Liberals: Lieberman Is Not The Enemy

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Why are MoveOn, Daily Kos and so many other liberal activists so keen to find a primary challenger against Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman? The more you peel the onion, the stranger the answer becomes.

The common explanation is that Lieberman is a conservative. Or, more specifically, he's a conservative who represents a liberal state - and, therefore, has no excuse.

But according to conventional indexes, Lieberman is not a conservative. His lifetime rating from the liberal group Americans for Democratic Action is 76, six points higher than the man MoveOn and Kos have encouraged to enter the race, former Sen. Lowell P. Weicker Jr.

In August 2003 (before turning against Lieberman), Kos himself reviewed Lieberman's ADA and American Conservative Union ratings and called the charge that he was a closet Republican "b.s."

So why do so many liberals think Lieberman is a conservative? The obvious answer is his steadfast support for the Iraq war. For many liberals, ADA-style vote tabulations are irrelevant; Iraq is the crucible of our age.

There's a clear historical parallel. In 1968, Hubert Humphrey's support for Vietnam made him a liberal pariah and Eugene McCarthy's opposition made him a liberal hero. Few cared that, overall, during their years in the Senate, Humphrey had been the greater liberal champion.

So Lieberman is a supposed conservative because of his position on Iraq. But here, too, solid footing gives way. To be sure, Lieberman hasn't apologized for voting to authorize the war. But neither have most of the other 28 Senate Democrats who voted the same way.

And, when it comes to withdrawing U.S. troops, Lieberman's position differs from other Democratic heavyweights only slightly.

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