Conason: Whatever's best for Holy Joe (Pandered to Farrakhan)

[kskiska]

Lieberman's racially inflammatory strategy may backfire when people remember his history of pandering to Louis Farrakhan.

Ever since Joe Lieberman lost the Connecticut Democratic primary, he has been telling voters that he stands for "a new politics of unity and purpose." Yet he and his supporters have simultaneously pursued an old politics of division and distraction by drawing attention to the two controversial personalities who stood behind challenger Ned Lamont on primary night.

The Lieberman campaign is trying to frighten white voters in Connecticut -- and Democrats in Washington -- by reminding them over and over again that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson support Lamont. This week, the senator's aides told the New York Times that playing the two African-American preachers off against Lamont will enhance Lieberman's appeal on an independent ballot line. "Primary night was the first time that many Connecticut voters saw Lamont on TV, and he's surrounding himself with two of the more divisive and problematic figures in the Democratic Party," said Dan Gerstein, the Lieberman campaign's communications director.

It's true that Jackson and Sharpton, who bustled onto the podium the evening of the primary to grab their share of the Lamont spotlight, tend to be polarizing figures. But what if Lamont had praised an even more polarizing black leader? What would Lieberman say if his rival had reached out to someone really outrageous, like Louis Farrakhan?

If he were honest, he'd exclaim "Great idea!" -- because that's exactly what he said six years ago.

Lieberman can hope to get away with his racially inflammatory strategy only if everyone else forgets not only his habit of sucking up to Jackson and Sharpton but his history of stroking the most bigoted black leader in the world. Evidently he and Gerstein (who was also his spokesman during the 2000 presidential campaign) expect that nobody will mention the embarrassing episode when Lieberman's ambition (and opportunism) led him to praise Farrakhan. Given the laziness and amnesia that afflict the national press corps, they may be right.


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http://salon.com/opinion/conason/2006/08/18/lieberman/

[babylonsister]

1. I never realized how wishy-washy he was.

I resent the insinuation that Jackson and Sharpton are working for anything more than the Democratic party, something Joe is not working for. Respect-gone!

[azurnoir]

2. Didn't know that any

mainstream politician associated with Louis "only White folks can be racist" Farrakhan, just what kind of unity was going for? If it was Jewish-Muslim then he was definitely barking up the wrong tree, but most of the public would not know that.

[yurbud]

3. Criticizing Sharpton is one thing, but when someone goes after Jesse...

that's essentially code for saying it's unacceptable to be seen with ANY black person.