Democrats Love Moderates, Not Lieberman

"Extreme wacko left blah blah blah moonbats taking over party blah blah blah hate crazy liberals cliche cliche hate Lieberman because he's not liberal enough cliche cliche cliche where's the rest of the talking points memo? We're missing a page. We forgot what we were supposed to say about Lieberman and the Demoncraps. Moonbat extreme left wacko al Qaeda lovers--that good enough?"

That schtick is old. Old old old. It was old during Woodstock and it's positively moldy with age now. And it's the GOP projecting yet again.

Today, there's a big tent party that's open to moderates, including but not limited to Reagan Democrats, socially-liberal-fiscally-conservative types, and even the odd pro-lifer. That party is the Democratic party. Its moderates are not mere window dressing (a la Rudy/Ahnuld). In fact, they're integral to the party.

Senate minority leader Harry Reid? A pro-life, gun-owning Mormon. (To be fair, Reid is on record as saying that while he doesn't like abortion, he doesn't want to see Roe vs. Wade overturned.) Not exactly an arch liberal.

Virginia Senate candidate James Webb? A former Reagan cabinet member--basically a "Reagan Democrat."

John Murtha? A pro-life hawk.

Former Virginia governor Mark Warner? Moderate.

Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth? Moderate.

Governors Kathleen Sebelius and Janet Napolitano? Moderates.

Howard Dean? Moderate. Got an "A" from the National Rifle Association. Balanced Vermont's budget. Moderate.

I could go on.

Check out Daily Kos--their star candidates include plenty of moderates as well as liberals. Democrats appreciate centrist candidates, even if they don't always agree with them. It's the GOP who are always marginalizing and ridiculing their moderates--the Snowes and Whitmans. It's the GOP that formed the "RINO Hunters' Club."

So how do you explain the dislike of Lieberman? It ain't because he's a moderate, folks. All Democrats agree that on many issues he's liberal. But he's a wrongheaded hawk who's backed Bush's misbegotten Iraq war long after doing so ceased making sense. He's refused to re-evaluate his views. He's cozied up to the Bushco neocons. And--worst of all--he seems ashamed of his own party. Lieberman's the sort of guy who makes you embarassed to share a political party with him (Colmes, Estrich, and Joe Biden have a similar effect on people). No wonder the wingnuts love him.

Contrast that with Kansas's Dem governor Kathleen Sebelius, who's never been ashamed to be a Democrat and never apologized for it. In fact, she's managed to coax moderate Republicans into the Democratic party (her current running mate is former head of the Kansas GOP). Dealing with Republicans doesn't mean you have to devalue your own party, and Sebelius seems to realize this. For this reason, she's a popular, effective governor whose name is mentioned as a possible 2008 running mate.

When you think about it, the Democrats didn't reject Lieberman. Lieberman rejected them. And that's why so many chose another candidate to replace him.

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