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Lieberman is beginning to sound more and more like George Bush every day. To wit:
Lieberman said he will still be running as a Democrat even if he's not the party's nominee and plans to remain part of the Democratic caucus in the Senate if re-elected.
"I want the opportunity to put my case before all the people of Connecticut in November," Lieberman said.
Well, there are a few problems here. First off, you can't run as a Democrat if you think you have to run as an independent because not enough Democrats will vote for you. In a democracy, you get to be the Democratic candidate by winning the Democratic primary. If you have to short circuit the democratic process in order to win the office, you're not a Democrat (or a democrat either).
Secondly, Lieberman has answered the question we've long been asking. Is he a Democrat or has he become little more than a Republican in Democrat clothing? Well, if you can't win the Democratic primary, and have to run as an independent to win the general election, then that means you need lots of non-Democrat voters or you just can't win. That means you're not a Democrat, you're something else. Per se Lieberman has become too conservative for the Connecticut Democratic Party.
It seems that Lieberman has learned a lot from his mentor, George Bush. If you don't like the democratic process, if the voice of the people is against you, just circumvent the process and usurp the people. If Lieberman can't win the Democratic primary, he'll run as a Democrat anyway because he says so, to hell with the people, to hell with the election results come this August.
As Joe notes below, the Connecticut election, and I suspect many elections around the country this November, are referenda on George Bush. Lieberman is not a moderate Democrat, he's a politician who has made his bed with George Bush. Lieberman has repeatedly gone out of his way to provide aid and comfort to a failed Republican presidency even as the majority of the American people say otherwise. And rather than be voting his conscience, it's not clear what Lieberman is voting. He continues to believe the Iraq war is going well. That view isn't conservative, it isn't liberal, and it has nothing to do with the conscience of a rational man - it's out of touch and a little bit crazy.
Lieberman has the right to be out of touch with the majority of the Democratic party and the majority of Connecticut Democrats. He even has the right to be a little bit nutty. What Joe Lieberman does not have is the right to defy the will of the voters in an election that is becoming less and less about the issues, and more and more about Joe Lieberman's ego.
It's time to let it go, Joe. At some point, it's more humane to simply pull the plug.
