from MYDD:
http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/10/6/12450/6168by Matt Stoller, Fri Oct 06, 2006
Today, Lieberman's campaign manager Sherry Brown retracted Lieberman's defense of Hastert. Brown said that when Lieberman spoke to reporters Wednesday, he "never suggested" that calling for Hastert's resignation was too partisan. She said he "simply urged both sides not to turn this awful incident into a partisan food-fight."
Here's what Lieberman actually said.
"I know some people are calling for Hastert to resign, but the truth is that unless he knows what he saw and he saw something he should have acted on, he deserves to have essentially a fact-finder to come in," Lieberman said.
"The Foley case bothers people," he added. "If anyone thinks they can make this into another partisan flap, it's not. It's very real and human. The House Republican leaders and, frankly, the Democratic leadership, should not make it partisan."This Foley scandal is putting politicians like Lieberman in a real bind. It's been obvious for some time that Joe is out for himself, and that he refuses to hold leaders in Washington accountable - the Foley scandal puts pressure on people like Joe to hold the Republican base together while swinging some independents who are horrified at PredatorGate. This kind of weasel language from campaign manager Sherry Brown shows that support of the status quo is toxic for incumbents.
The problem with the Foley scandal is that it is partisan because it's a Republican cover-up. That's why Lieberman's support of Hastert is so critical - as part of the culture of DC, as someone who is urging politicians to not put this question to the voters, and as someone who is afraid of criticism, Lieberman is part of the cover-up of the last six years of misrule.
Video of Lieberman Backing Hastertfrom MYDD:
http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/10/5/215737/277and this from David Sirota:
http://www.workingforchange.com/blog/index.cfm?mode=entry&entry=1AA9EDC6-E0C3-F090-AC5F1442B0A2DB6CCT-SEN: Lieberman Keeps Attacking Critics of Sexual Predator Cover Up 10.5.06
So let's see...a congressman gets exposed as a child sexual predator, having Internet sex with underage pages between House votes. A fellow Republican congressman exposes evidence that the Speaker of the House was informed of the sexual predator's behavior, and did nothing about it for months or even years. The Speaker does not deny the evidence. Yet, when lawmakers call for the Speaker to resign, what does Joe Lieberman do? He focus his major attacks not on the sexual predator, not on the Speaker who covered up the scandal - but instead, he attacks critics of the Speaker.
No really, this is not a joke. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Joe Lieberman's comments from today in Torrington about the scandal . . .
"Right now I’d say this thing is spinning out of control, it’s become another partisan frenzy in Washington, that’s the wrong way to go at it."
So let me get this straight: Joe Lieberman's major reaction to this awful, disgusting and horrific scandal is to berate as "partisan" those who want just a smidgeon of accountability? Of course, he never explains how it can be "partisan" when many of the loudest calls for Hastert's immediate resignation are from conservatives. But even beyond the dishonesty is the sheer shamelessness of it all. These pious declarations are coming from the same man who used the consensual affair between Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky to build his own name recognition by parading himself all over the Washington talk show circuit as Mr. Moral.
Just step back and think about this for a second: think about how much of a career politician you have to be to have your first reaction to a sexual predator scandal be "Dammit, the people who want answers are too partisan!" Think about how bloodless you have to be to look at a situation where a minor was seized on as sexual prey by a Congressman and react to it by defending from attack the people who covered it up.
Many have been disgusted with Lieberman's refusal to hold the White House accountable when it came to the Iraq War, and his vicious attacks on those who have criticized the war. But this goes from disgusting to nauseating. Watching him, you think you are watching a smarmy politician in a B comedy movie about Washington. You know, the guy who goes before cameras to claim to be a moral pious man, and then turns around, pockets a huge amount of Republican cash from moneymen funding the legal defense of indicted government officials, and then goes back out and attacks those demanding action to deal with the cover up of a child sexual predator scandal.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
