Lieberman says they have formed a "moderate Senator" coalition....

[kentuck]

On FOX News, Joe Lieberman made the comment that "moderate Senators" of both Parties had already met. He did not say specifically what they discussed or how many were in the meeting. However, this may be the only hope to stave off the radical agenda of Bush and the right-wingers....

[dogtag]

1. Isn't he referring to the 'bend over' Senators, just like him?

[mazzarro]

6. That's right!

The 'Pucker Up' Senators of which he is bound to be the chairman.

[elehhhhna]

29. Deputy Dawg. Arf Arf.

[joelogan]

2. fuck LIEberman

rightwing scumbag

[valis]

24. i have to agree with that...

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

61. that scumbag is a DINO . . .

and anything he proposes is only going to help the Repukes.

LIEberman needs to be replaced. When is his term up?

[Eurobabe]

3. they've got some Joementum!

[chimpymustgo]

5. Sadly, this might be our last line of defense against the regime.

Joementum. God help us.

[mazzarro]

8. They are NOT going to be any defence in any meaningful way

rather they are going to be the subterfuge by which chimp* and his ass-kicking neo-cons reThugs are going to suck it to the rest of the world.

[kentuck]

10. Sadly, it may be...

A drowning man will cling to a straw.

[blondeatlast]

12. I'm afraid so myself. We have to court the moderates on the right

of the aisle to have any power whatsoever.

[joelogan]

16. or just let the party slip further into minority status

and then maybe some real liberals will get elected

[fujiyama]

23. Please tell me

from which states will these liberal senators be elected from?

We lost senate races in NC, LA, SC, OK, AK, SD, GA and FL. In SD Thune claimed that Daschle was obstructing Bush too much. If you think more liberal candidates would have won those races then you must not have realized that every single one of those states voted for Bush, and with the exception of FL, by double digit margins.

Sorry, but I'm not a fan of Lieberman either, but when the senate is ruled by republicans by a margin of 10 seats, courting moderates is probably the only way to stave off RW judges and other appointees.

[The Wielding Truth]

31. Like this...

Shame America and the GOP for turning its backs on the poor, for exploiting the disadvantaged.

[Dulcinea]

50. If it keeps someone like Ashcroft off the SCOTUS

I'm all for it.

[Obviousman]

4. Why do I have the sinking feeling

that these so called "moderates" are just democrats who will be lapdogs for the bush administration?

[d_b]

7. Moderate Senators?

He means Republicrats, because it doesn't take much to be to the left of Cheney & gang

[eleonora]

9. No way. I don't want a right-wing party within the Democrat party

What's as bad as two parties and rigged elections?
One party pretending to be two.
We're screwed if we get a 'moderate-liebermanish' candidate for 2008.

[joelogan]

18. I wasn't aware of ANY truly liberal senators

Tell me about one

[eleonora]

20. Well, true. But we're moving further right with these assholes in power.

and further and further...

[HFishbine]

56. Does Russ Feingold count? n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. This is scary but given some of the idiots elected

Lieberman now qualifies as Moderate....

[blondeatlast]

13. Exactly. Remember the election swung us so far to the right

that Arlen Spector has become a social liberal.

Unappetizing, but it's the damn truth.

[BlueCaliDem]

14. We Should Show Our Support for this "New Moderate Coalition...

...and pitch in to buy them four years worth of Vaseline, and Pilates lessons, so they don't hurt themselves all to bad!
Sheesh!
Why is Lieberman still even a Democrat anymore???

[WyLoochka]

15. The so called moderate group

of senators has been in existence for several years. They didn't do diddly squat for the last four. They fussed a little - but most of the members ended up voting for all of the most odious pieces of the Bush* agenda.

It's the "moderates" who will sell us out again. It's a small group, but there are enough of them to totally stop the next lunge even further to the right that is on the schedule. But they won't do it.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Carolina]

19. touche

Lieberman sucks and his first loyalty is to Israel.

[liberal democrat]

43. That's

an ignorant, anti-semetic thing to say. Seeing that you are a big poster, I assume that you are an educated, loyal Democrat. Show some decoroum.

[Carolina]

52. name calling

is not a good way for a newbie to start; you're the one who should show some decorum. Just because I can't stand Lieberman, doesn't mean I'm anti-Semitic (please note the correct spelling!) or that my comment is ignorant. The poster to whom I was responding feels the same, as do others here at DU because IT'S THE TRUTH.

[rndmprsn]

59. for the record...

i am against the sharon regime...but have nothing but admiration for the isreali people and religion...does this make me anti-semetic too?

i think not.

[cali]

28. I'm happy to let you know

I just hit alert on you. I find your intolerance for the poster truly despicable. He/she was attempting a reasoned discussion, and you start in by calling him/her a fascist? Good thing I don't run DU.

[pa28]

21. If there are Repub "moderates" left in the Senate.

They should defect to our side as a group. We're making it easy on them by forming a coalition. Letting them have it both ways.

[pacalo]

22. Sounds to me like this coalition may provide one of the only

opportunities to stave off this administration's extreme neocon policies, possibly even leading to cooperation between parties to impeach his behind.

But it leaves a bad taste in my mouth that Leibermann went on Faux News to discuss it.

[Darranar]

25. More like an excuse to let Bush push through that agenda. n/t

[JudyM]

26. Why all the venom about Lieberman? What about the big tent concept?

[Quixote1818]

30. Lieberman and Sean Hannity have love fests when they talk. Yuck!

[American Tragedy]

36. I'll tell you why

The Republicans are twelve Senate seats away from a Constitutional super-majority, which is the requisite number of votes for crucial legislative actions.

However, if they all unite, and they also manage to draw enough Democratic Senators' votes, they will be almost totally invincible in the legislature. Unfortunately for us, Democrats are historically far more likely to dissent from their own party or just give tacit assent to the opposition.

To me, this moderate bipartisan coalition sounds like a planned capitulation, and right now we cannot afford to lose anyone to the other side. We know that the Republicans have a dramatic agenda planned and they are determined to do it now or never. If this notoriously fractious group doesn't stick together, we surrender all hope of obstructing their schemes.

[JudyM]

38. Right, but I think Lieberman's a really principled guy. He won't fold

on anything that matters, IMO. Or is there more to it... did he vote with the Rpugs on anything impt in the past? Or is there more to it than that? Are folks dissing him only on the basis that he's a moderate?

[laheina]

42. Unfortunately, I have to agree.

On the flip side, a moderate coalition could give centrist repugs the chance to dissent, but in the past it hasn't worked that way.

Especially considering that this was released on faux news, it seems like a right wing stunt.

[vetwife]

66. He needs to be outside with a sleepingbag. He does not

represent my voting views. I am very conservative ! VERY ! But I vote liberal !

[zulchzulu]

27. I ;ove this!@

[karlrschneider]

32. Yeah, well, here's Holy Joe's perception of "Senate":

Stupid
Evil
Numbskulls
Attempting
To
Equivocate

[Arugula Latte]

33. Oh goody. Joe's gonna save us.

I can hardly contain my enthusiasm.

[AusTexDem]

34. I know what they discussed

how to keep the world from finding out about Alf .

[Q]

35. Too bad Lieberman isn't as willing to meet with...

...members of his own party to fight Bush's* totalitarian policies. He still thinks there is such a thing as 'bipartisanship' with these fascists. They're laughing at him behind his back.

[TankLV]

37. Oh treat. I saw a part of it.

Holy joe can kiss my ass.

Along with all the conservative sell-outs.

If they succeed, again, I say, count me out.

The Democratic party has to EARN my vote from now on.

It will be interesting to see how many of us there are, and what these DINOS will do next.

Can't get any worse, after all. The worst that could happen is the way things are now.

Now, if on the other hand, the Democratic Party would go after the progressive and left wing BASE of the party, we might actually begin to WIN some elections.

[Guaranteed]

39. This is....interesting. Not necessarily bad, folks. nt

[NinetySix]

40. Everyone seems down on this idea.

I personally would find it extremely ironic if Joe Lieberman, the enabler of the 2000 election theft, were now to come along and save our bacon. If he can form some sort of loose coalition of moderates, he could quite likely hinder some of the more far-right legislation destined to come our way, giving us a two-year buffer to the next midterm. But if he could form an actual, relatively strong voting block, it could effectively reverse the GOP gains in the Senate elections.

It could well happen that internecine power plays could lead to significant defections among moderates in the GOP (just look at the browbeating Specter has been taking). This is not such an unlikely circumstance, and if it were to happen, it could signal the first act in Legislative resistance to the right-wing steamroller.

If I were to guess who might join such a block, I would say probably:

Arlen Specter (R) PA
Lincoln Chaffee (R) RI
Susan Collins (R) ME
Olympia Snowe (R) ME
Max Baucus (D) MT
George Voinovich (R) OH
Byron Dorgan (D) ND
Charles Grassley (R) IA
Charles Hagel (R) NE
James Jeffords (I) VT

Am I missing any?

[Angrillori]

55. That's a good list, and the far right is leaving its moderate fellows, BUT

Will it just be an opportunity for republicans to TELL dems that they'll support them on some issues, then cave when it comes time to actually oppose the far right?

I mean Specter crumbled pretty fast on justice appointments. I can just see:

Repub: Ok, if you vote for this bill, I'll vote for the progressive piece due up next week.
Dem: Ok (votes for repub. bill)

A week passes.

Dem: Ok, now your turn.
Repub: Oh. Sorry, My party told me I have to vote with them or they'll make sure I don't get re-elected. Sorry. (votes against the progressive bill)

That's what I'm scared of.

How willing are these moderates to stick to their guns and oppose the party when times get tough?

Dems have shown that they're willing to defy the party line. And the party has shown it's willing to tolerate that. But, the repub. party has shown an abject refusal to tolerate even the thought of a member voting against the party. (Again, see Specter.) I'm just worried is all.

[IrateCitizen]

57. A few more...

Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE)
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN)
Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

[ArtVandaley]

41. Could help, could hurt

I'm guessing this "moderate" coalition will give the republicans a large crop of democratic supporters for the most part. It could help block some far far right legislation, but I wouldn't count on it. On issues of abortion, social security and taxes, this could benefit us. For everything else it will probably just fillibuster-proof the republican bills. I think Joe likes to be with the winner, so he'll side with the republicans if they're on top.

[Forkboy]

44. More power to him

Let's see what happens.

[ibegurpard]

45. This could be a good thing.

Let's say how it pans out.

[Teaser]

46. This could help us...here's how:

IF Lieberman and this group and reliably get GOP moderates to defect from conservative coalitions on issues, he can frustrate or stall much of *'s agenda. If the truly radical and religious right don't get their way this term (they think they've finally earned it), they are going to start eating their own, riving the Repug party in two.

Pop some popcorn, folks.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

62. sorry but . . .

this will only lead to further Dem compromises that will only help the Repukes.

This doesn't sound good at all.

[leftofthedial]

47. perhaps a great role for Senator Lieberman?

If moderate repukes have the guts to break with the party line on any consistent basis, I, for one, will be astounded.

[Angrillori]

67. Exactly

I'm hoping for the best--that some moderate repubs have the gall to not toe the party line every single vote, BUT

I'd be lying if I said that I believed that would actually happen. I hope it works, but I'm rather scared it won't and will backfire on us horribly.

[Piperay]

48. I hope that is true

it would be a good thing.

[Dem2theMax]

49. I think the really BIG question here is,

What the HELL are you doing wasting your time watching Faux?

[SoCalDem]

51. Whoopeeeee.. They can go have lunch with **

what a bunch of wimps..

[Fleurs du Mal]

53. Lieberman should just come out of the closet

and admit he's a conservative.

[Rambis]

54. Tim Ryan on the left then?

He is the one that gave the opposition speech against the draft which you can watch on his web site.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – 10-08-04- Today, Congressman Tim Ryan announced that he voted for the Department of Defense (DoD) Authorization bill, which provides almost $450 billion to support our troops.


“Because of the Bush Administration’s poor planning, our soldiers are struggling to do their jobs without the proper resources,” said Ryan. “This bill will provide them with the equipment and support they need to meet the ongoing challenges of this difficult and dangerous mission.”


http://timryan.house.gov/hor/oh17

[JHB]

58. Let's see Joe count on his Republican pals after the RNC...

...threatens their fundraising, bribes them, and otherwise makes "offers they can't refuse" in order to push Bushco's agenda.

Naturally, I expect Joe's "coalition" to evaporate once any real fight starts.

[GiovanniC]

60. The Coalition of the Shilling

[Deathadder]

63. Give the Seantors somehting to from us.

Please forward this to contacts far and wide...and as fast as possible! A true show of will by the people is needed.

Please help us petition the nomination of Alberto Gonzales for U.S. Attorney General.
He will most likely be confirmed, but let's give him a harder time than our "representatives" will!
If you thought Ashcroft was bad, fasten your seatbelts...

Just click, read, and sign!
http://www.petitiononline.com/xxx2004/petition.html

[Skidmore]

64. Did he make Lynn Cheney an honorary member?

[imenja]

65. Also means Republicans

This will also include Republicans: Lincoln Chafee, Olympia Snow, Collins, etc.... We are the minority party, we have to make alliances if we don't want to be completely rolled for the next four years.