NOTE: this blog is no longer active as of 12/07. New one: http://blog.kirchhof.com
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.
Tue, 11 Oct 2005
On Lieberman
Big controversy amongst the Big Guys of bloggery, starting here
and going to here
and bouncing around back to here
and here
and here.
I am a fan of The Bull
Moose; he is from Waco and possesses some of the characteristics
of an old conservative Texas Democrat, a political animal with which I
am familiar and can do business. But he's wrong on this one; I sent
him some mail explaining my alternative viewpoint:
Hey there -
Big fan here; I read you daily. Thought that I'd throw in some
thoughts as the rockets fly.
I'm afraid that I have to go with Kos and Atrios on this one. I was
genuinely surprised at the outrage you exhibited in your post of the
other day, but not particularly moved by it, other than to take note.
Look, I know that you are, above all, a chute-the-middle moderate who
wants good and honest government and a self-sufficient citizenry. And
I know that you are well connected, and often know those who comprise
your subject matter personally. I agree with many of your points, and
I say that as a person who is definitely more liberal than you
politically (and possibly more conservative fiscally.) There is much
common ground in our two political philosophies.
All of this aside, though, you have to understand that there are
thoughtful people out here who find Joe Lieberman to be an odious
opportunist, a stalking-horse Democrat, a grandstander. I know more
than a few people who are as repelled by Joe as, say, the average
NewsMax reader is by Hillary.
And not completely without reason. His "more pious than thou"
religion-as-public-relations shtick from 1998 through the 2000
election was particularly repellent. But his ongoing campaign to be 'A
Democrat That Even A Right-Wing Nut Case Can Like' has worn very, very
thin. I look at Joe Lieberman and see a 100% pure, self-preserving
politician, in the most pejorative connotation of the word.
You may personally know Joe Lieberman to be a truly good and honest
human being, and I respect that. But to me, in the end, he proves more
Humphreyesque than Statesmanesque in his personal conduct, and his
politics can arguably be characterized as "to the right of Nixon." I
see no slander/libel in either of the original posts, and I see
legitimate points in both.
You may see an unfair "guilt by association" facet here. I
disagree. Politics is people. Politics is built with
association. But political perception is also built with
association. With one group photo, Lieberman has likely lost any
pretense to being a standard-bearer in the party that has done so much
to enrich his career. To coin an accurate metaphor, it's one thing to
attend; it's wholly another to sit on the dais. It may have been one
the of the great bonehead moves of the last few years, a "shunned by
the rank and file" move. Ol' Joe can now be defeated from the
center. And that is as it should be.
Just one man's opinion,
r
[Note: changed the word "shoot" to the correct "chute" above.
It
just didn't cut the mustard muster.]
Posted at 12:59 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Life Inside A Water Bottle
An, er, interesting
application of QuickTime. Just drag your mouse around.
Posted at 11:16 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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