capitol I, capitol D

by Malik Isasis



When the axe came into the forest, the trees said, “The handle is one of us.” So goes an African Proverb. The “Independent Democratic” senator from Connecticut, Joseph Lieberman, is being courted heavily by the Republicans to caucus with the Republican Party. Senator Lieberman has felt a sense of abandonment by the Democratic Party leadership after losing to his challenger, Ned Lamont in the Democratic primary. After he had lost, he registered himself as an Independent Democrat, to get another bite at the apple.

On November 7, 2006, as an Independent Democrat, Lieberman beat his Democratic challenger Ned Lamont in the senatorial race, putting himself in the middle of a bidding war between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party and by a bidding war; I mean a Committee Chair position and maintaining of his seniority to give either side political advantaged.

"I am now an Independent Democrat -- capital I, capital D.” Senator Lieberman said (Associated Press). When asked if he’d switch caucuses if he felt uncomfortable with the Democratic Party, in a not so subtle threat, he replied:

"I'm not ruling it out, but I hope I don't get to that point. And, and I must say, and with all respect to the Republicans who supported me in Connecticut, nobody ever said, 'We're doing this because we, we want you to switch over,' " he said (Associated Press).

Well I say, why else would the Republicans support a Democratic Senator from the oppositional party, if they didn’t expect anything in return? It’s kinda like that guy in prison who offers you a cigarette, only to return later wanting to fuck you in the ass, for the favor.

With a slight advantage in the Senate, the Democrats and Republicans will need Joseph Lieberman to move the agenda in either direction. So, it appears that Lieberman has found himself in a position where he will be able to use his newly found independence to get almost anything he asks for. He has found his “joementum” he’d been searching for since his Vice Presidential bid in 2000; it appears now, that he is one of the most powerful men in Washington, D.C. and isn’t that what it’s all about? Power?

The leadership in the Democratic Party has shot themselves in the foot by not supporting Ned Lamont. They left him twisting in the wind. And now the Democratic Party find themselves having to consider giving Lieberman a leadership position and Committee Chair position, even though he decided to buck the Democratic Party to become an Independent.

If Lieberman had been traumatized by the direction of the Democratic Party, he would have left the party and run as an Independent from the outset. He didn’t do so because he is a coward, and make political gains in the media by marketing himself as a moderate, just like John McCaine markets himself as a Maverick—all sugar, no nutritional value.

Senator Joseph Lieberman is part of the sickness of our political system, where incumbent politicians feel a sense of entitlement to their office and to power. Lieberman waxes eloquently about values, and integrity but he’s a political whore, willing to sell off his services to the highest bidder. Lieberman has made losing about him, rather than about the people he represents. When it becomes about the politicians, it’s not about the constituents. It is personal gain over political responsibility.

His political DNA reads neocon, and the Republican Party is where he should be. Hey Joe, on the way out, don't let the door hit 'ya where the good Lord split 'ya.




Sources:

Associated Press, Lieberman Won’t Rule Out Caucusing with GOP

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