An apology for Defending Zell Miller...

[Rowdyboy]

Since coming here 18 months ago, I have joined in numerous threads regarding southern Democrats in general, and Zell Miller in particular. I defended Miller because he was an excellent Democratic governor of Georgia and seemed to support centrist populism. In the senate, he disappointed me but, I accustomed to that. Most politicians disappoint me. I defended him because I so desperately hoped to maintain (and then regain) a majority in the Senate.

I believe judicial confirmations is the deciding issue of this century. I hoped, through maintaining control of the Senate, we could fight off the worse efforts of Bush and survive long enough to reclaim the court. This was my reasoning-offered not as a defense, but as a rationale.

I apologise. I was wrong. The man is a worthless piece of trash who deserves nothing but contempt. I cannot express to you how horribly saddened and embarrassed I am that I was fooled. I still support inclusion of moderates and DLC'ers in the party, I still like Breaux and Bayh and the Nelsons, and I still want some of the "Bubba" vote. But I have no respect for this traitorous bastard.

I'm sorry.

Please feel free to castigate me freely and kick my ass as much as you like...

I'll give myself one to start

[otohara]

1. Bend Over

now...say Mistress Otohara may I have another and another.

[xray s]

2. Don't be too hard on yourself

Your motives were pure.

Miller, on the other hand, has to look at Max Cleland, and defend why he is endorsing the leader of the party that smeared Max in the last campaign by comparing him to bin Laden and Hussein.

Miller is the lowest of the low.

[David Zephyr]

3. Refreshing Humility. You Have My Respect, Rowdyboy!

However, your defenses of Miller were far more tame than others here who really need to fess up.

What grace you show here. You have my respect, Rowdyboy, but for what its worth, I've been betrayed by numerous DINO's who I'd defended many years ago. I learned my lessons some twenty years ago. They must earn our respect.

Are you really inviting me to spank you?

[Rowdyboy]

4. Only in the figurative sense, though.

If I could get my partner to agree...

[David Zephyr]

5. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Such is the misery of life.

[Melinda]

6. First Miller - next Bayh. :-)

Graciously done, Rowdy.

[Rowdyboy]

11. I'm gonna have a hard time giving up Bayh...

Birch, his dad was my hero in the early '70's (pushed for abolishing the Electoral College-he was in favor of direct voting to elect the president). Evan's mom, Marvella, was a fabulous lady who was stricken by breast cancer (I believe) and died in her mid-40's. She wrote a book on her fight and it brought me to tears several times. I'm so disappointed in Evan I can't begin to explain, but I still have HOPE (you remember, we used to have a president from a place called HOPE). Maybe he will eventually live up to his family name.

[RowWellandLive]

20. Can you elaborate more on Bayh?

I know he's pretty conservative but why are you so disappointed? Wasn't he always that way or has he shifted more to the right? He does come from Indiana so I'm not certain as to where you think he should be politically and still be viable. He's been loyal on most things that count like judicial nominations. I don't think the Repubs like him nearly as much as Miller, Breaux, or Nelson.

As a conservative/moderate Dem I'm glad guys like Bayh are there, although I admit I don't follow him that closely.

As for Zell, I agree with him a lot of the time but I'm disappointed in his support of Bush. That's going way too far in my book. I do share his belief that the Dems have become too liberal and it can be frustrating. However, I believe that he should have remained and worked from within. I still give him credit for not switching after Jeffords although he probably wanted to. He had some loyalty when it counted. Now that he's a lame duck this stuff has less impact.

[Rowdyboy]

21. Evan Bayh is more conservative than I would prefer...

But, as a centrist-liberal Democrat, I'm also very glad he's there, representing the more conservative wing of the party. My disappointment stems from my "hero-worship" of his parents-the son seems to lack the vitality that made both his parents people worth admiring...

[Selwynn]

7. Woohoo! Very refreshing, very mature - but no apology needed.

[roguevalley]

8. Don't worry about it. Zell is the one who should apologize, not the good

people he sold out like you. Hugs, honey. Finding out the
truth sometimes can be so painful.

[Cha]

9. Sorry you were fooled by the likes of

the traitorous zell.

[Rowdyboy]

10. You guys are very kind but...

I'm nearly 50 and I've closely followed politics for over 30 years. I really thought my judgement was better than that.

When he endorsed Bush for re-election, I felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach by someone I once admired greatly.

Thanks for the support. I need it.

[calimary]

14. We ALL feel kicked in the stomach by that turncoat. Hey, Rowdyboy,

DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT feel down on yourself. I'm 50, myself, and if I had a nickel for every time I thought I was sure of someone or something, I'D have that gold-plated ass mentioned in another post here!

Our so-called reps do us enough damage and hand us enough betrayals and disappointments. Don't you do it to yourself! You went into this with sincerity and honesty, which is more than I can say for some of the so-called People's Employees mentioned in this thread. Don't dump on yourself like this. Shoot! At least you're one who's followed politics instead of believing the 30-second commercials and all those nifty-sounding campaign buzz-phrases. And your coming forward like this with how you feel makes you 100 times the man a weasel like Zell Miller is. If indeed he even qualifies as a "man" anymore. The guy he so heartily endorses certainly does not.

Blessings to you. It takes an awfully big person with good karma and a well-developed conscience to post something like this. You are to be supported and admired, NOT flamed or denounced.

[Rowdyboy]

15. Thank you, more than you know

I feel so frustrated because when Roy Barnes appointed Miller, I was thrilled! Here we have a populist Democrat taking a seat from a country-club Republican and Miller will hold the seat until we can win it with a new candidate. How can Democrats possibly lose?

Then he showed his true face.

[calimary]

18. And as somebody else pointed out here, that's a lot more Zell's

problem than yours.

Blessings!

[Khephra]

12. I will join in with the people who go "Bayh"?

He's not as bad as Miller by a long shot, but he's working his way there.

If I had a dollar for everytime that he's kissed Bush's ass I'd have a gold plated ass.

[CMT]

13. interesting that Zell, Evan, and Ben Miller are all ex-governors

who once they got to the senate felt the need to move to the right. I guess some of it is because of the states they represent: Georgia, Indiana, and Nebraska are hardly liberal oasis, but still Bob Kerrey was a ex-gov of Neb and senator and he had a relatively liberal record and was easily re-elected in Nebraska. I think the others will stay with the party and end up endorsing our nominee but I'd just as soon see Zell cross over and make this complete. No need to apologize. Zell did have a pretty good record as Governor--he fooled alot of people.

[Jack Rabbit]

16. That's pkay, Rowdyboy

We all make mistakes.

For my part, I was always disappointed with the stands Miller took, but didn't really feel betrayed by him until this week.

He is now cast forth from our community.

[Tinoire]

17. This is your second apology for the same thing

You didn't even need to post the first one. It takes a big man to come out and humble himself to apologize the way you did.

Not needed but very much appreciated.

We'll work on Bayh next

[MGKrebs]

19. For what it's worth,

I don't think you were fooled so much as Zell changed. I also thought he was a good choice for this seat, under the circumstances.

Zell used to be famous for voting his conscience, which meant that he would SOMETIMES vote with the repubs or advocate issues that were perceived as being non-Dem. But now he almost always supports Bush and the 'Pubs, and one has to wonder what has changed, the Dem party or him? I don't see a big change in broad Dem party point of view, so it's Zell that has changed.

[Rowdyboy]

22. I kick myself for supporting the ass for so long...

n/t