In addition to all the speeches Senator Lieberman gave about his intention to get us out of Iraq, he won reelection due in large part to the way Ned Lamont was abandoned by the National Democrats, and the huge push Lieberman was given by the National Republican party, who simultaneously left their own constitutionally selected candidate (Alan Schlesinger) to twist in the wind. I'm not going to mince words here; treachery was committed on BOTH sides of the aisle.
So, a good man and a promising candidate was fatally undermined in his attempt to introduce true Progressive ideals into the Senate.
Hey, shit happens. Water under the bridge. No use crying over spilt milk.
Or more accurately, no use crying over fresh, wholesome milk that was purposefully poured down the drain by the other dairy products in the fridge so that their own rapidly approaching expiration dates wouldn't be noticed because of the stench from that old, useless, sanctimonious bottle of sour milk.
...or something like that.
(Yeah, it's awful, I know...my poetic license should be revoked)
Anyway, what's done is done. What we should focus on now is keeping the Senator honest.
And that means pointing out every time he contradicts his campaign promises.
So this is Day One of our new feature here at Connecticut Bob, called Lieberman Watch.
Tim Tagaris over at My Left Nutmeg pointed out a fine example of Lieberman's hypocrisy with this short video:
Compare the Senator's words to this little tidbit from today's Hartford Courant:
Lieberman Backs Call For Boosting Forces In IraqThere you have it. Instead of beginning to draw down troops like he promised by the end of this year, he's pushing for MORE troops.
December 15, 2006
By THOMAS WAGNER, Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Backed by Sen. Joe Lieberman, Sen. John McCain took his controversial proposal for curbing Iraq's sectarian violence to Baghdad on Thursday, calling for an additional 15,000 to 30,000 U.S. troops and joining a congressional delegation in telling Iraq's prime minister he must break his close ties with a radical Shiite cleric.
Lieberman, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said they agreed with the Arizona Republican's call for a troop increase.
"We need more, not less, U.S. troops here," Lieberman said.
This is the sort of thing we need to talk about. The MSM has the apparent memory retention of a concussed ferret, so it's up to the blogs to remind them of these things and keep the conversation alive. Eventually, maybe they'll come around and actually start holding our leaders accountable for their promises.
We can use your help. If you have suggestions (with links to cite them) for this series, please contact us at Liebermanwatch@yahoo.com.
Their lies are the problem, and our reporting of the truths are the solution.UPDATE: Crooks & Liars has a video clip of CNN's report on Lieberman/McCain's call for more troops. (h/t Scarecrow)
25 comments:
two probs with this post. first, to hold people accountable for campaign promises you need to actually use thier campaign promises. lieberman has never promised to bring troops home... second, the video you used was not shot during the campaign at all, i think its more than a year old when it did look like things where going good and he said he was confident that we'd be able to start bringing the troops home. then you may remember the mosque bombing over the summer when things really started getting out of hand... So in conclusion, if your gonna do this, do it right, don't disort and actually make people dumber. I mean honestly, do you think any supporters or detractors for that matter, are going to believe your claim that he promised to pull troops out?
video dated july 06, so i stand corrected, it was during the campaign, but it was before that big mess in aug when things started going out of controll. so i still stand by the premise of my above critisim.
Well, first, the video is from one of the debates with Lamont. Last summer.
Second, no senator can "bring the trrops home." That's the President's job.
The thing is this: Lieberman has been wrong about Iraq over and over and over again. He did say that he was "confident" that the troops could start coming home by this time. And now he's saying we need more there. This is only one example of Joe being wrong.
dr: thank you for framing the debate just as tim did. this is an example that you feel demonstrates hypocrisy, say one thing, do another. thats something we can debate. this is NOT an example of a broken promise. So whats the deal bob?
During the senate race Lieberman said that we wants the troops home but will not compromise the situation it Iraq. This video was shot before that.
Instead of watching Lieberman you should take a closer look at yourself
Anonymous, things started going out of control in Iraq back in 2003, not just August of this year.
And Lieberman's continued support of Bush and his deadly policies is ENABLING him to continue getting more Americans killed. How simple are you that you can't understand that?
I get it; you love Lieberman and support him. Good for you. Enlist, why don't ya? We need to find 30,000 willing souls to fill Joe's bill.
you just can't admit when your wrong. there was no campaign promise to pull out troops. no one in the world from far left to far right and all the way in between is dumb enough to make that claim but you.
When someone says this while campaigning:
"Nobody wants to get our troops out of Iraq more than me!"
And says this after he's elected:
"We need 30,000 more troops in Iraq!"
That tells me he's a liar, a hypocrite, and deserves every bit of scorn he gets.
Have you enlisted yet, Anonymous? Goarmy.com is a good place to start. They have cool video games you can download.
you live in a fantasy world. you know that the, "nobody wants troops out more than me," if taking half of a sentence out of context. the second half of the sentence (or thought process, i'm paraphrasing) is, "and we can't do that until we assure our national security." He has been NOTHING but clear in saying that he intends to win the war in iraq before we start pulling out in any capacity. So again, why did you post that his campaign promise is to pull out troops. MLN, and all other bloggers talking about this are staying well within the realm of reality in having this discussion. You are not. I have a tendency to overestimate you, and assume that you are knowinging distorting the facts in support of your agenda of making lieberman look bad. I'm starting to realize, however, that you are just dumb. I challenge anyone else in the blogosphere that may to assert that bob's original post is fact, that the senator promised to pull out troops and has reneged on said promise.
Wow, you're really worked up about this.
I guess that means I'm on the right track here.
Why don't you pull a "Tom DeLay" and start your OWN blog? I'd LOVE to see your personal brand of wisdom out there for people to comment upon. Quit denying the world of your brilliance. Do it.
C'mon, I double-dog dare ya!
you have accused the blatantly pro-war candidate of breaking a promise to pull out troops... doesn't take a brain surgeon to point out how stupid that is.
now seriously, why are incapable of addressing this? your just slinging mud to avoid your gross error.
Bob, making LIEberman accountable is "not crying over spilt milk" but making sure we don't spill more blood! Peace cannot be achieved by more killing and any one who believes that sending in “additional 15,000 to 30,000 U.S. troops” will end this war has the blood of these young men and women on their hands! THANK YOU for wanting to launch the “Lieberman Watch” site and those who don’t seem to get the message, “war is over if you want it” should be the ones fighting in this senseless war instead of blindly sending other people’s children, husbands, wives, family members to die.
By the way, President’s can’t launch a war without Congress (and unfortunately, this Congress gave him the pass to do so)! However, on November 7th, the mandate by the people was to end this war and bring our troops home. The last time I checked we were still hanging onto our “Republic” by a slim thread and it’s up to the people to make sure this President and Congress honor the majority of the voices who voted on November 7th to end this war! THANK YOU Bob for doing your part and SHAME ON ALL who don’t question this war and are too willing to listen to the lies of Joe and this warmongering President!
Just seeing Joe standing next to his Republican friend Susan Collins makes me puke! They're like Siamese twins, joined together by their spineless courage that can't stand up to truth! It's going to get pretty nasty if Sen. Johnson from South Dakota doesn't recover because the Senate will no longer be controlled by the Democrats. Joe will undoubtedly be caucusing with the warmongers so holding him accountable will be even more important than ever!
Thanks Harriet. Hey, you're in "Blog Wars" for about a second! Woo-hoo!
And it looks like "Lieberman Watch" is going to be a lot of fun!
Bob,
"Lieberman Watch" will be a lot of fun. I was getting bored not being able to argue any of your recent posts.
Anywho...The one thing I dont get about this post is that everyone in CT knew Joe wasnt going to withdrawl troops. As he said over and over again he wants them home but not at the risk of national security. You knew, I knew, all the voters in CT knew. Thats why Lamont won the primary and got so many votes in the senate race. So why all the hypocrisy talk, everyone knew he was going to do this, even Joe.
Bob maybe part of the "Lieberman Watch" you can look into what Joe is or isnt doing in CT that he promised. thats what I'm interested in
Anon,
Let's not mistake the fact that as Bob said, "he's a liar, a hypocrite, and deserves every bit of scorn he gets." That Lieberman's comment wasn't a "promise" is not the point. He's been wrong on Iraq from the beginning. He fooled enough of the voters with his pandering comments to get reelected. But he should be held accountable again and again.
Bob, keep it up. Liebermanwatch is just what's needed. Except that we'll have to watch him.
video dated july 06, so i stand corrected, it was during the campaign, but it was before that big mess in aug when things started going out of controll. so i still stand by the premise of my above critisim.
It has been chaos for about a year and a half. Even when Joe was saying those things it was already beyond a controllable situtation. On NPR last night the "analyst" they had on stated "Whatever the government has been telling you about Iraq: It is really about six months worse than that." (paraphrased) In other words: Now that most politicians are finally calling it "Civil War", well, it is beyond 6 months past that and much worse.
Joe will still tell you not to believe your own eyes. Joe Lieberman has been that wrong for that long. He doesn't have a clue what needs to be done in Iraq, and this is just MORE STALLING. A hail mary pass by LieberCain to hopefully position themselves in the 2008 elections. One they pray that Mr. Bush will not catch and run with because it will make them all look even dumber than they already do.
We are already at the point where there is only one clear option, and that is redeployment. Anything else is just playing politics with the soldiers lives.
What can be done about Lieberman on a state level, to stop him from embarrassing the state? Recall? Impeachment? Censure? Some kind of severance? This has got to stop.
Hey CT Man,
"We are already at the point where there is only one clear option, and that is redeployment. Anything else is just playing politics with the soldiers lives. "
What type of military trainning do you have? Are you an expert on international policy? How much do you really know about the situation in Iraq and where are you geeting this info?
For you to think that you know the answer in Iraq is totally naive and dangerious to our way of life. Your hatered for Bush is clouding you judgement on the entire stituation.
Wake up to reality. Nothing will be resolved by leaving
What type of military trainning do you have?
US Army Infantry...
Are you an expert on international policy?
I knew enough to know that there were no WMDs, and that Iraq was a clusterfuck handed to us with lie upon lie before the invasion even started. I know that our foreign policy is now based upon neocon efforts to test the boundries of "illegal invasions" for hegemonic purposes. Pick up some Brzezinski ("The Choice: Global Domination or Global Leadership") or some Chomsky ("Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance"). If you had you might have a basic understanding of what the war is really about.
I am no expert, but I do understand this situation clearly. Both from a military viewpoint AND the foreign policy disaster that the current failures represent.
You cannot invalidate my informed opinions by questioning my experience.(See note below!)
Wake up to reality. Nothing will be resolved by leaving
Here is the reality:
We are already at the point where there is only one clear option, and that is redeployment. Anything else is just playing politics with the soldiers lives.
Nothing will be resolved by staying EXCEPT pushing this disaster off onto the next Congress (maybe even the next president if bush gets his incompetent way) and it is a purely political move.
I wouldn't buy a used car from Bush or Cheney, nevermind a failed used war. Congress will, likely, have to cut off funding in order for the the neocons failed test to be stopped.
At this very moment the American Enterprise Institue and the Heritage Foundation are pushing for more of their neocon pipedreams throwing support to the basics of the LieberCain solution... But these are all of the same groups, and all of the same people, that started the PNAC revolution in their push for the failed Iraq war. They no longer have any credibilility as they have a proven track record of ignorance and FAILURE.
It isn't their lives on the line, is it? So what do they care about the politics?
Yep! You ought to wake up to reality becuase this isn't Atlas Shrugs here. This is the reality based left.
And the most hillarious thing here (sad but funny) is that all indicators point towards bush using the LieberCain solution and when it fails (and it will), won't those two maverick bipartisan twin-twits look dumb(er)? lol
They are praying that bush will not do what they suggest for the fact that they know it will make them look as dumb as bush.
It would be ironic if Lieberman and McCain playing politics to set up for the presidential races got bitten in the ass by bush playing politics for his "legacy", which has already been deemed a complete failure by anyone with a lick of sense.
But the soldiers will pay dearly, as will Iraqi citizens.
There is the reality.
And as a side NOTE: Only the truely ignorant and/or those puposefully lying will attack the messanger and not the message. And all hiding behind "anonymous" signatures. Questioning my experiences and creds is flat out BS. (But I suspect you knew that when you asked. :)
Ct Man,
Dont Flatter yourself I know nothing about you, nor do I care.
same old bullshit, fact is you really dont have a clue.
sorry
nor do I care. same old bullshit, fact is you really dont have a clue.
Now, you know as well as anyone else in the Blogosphere that you wouldn't have asked if you didn't care. Fact is that you know as well as anyone else in the Blogosphere why you would ask those specific questions. It is the same old BS... And it obviously pisses you off to get called on it.
Glad to help you out on that one!
:D lol
Those were rhetorical questions, Like I care you were a soldier and like thats makes you qualified, hahaha. Fact is I dont care about you or your opinions I just love pointing out when someone thinks they know whats going on in Iraq and when in reality they are missing a much, much, much bigger picture.
I know you dont understand but in a few years you will, dont feel bad ignorance is bliss
Keep on drinking in New Milford, maybe you can drink yourself into reality
You must really be ticked off to still be complaining and slinging petty insults. If it makes you feel better about yourself.
Again: Glad to help you out on that one!
:D lol
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