Joe Lieberman? You've got to be kidding me! This is identity politics at its worst. So Lieberman is the first Jew to be nominated for Vice President. That's not chopped liver, but it's not everything, either. And what about the separation of church and state?
The Progressive
August 9, 2000
The Lieberman Record: Worse than Gore's
By Matthew Rothschild
Joe Lieberman?
You've got to be kidding me!
This is identity politics at its worst. So Lieberman is the
first Jew to be nominated for Vice President. That's not
chopped liver, but it's not everything, either.
And what about the separation of church and state?
For Lieberman to say at the announcement on Tuesday that
Gore is "a servant of God Almighty" was a little high on the
chutzpah and hyperbole charts. Had Dick Cheney said the same
thing about George W. Bush, liberals would be squawking.
But leave God aside, and look what this guy stands for.
If anything, he's to the right of Al Gore, and his
nomination proves that the leftwing of the Democratic Party
has now been fully amputated. In the last twelve years, not
a single nominee for President or Vice President has
represented the liberal wing.
This is not your mother's or father's Democratic Party.
Gore and Lieberman both pushed for the destruction of
welfare.
Gore and Lieberman both banged the drums for war against
Iraq.
Gore and Lieberman both support sanctions on Iraq.
Gore and Lieberman both support aid to Colombia's military.
Gore and Lieberman both support an increase in Pentagon
spending.
Gore and Lieberman both support the IMF, the World Bank, the
WTO, and Permanent Normal Trade Relations for China.
Gore and Lieberman both oppose gay marriage.
Gore and Lieberman both support the death penalty.
But Lieberman is even worse than Gore on Star Wars. On March
19, 1998, he was one of only four Democrats who voted with
all fifty-five Republicans to "deploy as soon as
technologically possible, a National Missile Defense system
capable of defending the territory of the United States."
This is the Bush position.
Lieberman is even worse than Gore on Cuba. He was on a
commission of the far right Cuban American National
Foundation, and he campaigned in 1988 against Lowell Weicker
for being too soft on Cuba.
Lieberman is even worse than Gore on education, where he
supports private school vouchers. This, too, is the Bush
position.
Lieberman is even worse than Gore on privatizing Social
Security, where Lieberman's views are nearly identical to
Bush's.
Lieberman is worse than Gore on making the CIA's budget
public. Lieberman was one of the few Democrats who opposed
this 1993 amendment.
Lieberman is even worse than Gore on civil liberties, where
Lieberman favors a moment of silence in schools. He also
voted to eviscerate the "exclusionary rule" of the Fourth
Amendment, allowing so-called good faith exceptions to the
constitutional requirement to have a search a warrant.
Lieberman is worse than Gore on affirmative action; he's
been critical of it.
Lieberman is worse than Gore on immigration. He supported an
amendment in 1989 to give preferences to immigrants who
speak English.
Lieberman is worse than Gore on health care and the
pharmaceutical industry; Lieberman is one of the chief water
boys for the drug companies in the Senate.
Lieberman is worse than Gore on the capital gains tax, which
he wants to reduce.
We're hearing all this talk about the "morality" of
Lieberman. But personal morality is not the only yardstick.
There's also "morality" on public policy issues, like
sanctions on Iraq, welfare, the death penalty, and the
maldistribution of wealth and income.
I don't find Lieberman a moral voice on these major issues.
Quite the contrary.
Copyright (c) 2000 by The Progressive, Madison, WI.
Original: The Lieberman Record: Worse than Gore's