By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer 5 minutes ago
Sen. John McCain, trying to keep momentum in this state's critical Republican primary race, brought in something unusual on Monday — an endorsement from the other party's former vice presidential nominee.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Democrat Al Gore's running mate in 2000, said he had intended to wait until after the primaries to make a choice for the 2008 presidential race. But McCain asked for his support and no Democrat did.
Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said he chose his longtime Senate colleague because he has the best shot of breaking partisan gridlock in Washington. Both men also support the war in Iraq.
When the next congress convenes in January of 2009, if the Dems have the majority, Holy Joe should lose his chairmanships in every committee on which he sits. No one need make a big deal about it. The leadership should simply make the assignments from among the Democratic Party members. Joe is no longer a Democrat since he acted like a child, refused to recognize the will of the Democrats in his own state and ran as an independent, backed mostly by Republicans.
"On all the issues, you're never going to do anything about them unless you have a leader who can break through the partisan gridlock," Lieberman said. "The status quo in Washington is not working."
....and you think that endorsing McCain is the way to do away with the insane partisanship we've witnessed over the past 7 years? All you have accomplished by this, Joe, is to make the Dems angrier than ever, though no one should really be surprised by this slap in the face, after you acted like a spoiled child when you lost the 2006 primary.
Independents can vote in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 8, and they are the people McCain is targeting, much as he did in winning the state's Republican primary in 2000 over George W. Bush.
Much has happened since 2000, Mr. McCain. Your party has driven our nation over a cliff on every issue I can think of, domestically, has damn near destroyed it internationally and, barring a miracle, the economic is just around the bend. You are no longer seen as a maverick by independents (at least, not any of the Indy 500, some of whom actually question your mental stability) mainly because you have done nothing but suck up to George W. Bush, like you expected something in return, even after he allowed his campaign to call your wife a drug addict and tried to convince the people of S.C. that your daughter is a product of an interracial affair. Forgiveness is one thing. Forgetting is another. I could never trust a man who would forget and become allies with a man who did push-polling like that on my wife and child. Pathetic!
Traveling with Lieberman Monday morning to Hillsborough's American Legion hall, McCain said the Connecticut senator is his answer to the people he hears in every town hall meeting who ask, "Why can't you all work together?"
That's not much of an answer, Mr. MCain. It only mean you have the endorsement of an American who might as well be a member of the Likud party of Israel. Of course, there is certainly nothing wrong with being a member of the Likud Party, but since we don't have one, in the U.S., Mr. Lieberman should move to Israel, where I am sure he would be welcomed with open arms, or organize a Likud Party here
Lieberman said McCain's approach to Iraq and his credentials on national security are the main reasons he is supporting a Republican for president.
But both men said the election seems increasingly about the economy and domestic issues rather than Iraq. On those issues, Lieberman acknowledged he does not always see eye-to-eye with his 2008 pick. But, said Lieberman, McCain is always straightforward about where he stands.
Yes, I like a man or woman who say what he/she really thinks, too, and is straight forward with the American people about where he/she stand on the issues. But I have heard this over and over with regard to George W Bush; "You may not agree with him, but at least you know where he stands," meaning that that is why people should vote for him. That makes absolutely no sense to me. It makes it seem as if we have the choice of voting for a pathological liar or someone who tells the truth about where he stands but his policies are killing our nation. Of course, Georgie may have been honest about his tax policies - cut them, especially for the super wealthy and the corporations. But he and the top members of his administration told the American people the worst kind of lies, the kind of lies that made many of us unwitting war criminals.
Some of us saw the writing on the wall early and said "Hell No" to supporting the unjust, illegal war in Iraq which led to other horrible atrocities, done in our name, others bought the lies, lock, stock and barrel and, still others, I hate to say, didn't give a damn if the war was legal or not, whether or not in was just, nor did they care what happened to innocent Iraqis caught up in Bush's gulag system in Iraq. They are, in my mind, as guilty as BushCo and should be in the World Court dock right along with their war preznit. There are responsibilities that fall on the shoulders of the citizens of a Democracy (again, pretending for a moment that we still have one). Holding our government accountable for crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, as in wars of aggression, one way or the other, is one of those responsibilities. At the very least, supporting such a government is a crime in itself. Once the highest officials in the land, in any or all branches of the government begin regularly behaving lawlessly, the other branches should stop and hold the law-breakers accountable. If they refuse to do so, the people must act.
For McCain, behind in the polls here but gaining, the endorsement carries the risk of alienating conservatives who have been critical of his support for immigration and campaign finance reforms.
"If I get some criticism for aligning myself with a good friend I have worked with for many years, I will be more than happy to accept that criticism," McCain said.
For Lieberman, it marks another turn away from the Democrats.
"Political party is important, but it's not more important than what's good for the country and it's not more important than friendship," Lieberman said.
One more thing you and McCain disagree on, Joe. Have you ever heard a Republican say that anything is more important that party?
Lieberman won re-election to the Senate in 2006 as an independent, after losing the Democratic primary largely because of his support for the war. High-profile Democrats abandoned him after the primary defeat.
Leading Democrats weren't happy with his latest move.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said in a statement: "I have the greatest respect for Joe, but I simply have to disagree with his decision to endorse Senator McCain."
Al From, the founder and CEO of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, said, "I am very saddened by Senator Lieberman's choice and profoundly disagree with it. We need to elect a Democratic president in 2008."
Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press.
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. I.U. has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is I.U endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
The Nazis, Fascists and Communists were political parties before they became enemies of liberty and mass murderers.
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