The Lieberman Haters

No senator in recent times has courted as much hullabaloo as Connecticut's fightin' Joe Lieberman. What a remarkable story he has been, eh? Tapped in 2000 by Al Gore as the first Jewish running mate, I can remember him trading zingers with Dick Cheney in the Veep Debate. But in the sequel, in a way, he would become one of Mr. Cheney's strongest allies on the Hill. And then in 2008 he campaigned for John McCain and gave the keynote address at the RNC, amid cries of "traitor" from the faithful.

The latest episode in this high-stakes drama was in health care reform. He single-handedly punted the public option from the Senate health care bill. Afterwards his approval rate in his state plummeted to 25 percent. This due to the fact that he managed to earn the ire of both the supporters and opponents of the bill. Some 84 percent of the bill's supporters and 52 percent of its opponents disapprove of the way he handled himself.

One thing is clear. He has political courage. Some would say he is foolhardy or even inept. And yet he is not inept. Anyone who can pull a rabbit out of a hat as he did in his last reelection is no Martha Coakley. But even a brilliant campaigner would not relish his prospects in 2012. Harry Reid may have hammered the final nail in his coffin.

Here is the way I imagine it played out. Lieberman tells Reid he is dead set against the public option. As we recall, it had been nixed in Baucus' committee, but was trying to make a come-back on the Senate floor. Reid calls his bluff. He knows how to read polls and he knows how weak a position Lieberman is in. How could a senator from a solidly blue state who campaigned against the party's great hope be prepared to stand alone against the popular public option? But Reid miscalculated the chutzpah!

So Mr. Lieberman basically ruined himself over a matter of principle. The other two holdouts, Landrieu and Nelson, made no bones about plundering the federal coffers for their states. Landrieu got 300 million in hush money and Nelson got Nebraska exempted from Medicare payments indefinitely - which is worth about 50 million a year. But Lieberman didn't get a cent. Some accuse him being in the pockets of the health care lobby. But through his career his biggest contributions have come from finance, lawyers and real estate.

How would Lieberman fare as a Republican? Not a whole lot better. In spite of his hawkish pro-Bush/McCain security credentials, he has always been pro-choice, supported stem cell research and sponsored legislation against homosexual discrimination. Oh yes and lets not forget he is the lead author of the Cap and Trade bill. Although Republican approval is higher than among independents or Democrats, it is still only 39 percent compared to 48 percent who disapprove. And why would the Republican Party - famous for its discipline - even be interested in a guy who doesn't follow directions very well?

And Mr. Lieberman's voting record is far from right-wing. The National Journal rated him as the 43rd most liberal senator in 2008. Six Democrats were more conservative than him and no Republicans were more liberal.

Perhaps Lieberman is out of touch with his electorate and it is time for a change. But he is not to be generally derided as one of the worst senators. He votes his conscience, works across party lines and is a moderate. Let us compare him to someone like, say, James Inhofe of Oklahoma. Mr. Inhofe was "outraged by the outrage" against the revelations of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib. He believes that global warming is "the second-largest hoax ever played on the American people, after the separation of church and state." Not surprisingly his largest contributions come from the oil and gas sector. Similarly in foreign policy he believes "very strongly that we ought to support Israel, and that it has a right to the land, because God said so." Indeed, one of the reasons we were attacked on 9/11 was for our failure to support Israel strongly enough, he says. And this monster is only the 8th most conservative senator according to the same vote survey.

Lieberman may have his faults, but lets be fair. He is a decent and thoughtful senator.