Joe Lieberman, Independent, Urges Nation To Back McCain

Joe Lieberman – at great cost to himself – has thrown his support behind his fellow Senator and friend, John McCain.

Lieberman is the kind of Democrat who didn’t leave his party, but was rather abandoned by his party.  On many of the issues, Lieberman is well to the left of even so-called “moderate Republicans,” but believes that Democrats are terrible on national defense and national security.

Democrats are already sharpening their knives to stab Lieberman.  The words “traitor,” “punish,” and “stripping” are angrily being exchanged.  And Joe Lieberman – in some way like the John McCain who refused to break with the honor system of his fellow POWs even when it meant more captivity and more abuse – knows it.

Joe Lieberman didn’t betray the Democratic Party.  Rather, he called upon Democrats to honor the commitments they had made to support their President and their troops in time of war.  To punish him, they not only didn’t back him for re-election, but actually ran a candidate about him.  Lieberman lost in the primaries, but it was only liberals who rejected him; not his state.  Lieberman ran as an Independent and handily won re-election.

Lieberman – who agrees with Democrats “on 95% of the issues”, believes that John McCain has been right about Iraq.  For that departure:

“If the Democrats are in control in terms of leadership next year, a Democrat should chair that committee,” he said, in reference to the Homeland Security panel. “Clearly, he’s not a Democrat.”

So don’t you buck the Democratic leadership.  Don’t you dare.  They are vindictive, angry people, and they will exact their revenge.  They have held back their retribution only because they have needed Lieberman’s vote, but if they pick up the seats they believe they’ll get in the Senate, they are already vowing to come after Lieberman, drive him out of his committees, and destroy him.

Joe Lieberman has voted on his conscience.  Apparently, following one’s conscience is the unpardonable sin in the Democratic Party.

Here’s the speech that so enrages Democrats:

What’s the Difference Between Democrats And Republicans?

What’s the difference between Democrats and Republicans? A lot of people are frankly pretty apolitical and frankly don’t know a lot about the two parties. I am a conservative and a Republican, but I would like to try to provide at least the accurate essence of what Democrats believe in before offering the Republican counter.

I understand that many people are not particularly involved in politics until major elections. It is not a matter of ignorance, but rather a matter of being occupied with raising children and running households. When an election rolls around, many people want to make the right decisions for themselves and for their country, but become bogged down in a morass of partisan claims and counter-claims.

The truth is, Democrats and Republicans differ on nearly everything today. But let me focus on three categories – social policy, domestic policy, and foreign policy – and try to describe a few key differences.