Is Joe Lieberman Really a Democrat?

Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, as you may recall, was the Democratic nominee for Vice-President in the 2000 election.

He was also a presidential candidate in 2004. Throughout the campaign, he seemed to present himself as a full 2.5 degrees left of George W on the political spectrum. He seemed to agree with just about everything W had said or done. I got sick of listening to him.

Lieberman had no problem with the war in Iraq - he voted to authorize the presidential use of force (does anyone notice that we don't actually DECLARE WAR anymore? That would take congressional approval. The last time war was declared was World War Two. There was no declaration of war for Korea, Vietnam, the first Gulf War, Afghanistan, or the newest Iraq war. Those "little wars" where US troops and advisers were sometimes used in Panama, Nicaragua, Grenada, et cetera? Fuhgettaboutit!).

What prompted this post? Well, it's the confirmation of Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State, something that's expected to happen tomorrow. There was a nine-hour debate in the Senate today, with many Democrats taking the opportunity to take the Bush Administration (and Rice in particular) to task for the claims that were made during the build-up to war in 2002-2003. Perhaps you remember Rice's foreboding statement in regard to the WMD that Iraq supposedly possessed: "we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."

If you don't remember, then the Administration has done a good job. As in Orwell's 1984, Bush's Ministry of Truth has been working overtime to revise many parts of history. No, the US didn't go to war because Iraq had WMD. We wanted to bring democracy to the Middle East. Riiiight. And we certainly don't want any of their oil. And we certainly won't be establishing our largest foreign military bases there. Sure.

Anyway, here's how Lieberman feels about the lovable Condi Rice:
'Lieberman, speaking on the Senate floor, said one of Rice's main strengths is that "the world knows that she has the president's trust and confidence." He urged the Senate to "resoundingly endorse this nomination and send the message to friend and foe alike that while we have our disagreements, ultimately what unites us around this very qualified nominee in this hour of war is much greater than what divides us."'

What a load of crap.

Here's the whole article.