You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Home Front: Politix
MoveOn.org May Not Support Sen. Lieberman
2005-12-02
Sen. Joe Lieberman stands virtually alone among Democrats after expressing his staunch support for the Bush administration’s handling of the war in Iraq. An official with the liberal activist group MoveOn.org said the group might go so far as to back a Democratic challenger to Lieberman in next year’s Senate race, according to the Hartford Courant.

On Tuesday Lieberman published an editorial in the Wall Street Journal – reported by NewsMax – saying that his recent trip to Iraq convinced him further that the U.S. should not abandon "27 million Iraqis to 10,000 terrorists.” The next day in an address on the progress of the war, President Bush said those who have called for withdrawal timetables, including 38 of the Senate’s Democrats, are "sincerely wrong.” He went on: "As Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman said recently, setting an artificial timetable would ‘discourage our troops because it seems to be heading for the door. It will encourage the terrorists. It will confuse the Iraqi people.’ "Senator Lieberman is right.”
That's the kiss of death right there as far as MoveOn is concerned
Lieberman was one of five Senate Democrats to oppose a Democratic-backed plan to require the president to set timetables for American troop withdrawals.

That has drawn some sharp criticism from the left. Tom Matzzie, Washington director of MoveOn.org, said: "The war on Iraq has all the characteristics of Joe-momentum,” recalling a slogan Lieberman used during the 2004 presidential campaign. "Just like he didn’t realize his presidential ambitions were in trouble, he doesn’t understand the war in Iraq isn’t going anywhere.”

Matzzie – whose organization claims more than 50,000 Connecticut members, according to the Courant – said that if his members ask, his group would back a Democratic challenger to Lieberman. He added that when he was in New Haven last month, he found "the No. 1 question people asked me was, ‘What are we going to do about Joe Lieberman?’”

Norman Orstein, political analyst at Washington’s American Enterprise Institute, highlighted Lieberman’s isolation among Democrats. He told the Courant: "A consensus on the war is forming in the Democratic center, that it’s virtually impossible to set a withdrawal date, but there should be a change in our approach to the war. "Joe is not in that center, and I don’t see anyone else in the party where he is.”
The Democratic "center" has shifted so far left they're about to drop off the edge of the earth.
Posted by:Steve

#14  he'd be 0 for 2 after the first two primaries, and the way the Donk party is drifting to port, he won't have substantial $. I see a quick campaign fold, but he'll stay on message. In my mind that's an indication of some principles of belief....
Posted by: Frank G   2005-12-02 21:07  

#13  Frank
I might just be getting cynical about the motives of anyone from the left. But You are right that he is to be commended for his stand and I would hope it's on priciple.
Posted by: 49 pan   2005-12-02 20:54  

#12  Joe L won't stand a chance when someone like Biden and Kerry is willing to apply his lips to every leftist buttock to get the nod. I doubt he'll even be allowed to speak at the convention. BTW I actually think he's doing this on principle, not pandering. He's to be saluted. Hell, he's more Republican than Specter
Posted by: Frank G   2005-12-02 20:12  

#11  Lieberman is posturing for the next election. If he can pull the moderate dems from the moonbat pool he could stand a chance next election. He has all the "I support the war and troops" platform pluss the liberal union and minority support. Looks like he has just declaired his intentions.
Posted by: 49 pan   2005-12-02 20:01  

#10  #4 - TW's question is not relevant to the left, but is of interest to me, and I LOVE the answer in #5. The lefties STILL haven't figgered it out!
Posted by: Bobby   2005-12-02 15:53  

#9  LH, That's an insult to Lieberman and Miller.
Posted by: Ulomoling Phising5375   2005-12-02 14:46  

#8  Steny Hoyer also recently spoke against hasty withdrawl.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2005-12-02 14:45  

#7  Joe Lieberman and Zell Miller.
Posted by: john   2005-12-02 14:43  

#6  Joe Lieberman: the Last Democrat.
Posted by: Matt   2005-12-02 14:27  

#5  Question: how many of MoveOn.org's sponsored candidates have won their elections?

4 of 26 with over $20 million spent.
Posted by: ed   2005-12-02 14:12  

#4  TW, What a rational question. What makes you think it is applicable or relevant to the true believers of the extreme left?
Posted by: Omaviting Theresing8523   2005-12-02 13:54  

#3  Question: how many of MoveOn.org's sponsored candidates have won their elections? If the percentage is low, then what difference does their support/opposition make?
Posted by: trailing wife   2005-12-02 13:51  

#2  Do the Republicans run against Lieberman? As I recall, Bill Buckley got him to run to defeat Weicker. Any one know if there's truth to this?
Posted by: Thomomp Glomosing3885   2005-12-02 13:51  

#1  Good. Lieberman should wear MoveOn's opposition as a badge of honor. It takes some mighty big cojones to do what Lieberman has done -- in effect, buck the trend in his party -- and he should be proud of his stance.
Posted by: Jonathan   2005-12-02 13:44  

00:00