Tim Burke Asks a Question...
Worse than a Crime, a Mistake

A Question About Joe Lieberman

Mark Schmitt writes:

The Decembrist: Lieberdem Speaks: I probably shouldn't be so obsessed with the Lieberman-Lamont race, but I can't help it. This seems to be the week when the Republican right (Kondracke, Chris Caldwell) has decided to make Joe Lieberman's cause their own. Which is fine, but their opinion about who should be the Democratic nominee in a state they don't live in is about as relevant as my opinion about who should be the next president of France. (Anyone interested in my strongly-held opinion on the latter question, the answer is here.) But at the same time, the actual Democrats supporting Lieberman seemed to have figured out what contributors to TPMCafe and others have been saying for months: Lieberman got himself into this situation, and every day he makes it worse....

Matt Smith, seems a little more grounded. Here’s Smith on Friday:

...Joe Lieberman is hardly out of the mainstream of the Democratic party - one need only look at his voting record to see this - and Lieberman’s long history of fighting for progressive causes cannot seriously be questioned. Iraq is admittedly a big thorn in Lieberman’s side, but less than a quarter of all voters and just 33% of Democrats said Iraq was the top issue for them in this election. Lieberman clearly can improve if his campaign just reminds voters of how strong he is on the traditional progressive issues of education, the environment, civil rights, choice, worker’s rights, and virtually every other progressive cause that you can think of. Those same Quinnipiac polls still show that a majority of Democrats think he deserves to be re-elected, and the loyalty of his supporters runs deep...

What progressive causes has Lieberman fought for in the past five years? Remind me, please.

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