Day: December 11, 2005

The Pious Hypocrisy of DINO Joe

Jon Ponder

Think Progress:

On Wednesday, Sen. Joe Lieberman argued that anyone who questions President Bush’s credibility while the country is at war puts the nation in danger. Lieberman, 12/7/05:

It’s time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that he will be the commander in chief for three more critical years and that in matters of war we undermine presidential credibility at our nation’s peril.

But when he was running for President, Lieberman directly questioned Bush’s credibility on the war. In fact, he argued that doing so was an essential part of our democracy. Lieberman, 7/28/03:

In our democracy, a president does not rule, he governs. He remains always answerable to us, the people. And right now, the president’s conduct of our foreign policy is giving the country too many reasons to question his leadership. It’s not just about 16 words in a speech, it is about distorting intelligence and diminishing credibility. It’s not about searching for scapegoats; it’s about seeing, as President Kennedy did after the Bay of Pigs, that presidents stand tall when they willingly accept responsibility for mistakes made while they are in charge. [Press Conference with Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) Re: War in Iraq, 7/28/03]

When he was running for President, Lieberman questioned Bush’s credibility on the war because that’s what he needed to do to get votes. Now, after his campaign flopped, he is attacking people who question Bush’s credibility on the war because that’s what he needs to do to get attention.

Liberal Gop Rep: House Leaders Don’t Get It

Jon Ponder

If the pundit prognisticators are correct, the Capitol will be awash in the Abramoff scandals in a very few months. Some are predicting that the political damage to Republicans in the House of Representatives could lead to huge losses in the November elections that puts the GOP majority in jeopardy.

“I am very uneasy that my leadership doesn’t get it now. They’re going to get it in November if they don’t get it now.”
– Rep. Chris Shays

One subspecies of Republicans who could be in particular peril is the small group of northeastern liberal Republicans. One of these turkeys with his head on the chopping block is Rep. Chris Shays of Connecticut:

The growing ethics scandal surrounding former lobbyist Jack Abramoff could explode in the coming months and put at risk Republican control of the House, Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., warned today. “There will be bad stories that come out that are embarrassing to Republicans and will cause them trouble,” Shays said at a briefing. “I’m holding my breath.” Shays, a moderate often at odds with the more conservative leadership, said GOP leaders do not yet understand the magnitude of the ethics problems swirling around the House — including Abramoff’s relationship with Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, the former majority leader. “If I were leadership, I would be very concerned about the next few months and try to understand what’s going on,” Shays said. “I am very uneasy that my leadership doesn’t get it now. They’re going to get it in November if they don’t get it now.”
— Rep. Chris Shays