Photo Credit: AP
As I saw the half page photo of Joe Lieberman on Huffington Post with a headline exclaiming "I am not Bush!" A loud voice in my head exclaimed back, "The hell you aren't!" I suddenly got what this primary election is really all about. In politics, strident denials are the strongest clues that your opponents are striking at the truth.
Bingo, I think we've got the right frame on this contest. Joe Lieberman has chosen to make himself a referendum on support for the George Bush administration. I've been annoyed at pundits, the DLC, and Lieberman suggesting this is a single issue litmus test about the Iraq War. Even Donna Brazil has written an editorial warning Democrats of "fragmenting" before the November elections.
It most certainly is not just about Iraq or being "antiwar ideologues for all of us. We progressives are working hard for the reelection of a wide range of "Democrats, many who do not favor a specific timetable. No, Joe Lieberman, has gone way out of his way to adopt President Bush's Neocon philosophy and positions on Iraq and went out of his way to oppose our emerging antiwar movements with questions of their patriotism.
Is Senator Joe Lieberman who has finally put the correct frame on the Lamont - Lieberman contest. Joe Lieberman has insisted on making himself a referendum on support for George Bush, his war, his violations of the Geneva Conventions, the UN Charter, Donald Rumsfeld and his court appointments etc.
Lieberman's identification as an all out supporter of the Bush administration's policy is so complete, that he has been one of the most frequently suggested replacements for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
Listen as Joe Lieberman hands a powerful narrative frame for this primary to Ned Lamont on a silver platter. Susan Haigh, of the Associated Press, write in the Washington Post"I'm Not George Bush:"
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. -- U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman sought to distance himself from the Bush administration during a televised debate with his upstart Democratic primary challenger Thursday, telling him: "I'm not George Bush."
"I know George Bush. I've worked against George Bush. I've even run against George Bush. But Ned, I'm not George Bush," Lieberman said during the debate, televised nationally by MSNBC and C-SPAN. "So why don't you stop running against him and have the courage and honesty to run against me and the facts of my record."
Meanwhile, President Bush has refused to endorse Lieberman for giving him another "kiss of death."
When pressed about his liking Lieberman, Bush responded, "You're trying to get me to give him a political kiss, which may be his death."
So next time someone tries to imply that progressives are potentially damaging our party by imposing a single issue, Iraq War litmus test on poor Joe Lieberman, strike back with Joe Lieberman has chosen to make himself a referendum of what happens to Democratic leaders who defect to the GOP in the middle of important Senate vote battles.
Woof, woof!