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.