag if you dare to go below the fold on this one...
From the Newshour with Jim Lehrer, posted on the PBS site as a transcript of the conversation on Monday, January 8th, about 6:10 EST....
Well Joe, what should we do now?????
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (ID), Connecticut: The one policy that we have not really followed in Iraq, the one alternative we have not taken, is to send an adequate number of American troops there to maintain the security of the country. And the alternative to trying this is to accept defeat.
I took the liberty of deleting everything but the Lie berman quotes. If you want the unedited transcript it is here:
http://www.pbs.org/...
At least they are identifying him as an independent on this transcript.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman ID-Conn.
I believe that the alternative to more troops is to give up on Iraq, and that would be a disaster, not just for the Iraqis, but for the United States.
So what makes you think a "surge" will work Joe?
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN: Yes, I spent time in Iraq over the December break, just before Christmas. And I came back with an obvious understanding that things are not going, certainly in Baghdad, as we want them to, but also with a confidence that the majority of people in Iraq quite naturally don't support sectarian violence, don't want their country taken over by terrorists.
Well Joe, do you support the President's plan to achieve "victory" in Iraq?
They need this infusion that the president will apparently recommend of American forces to secure, to help them secure Baghdad and, I think, in Anbar Province, to build up some extraordinary gains that our forces have made there against al-Qaida, to claim a victory in that province, which al-Qaida in Iraq said was going to be the capital of a new Islamic extremist caliphate.
Whoa, Joe is using "surge" in the argument for the surge! If we don't "surge" Iran will "surge" and we will have a "surge" gap! And the domino theory will have Al-Qaida follow us home. Ladies and gentlemen, I could never make up quotes like this....
So I believe that the alternative to more troops is to give up on Iraq, and that would be a disaster, not just for the Iraqis, but for the United States. Iran would surge in; al-Qaida would claim a victory; and they'd chase us right back here to the United States
.
Well Joe, what about walking away from Iraq?
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN:
...
And I think that would just increase the sectarian violence and lead the Iraqi political leaders to hedge their bets. Also, it would be a body blow to America's credibility in the Middle East.
"America's credibility in the Middle East?!!??!" Are you joking? Which U.S. credibility in the Middle East are your referring to?
Remember Condi's claim that there was a new Middle East of moderate regimes fostered by the Bush policy that was just going through a little "birth pang" or two? Joe is still mouthing that nonsense, sort of like a Koi in a pond with no place to swim....
And I'll tell you what I found in the Middle East, a new dividing line between moderates and extremists in the Arab world, between democrats, with a small "d," and dictators. And they're watching how we deal with Iraq.
This is where I stopped trying to eat and just tried hard not to lose what dinner I had already eaten.
If we begin to pull out, they're going to think that we don't have staying power, and they're going to begin to hedge their bets and move toward extremism. And as Senator Cornyn said, that means that eventually we're going to have to go back there in a bigger battle, and they're going to come after us here in the United States.
Bring in Al Davis and just keeping repeating "Just win baby."
We can win this conflict in Iraq. It takes the kind of increase in troops that the president apparently will recommend to change the dynamic. I think it's our last best hope, and it's critically important to us.
Well Joe, what are your fellow Democrats, I mean, the people who are Democrats, not that you are one anymore, going to do in the fact of Bush's call for a "surge?"
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN: Right. I would say that most members of the Senate Democratic caucus are opposed to an increase in troops, as the president will apparently recommend, but I think they will listen. I'm encouraged by what Jack Reed said.
I don't think there will be an attempt to cut off funding, and I hope, in the end, people will give this proposal a chance to work, because it matters to our security and the security of our children and grandchildren.
Joe Lie berman has gone through the looking glass. If reality were a bulldog attached to his nose he would not see it. Who voted for this person? Who?
I think the American people are disappointed with how the war in Iraq is going. So are all of us. But they're not ready to give up on it.
And I think a strong speech by the president and strong action to follow, with a new military leadership team in Iraq, can turn, not only the tide of events in Iraq, but the tide of public opinion here in America. I believe we can still win here.
Repeat after me Dorothy. "We can still win." "We can still win." "We can still win." Now tap your slippers together three times while closing your eyes.....
There is a light at the end of the tunnel Joe, and it's not a train coming your way. It's the light from your brain cells winking out, one at a time like a slow motion supernova of dying nerves.