GOP picks Lieberman as favorite Democrat

[Judi Lynn]

Originally published November 26, 2005

GOP picks Lieberman as favorite Democrat
By KATHERINE HUTT SCOTT
Norwich Bulletin


WASHINGTON-- Sen. Joe Lieberman's steadfastly centrist views in an era of partisan politics have won the admiration of the opposing party.

National Journal, a weekly Washington magazine covering politics and government, asked 101 members of Congress and 137 lobbyists, former government officials and other political insiders which Democrat in Congress they most admire.

The answer: the Connecticut senator who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2004.

Of the 89 Republicans who responded, 35 percent picked Lieberman, National Journal reported in its Nov. 11 edition.

The second choice was a staunch liberal, Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, at 6 percent. Arizona Sen. John McCain was named the most popular Republican senator among Democrats.
(snip/...)

http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051126/NEWS01/511260304/1002/NEWS01

[Fridays Child]

1. Quelle surprise.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

2. Yeah, there's a shock.

[EFerrari]

3. Good, they can have him! n/t

[goforit]

31. Here here!!....Like Bush he too believes he was the chosen mesiah!

NOT!!!(but maybe only for the Satonic order)

[EFerrari]

35. He seems like such a decent man, too. And that probably makes

him the more dangerous. Bush must have the same appeal to his nutcase base.

[roguevalley]

49. They can have Holy Joe. Connecticut, do your duty. Nice ad for

any opponent.

[Ouabache]

64. Yep, Joe needs a primary opponent, just run those results from the GOP

over and over. Just say no to Joe.

[cyr330]

4. Big Fucking Surprise

He IS a Republican.

[driver8]

5. They should have picked him as their favorite republican. I wish

that fucker would just switch parties so the voters in Connecticut can vote his sorry ass out of office.

[Digit]

6. Serious question....why did Gore pick him?

His voice sends me over the edge for one thing, but I just wondered why Gore picked him for his running mate.

Of course I supported Gore, in spite of Lieberman...I was just curious.

[PittPoliSci]

8. and doesn't he look like friggin' emporer palpatine?!

christ, i loathe joe...

[countmyvote4real]

10. LOL cause I just finished watching that DVD.

And you're right. Great connection.

My original response to the main thread was going to be, "Go figure." or "you think?"

Let's face it. This guy is an old school Republican in Democratic (whatever that means these days) clothing. I just wish that he registers for the party for the one that he seems to attire.

Having said that, the fictional Palpatine has much more momentum and force than the dismal Joe. Bless his heart.

[PittPoliSci]

11. don't you mean Joe-mentum?

lol...:-)

[Robeson]

16. Picking him, and running from Clinton's coat-tails, were the ....

...worst decisions Gore made in that campaign.

[Lost4words]

17. I 100% agree with you. We should exile Lieberman from the party!

[ashling]

82. Same thing

Oh, there were other reasons that were almost as lame, but one of the major factors he was chosen was that he was the first Dem to stand on the floor of the Senate and "question" (read: sermonize about) Clinton's "impropriety."

[silvermachine]

86. Yep, and also...

...Gore's stance on Elian Gonzalez didn't help either. Who he was trying to appeal to with these tactics is a mystery.

[Horse with no Name]

24. My guess is that Gore didn't pick him

He was handpicked by the DLC to "balance" the ticket.
I personally always think that adding a bad Republican to a good Democrat works.:sarcasm:

[goforit]

33. Yes....I agree

Joe was picked to carry the jewish vote.

I always was disappointed with him. Especially when he would
over burden us all with his view of religion.

He truely believed he was the chosen prophet of his people.

He values Israel above and beyond the US. And this is why I believe
that duel citizenship should never be allowed in our gov't.

He portrays treason through and through.

[anitar1]

37. Doesn't the DLC decide such matters? n/t

[Crunchy Frog]

38. I think it's the candidate that does.

I mean, groups like the DLC may apply alot of pressure and do what they can to influence the choice, but I would think that ultimately it's the candidate who makes it.

I would question the leadership qualities of anyone who wouldn't take ownership for himself of that kind of decision, however much he may have been pressured.

[radio4progressives]

77. Lieberman was the Manchurian Candidate... n/t

[tavalon]

57. Because he had sucky ass handlers

and he believed in them. I really had to hold my nose during that vote. I've disliked Lieberman for a very, very long time. He's a DINO.

[Tesha]

80. It was an attempt to do several good things.

Backfired, though.

Tesha

[Raine]

7. Gee

why am I not surprised. :eyes:

[Media_Lies_Daily]

9. Maybe that will help wise up the Dems that vote for him.

[Bjornsdotter]

12. Well that was a no-brainer n/t

[aquart]

13. Lieberman should feel embarrassed and ashamed.

[ozymandius]

14. To be blessed by the devil is to be truly cursed. n/t

[Selteri]

15. Oh wow, what's next, Ollie North is a Patriot? N/T

[Vidar]

18. The shock is that they rated Kennedy 2nd. Name recognition?

[formercia]

19. 'Kapo' Joe wins again n/t

[IndianaGreen]

20. Holy Joe is a Democrat?

Boy, I thought he was a Republican all along.

:eyes:

[WhiteTara]

21. please take him! We don't want him

he's a traitor to our cause and should renounce his party affliation and move to the other side of the aisle.

[Catch22Dem]

22. And this is based solely on his war support

If the rank and file GOP rubes in this country familiarized themselves with Joe's civil rights and social record (prior to PATRIOT ACT) they'd go running for the hills. There was once a time when Joe was admired by his OWN party. Not anymore.

[Lefty48197]

23. What a coincidence. Joe is my favorite Republican.

Imagine that.

[TankLV]

67. HA! good one.

Me too.

[leesa]

25. Will this give a little wake up call to Hillary? Or will she be pissed she

didn't get the Zell Of The Year Award?

[dkofos]

26. Who could have guessed

[louis c]

27. Joe LIEberman is the new

Zell Miller. What a piece of shit.

[EndElectoral]

28. He beat Zell?

[Lori Price CLG]

29. Joe LieberBush?

Joe :puke: LieberBush

Lori Price

[Lasher]

53. Zell Lieberbush?

[samsingh]

30. Lieb is not centrist on many matters

but a repug through and through.

[niallmac]

32. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Hoo hee haaaa!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[Arugula Latte]

34. How pathetic.

I wish Joe would just take his Joe-mentum and go away.

[BrotherBuzz]

36. Lieberman is the GOP's favorite poker player

Poker Party

By David Mamet
Republished from L.A. Times

In politics as in poker, the only way to win is to seize the initiative. The Democrats need to make bold wagers or risk being rolled over again.




ONE NEEDS TO know but three words to play poker: call, raise or fold.


Fold means keep the money, I’m out of the hand; call means to match your opponents’ bet. That leaves raise, which is the only way to win at poker. The raiser puts his opponent on the defensive, seizing the initiative. Initiative is only important if one wants to win.


The military axiom is “he who imposes the terms of the battle imposes the terms of the peace.” The gambling equivalent is: “Don’t call unless you could raise”; that is, to merely match one’s opponent’s bet is effective only if it makes the opponent question the caller’s motives. And that can only occur if the caller has acted aggressively enough in the past to cause his opponents to wonder if the mere call is a ruse de guerre.


If you are branded as passive, the table will roll right over you — your opponents will steal antes without fear. Why? Because the addicted caller has never exhibited what, in the wider world, is known as courage.


In poker, one must have courage: the courage to bet, to back one’s convictions, one’s intuitions, one’s understanding. There can be no victory without courage. The successful player must be willing to wager on likelihoods. Should he wait for absolutely risk-free certainty, he will win nothing, regardless of the cards he is dealt.


For example, take a player who has never acted with initiative — he has never raised, merely called. Now, at the end of the evening, he is dealt a royal flush. The hand, per se, is unbeatable, but the passive player has never acted aggressively; his current bet (on the sure thing) will signal to the other players that his hand is unbeatable, and they will fold.


His patient, passive quest for certainty has won nothing.


The Democrats, similarly, in their quest for a strategy that would alienate no voters, have given away the store, and they have given away the country.


Committed Democrats watched while Al Gore frittered away the sure-thing election of 2000. They watched, passively, while the Bush administration concocted a phony war; they, in the main, voted for the war knowing it was purposeless, out of fear of being thought weak. They then ran a candidate who refused to stand up to accusations of lack of patriotism.


The Republicans, like the perpetual raiser at the poker table, became increasingly bold as the Democrats signaled their absolute reluctance to seize the initiative.


John Kerry lost the 2004 election combating an indictment of his Vietnam War record. A decorated war hero muddled himself in merely “calling” the attacks of a man with, curiously, a vanishing record of military attendance. Even if the Democrats and Kerry had prevailed (that is, succeeded in nullifying the Republicans arguably absurd accusations), they would have been back only where they started before the accusations began.


Control of the initiative is control of the battle. In the alley, at the poker table or in politics. One must raise. The American public chose Bush over Kerry in 2004. How, the undecided electorate rightly wondered, could one believe that Kerry would stand up for America when he could not stand up to Bush? A possible response to the Swift boat veterans would have been: “I served. He didn’t. I didn’t bring up the subject, but, if all George Bush has to show for his time in the Guard is a scrap of paper with some doodling on it, I say the man was a deserter.”


This would have been a raise. Here the initiative has been seized, and the opponent must now fume and bluster and scream unfair. In combat, in politics, in poker, there is no certainty; there is only likelihood, and the likelihood is that aggression will prevail.


The press, quiescent during five years of aggressive behavior by the White House, has, perhaps, begun to recover its pride. In speaking of Karl Rove, Scott McClellan and the White House’s Valerie Plame disgrace, they have begun to use words such as “other than true,” “fabricated.” The word that they circle, still, is “lie.” The word the Democratic constituency, heartsick over the behavior of its party leaders, has been forced to consider applying to them is “coward.”


One may sit at the poker table all night and never bet and still go home broke, having anted away one’s stake.


The Democrats are anteing away their time at the table. They may be bold and risk defeat, or be passive and ensure it.

[Xipe Totec]

39. You got to know when to hold ’em,

know when to fold ’em, Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you’re sittin’ at the table.
There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done.

Joe L. knows squat about poker. That's why he's getting scalped.

[BrotherBuzz]

44. As my pappy used to say

"Never play in a rigged game, unless you rig it yourself" - Maverick

[TankLV]

69. Thanks for posting that - I had wanted to for a long time but kept

forgetting.

Powerful advice that should be taken to heart.

[BrotherBuzz]

72. More powerful advice that should be taken to heart.

"Son, as my old pappy used to say, if you're ever served a rare steak that is intended for someone else, don't bother with ethical details - eat as much as you can before the mistake is discovered." - Beauregard 'Pappy' Maverick

Sorry, I've been on a Maverick kick lately...;)

[Tempest]

40. Centrist views?

What centrist views?

Holy Joe is as conservative as they come.

[LiberalFighter]

73. My sentiments... Centrist my ass

In order for someone to be a centrist they have to be in the mainstream.

Lieberman is like a man in a boat using one oar. Instead of alternating between left and right side with the oar he paddles just on the right and ends up going around in circles.

[drdtroit]

41. F*** the (G)reedy (O)ld (P)lutocrats! n/t

[drdtroit]

42. Delete (dupe)

[KamaAina]

43. So is Ben Nelson sulking in a corner somewhere?

"Waaah! I'm a lot worse on domestic issues than that Sore Loserman!" :nopity: :sarcasm:

[The Stranger]

45. Who will be running against Leiberman in the next primaries?

Let's plan on supporting someone who is a true Progressive and a true Democrat.

Cut Leiberman loose once and for all.

[SnoopDog]

46. Didn't the kiss ass cheerleader cowered president kiss Joe at the SOTU?

I hate these people...

[BrklynLiberal]

47. Sure hope this is used by his opponent in the next CT Democratic primary.

[Gregorian]

48. Take him. He's yours!

[BamaBecky]

50. Amen!

[robbedvoter]

51. Zell, eat your hear out!

Sure they love him - he torpedoed Gore in the 2000 theft - declared all forged military ballots should be counted - it was Gore's victory right there by 202 votes!

[CrispyQ]

52. With control of the voting machines,

the repukes now have control over who the Democratic candidate is. So either way, they win.

[lovuian]

54. The man is a Traitor to the Democratic Party and this country

the kiss Bush gave him was like the Judas kiss!!!

[Whoa_Nelly]

55. Well, Joe...You got what you've always wanted...

Sen. Joe Lieberman's steadfastly centrist views in an era of partisan politics have won the admiration of the opposing party.


Hey, Joe! You can now safely remove your Dem mask and show yourself for the Repub you've always been.

[UrbScotty]

56. Why is Ted Kennedy #2?

Is it because they love to hate him?

[Cocoa]

58. Joe should expect Zell to challenge him to a duel

Zell can't stand for this kind of insult.

[The Backlash Cometh]

59. Lieberman is not a centrist. He's a right-wing Democrat

[Straight Shooter]

60. You mean Mr. Joe "may I have a peanut for my trunk" Lieberman?

He should take off that ragged donkey suit and let the world see his real GOP face.

[rateyes]

61. If Zell Miller was still a Senator,

he would have been the pick, then Joe Lieberman. As far as I'm concerned, they both can leave--with friends like that we don't need enemies.

[GRLMGC]

62. :shaking my head:

What the hell is this? If he was from Utah or some conservative state like that, I'd understand his conservatism more but he's from freakin CONNECTICUT! He has no excuse. None.

[NYC Liberal]

63. KICK HIM OUT!!

It is far past time to kick him out of the party and STOP letting them use him to claim 'bipartisan support' for their ass-backwards 'policies.' Enough of this.

[adigal]

65. Will a REAL Dem PLEASE run against this

very good friend of Sean Hannity, who always says he "loves" Joementum. C'mon, if Hannity loves you like he loves Zell Miller, then you are NOT a Democrat.

Get rid of Joementum!!

[TankLV]

66. I am shocked SHOCKED I tell you!

[tatertop]

68. The sad part is, joe loves it. Can you say out of touch?

Joe is totally out of touch with the lives of real Democrats.

[The Judged]

78. I'd rather see the Leper-man out of public office, and learning humility.

[oregonindy]

70. imagine my surprise....jack booted neo con slug that he is.....

[Chicago Democrat]

71. Let's pick Lincoln as our favorite living Republican!

Ok?

[darkism]

74. Hillary, of course, is a close second.

They may not admire her views, but there's nothing they'd like to see more than her run in 08.

Of course, that's a given.

[mzmolly]

75. Ok, an accurate title would be "32 Republicans pick Lieberman ..."

:eyes:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

76. Liebermania.

Catch it!

[Solly Mack]

79. I'm more alarmed by the choice of McCain than by

Republicans choosing Lieberman.

[the other one]

81. A victory for Droopy Dawg! nt

[ashling]

83. GOP note to Zell Miller:

We regret to inform you that you are no longer of any use to us. Our need for rabid dog's is currently being filled by loonatics from Ohio Don't call us, we'll call you.

[Ganja Ninja]

84. "Joe Lieberman's steadfastly centrist views"

When over 60% of American's are against the war I'd say we need to redefine the term "centrist".

[deminks]

85. Don't forget the "Kiss" from February, 2005.

[madmark]

87. surprise

[illumn8d]

88. Can't stop the Joe-mentum!

NT