Are Liberal Opinions the Only Ones That Matter?
I was truly puzzled when I read Erin Price’s letter in the May 1 Progressive-Journal. I reread my article about the Virginia Tech murders again, but I could not understand her reaction to my article. I spoke of grieving parents and friends of the victims. I mentioned the spate of school shootings during the last ten years. I, like the rest of the country, discussed my views on gun control. I did make a comment about what Cho had written on his arm (“Ismail Ax”), but nothing that should have set off such a tirade. I mentioned immigration at the end of the article. Maybe that comment wasn’t germane, but it made as much sense as Linda Hansen’s (Erin Price’s mother) article which blamed the murders on the “hate speech” of Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, and others. There was never any indication that Cho ever listened to any of the columnists or radio personalities mentioned.
I was accused of using “hate speech” by Ms. Price and her mother, yet I never called anyone names or used sarcasm as they did in their attacks on me. Ms. Price even compared me to the Nazis, which qualifies as “inflammatory rhetoric.” I wonder if she really knew what she was saying. Nazis were socialists who kept control by military means, murder, and torture. Hitler killed over six million Jews, in addition to anyone else considered to be of an inferior race, or anyone who tried to help them. Her words were straight out of MoveOn’s playbook. They made two attack advertisements portraying President George Bush as Hitler. The ads were condemned by prominent Jews. As I have always supported Israel, I would doubt that Jewish people would think of me as a Hitler any more than they thought of Bush as one.
Ms. Hansen used quotes around the words “to steal our jobs,” implying that the words came from my article. She misquoted me. I said, “Maybe we should be concerned about people immigrating here other than Hispanics. After all, they just want jobs; others coming across our borders want to kill us.” The difference is that I said that Hispanics want jobs, not “our jobs.” They mainly take jobs that other Americans don’t want. I also did not say that all other immigrants want to kill us. Some of them do. It’s a fact. I believe that it is “intellectually lazy” to misquote other people to punch up your attack. Liberals eviscerate anyone with an opinion that strays from their point of view. Conservatives are to lose their First Amendment rights (freedom of speech) along with their Second Amendment rights (the right to bear arms).
Ms. Price makes much of the granite stone set up in Cho’s memory with the memorials set up for his 32 victims. She speaks of the forgiveness of some of the letters. In fact, not all of the letters were forgiving, and the stone for Cho was gone by the time the students returned to school. None of us have the right to forgive Cho. Only those whose family members were killed, and God, have the right to forgive him. It’s not up to us to determine how the families should react.
After professor Nikki Giovanni refused to teach Cho, professor Lucinda Roy told campus police and administrators about his antisocial behavior and violent writing, and a second coed complained that Cho was stalking her, he was detained and taken to Carilion St. Albans Behavioral Health for a court-ordered examination. The examiner found that Cho “denies suicidal ideations. He does not acknowledge symptoms of a thought disorder. His insight and judgment are normal.” The magistrate freed Cho without ordering the involuntary commitment which would have prevented him from buying the guns used to murder 32 innocent people. Had Cho not killed himself, he would have been judged fit to stand trial. Because he is dead, he is called mentally ill. I think that any mass murderer would qualify for the label “disturbed,” but the label does not excuse the crime. Nobody could have been sicker than Jeffrey Dahmer, yet he stood trial and was convicted.
I believe that Ms. Hansen and her daughter think that I use “hate speech,” but that they don’t. It doesn’t seem that way to me. I just wasn’t feeling the love during the past week as I was thinking about the terrible things that had been said about me. Believe it or not, liberals are not the only ones with feelings.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Can You Trust Your School With Your Child's Safety?
Can You Trust Your School With Your Child’s Safety?
There are certain moments that live in our memories forever. I vividly remember JFK’s assassination, Martin Luther King’s murder, the Challenger explosion, Princess Diana’s death, and the events unfolding on 9/11. I will also remember my stunned reaction at hearing that yet another school shooting had taken at least 33 lives at Virginia Tech. Suddenly, recent events shifted into proper perspective. Imus, the Duke Lacrosse team, Anna Nicole’s baby, and Brittany Spears’ shaved head no longer seemed important. Somewhere parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends are grieving for people that they loved. Somewhere a mother just like me knows that she will never hear her child’s voice again on this earth. I cannot imagine the pain. Somewhere other parents are standing by the bedsides of their wounded children and hoping that they will survive the night.
Since October 1997 when a sixteen-year-old Mississippi boy stabbed his mother before shooting dead two students at his school, eighty-eight students, teachers, and administrators have been killed in school shootings across the United States. Usually, students have been the shooters, but occasionally, as in the Amish school shootings, an adult is the killer. The Virginia Tech shootings are the nineteenth in the string of shootings, and they are the bloodiest. These murders constitute the largest mass killing in the history of our country.
The violence is escalating and the frequency of the attacks is increasing. What is happening in our schools? Don’t talk to me of how the shooter is a victim. I don’t want to hear about his socio-economic background. I don’t want to hear that he was picked on by other students. I don’t want to read anything that blames the thirty-two dead students for their own murders. Don’t tell me that more gun laws would solve the problem. The Columbine shooters violated nineteen gun laws when they took their weapons into that school.
In fact, two years ago Virginia Tech led the charge to make certain that licensed, trained gun owners (faculty or students) could not bring guns onto their campus. If just one of those trained gun owners had had a gun, maybe Holocaust survivor Livin Librescu, a 76 year old Jewish professor, would not have had to sacrifice his own life to save his students. When Librescu heard gunshots, he closed his classroom door and braced himself against it, allowing all of his students to escape through the windows.
The gun ban at Virginia Tech didn’t stop South Korean Cho Seung-Hui from having a gun there. According to his creative writing professor, Cho was “troubled,” wrote papers that disturbed her, and was referred to counseling. He had recently set a fire in a dorm room and stalked several women.
Cho had “Ishmael Acts” written on his arm. I’m not sure what was meant by that cryptic message, but I do know that Ishmael was the illegitimate son of Abraham. He was the father of the Arabs (Muslims). Al Qaida said that the schools would be the next targets. The rampage may have been set off, as the official story goes, by a romance that ended badly. However, why did Cho not stop after he had killed the girl in her dorm? Why did he walk more than a mile across the campus and shoot into classrooms? Maybe we should be concerned about people immigrating here other than Hispanics. After all, they just want jobs; others coming across our borders want to kill us.
There are certain moments that live in our memories forever. I vividly remember JFK’s assassination, Martin Luther King’s murder, the Challenger explosion, Princess Diana’s death, and the events unfolding on 9/11. I will also remember my stunned reaction at hearing that yet another school shooting had taken at least 33 lives at Virginia Tech. Suddenly, recent events shifted into proper perspective. Imus, the Duke Lacrosse team, Anna Nicole’s baby, and Brittany Spears’ shaved head no longer seemed important. Somewhere parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends are grieving for people that they loved. Somewhere a mother just like me knows that she will never hear her child’s voice again on this earth. I cannot imagine the pain. Somewhere other parents are standing by the bedsides of their wounded children and hoping that they will survive the night.
Since October 1997 when a sixteen-year-old Mississippi boy stabbed his mother before shooting dead two students at his school, eighty-eight students, teachers, and administrators have been killed in school shootings across the United States. Usually, students have been the shooters, but occasionally, as in the Amish school shootings, an adult is the killer. The Virginia Tech shootings are the nineteenth in the string of shootings, and they are the bloodiest. These murders constitute the largest mass killing in the history of our country.
The violence is escalating and the frequency of the attacks is increasing. What is happening in our schools? Don’t talk to me of how the shooter is a victim. I don’t want to hear about his socio-economic background. I don’t want to hear that he was picked on by other students. I don’t want to read anything that blames the thirty-two dead students for their own murders. Don’t tell me that more gun laws would solve the problem. The Columbine shooters violated nineteen gun laws when they took their weapons into that school.
In fact, two years ago Virginia Tech led the charge to make certain that licensed, trained gun owners (faculty or students) could not bring guns onto their campus. If just one of those trained gun owners had had a gun, maybe Holocaust survivor Livin Librescu, a 76 year old Jewish professor, would not have had to sacrifice his own life to save his students. When Librescu heard gunshots, he closed his classroom door and braced himself against it, allowing all of his students to escape through the windows.
The gun ban at Virginia Tech didn’t stop South Korean Cho Seung-Hui from having a gun there. According to his creative writing professor, Cho was “troubled,” wrote papers that disturbed her, and was referred to counseling. He had recently set a fire in a dorm room and stalked several women.
Cho had “Ishmael Acts” written on his arm. I’m not sure what was meant by that cryptic message, but I do know that Ishmael was the illegitimate son of Abraham. He was the father of the Arabs (Muslims). Al Qaida said that the schools would be the next targets. The rampage may have been set off, as the official story goes, by a romance that ended badly. However, why did Cho not stop after he had killed the girl in her dorm? Why did he walk more than a mile across the campus and shoot into classrooms? Maybe we should be concerned about people immigrating here other than Hispanics. After all, they just want jobs; others coming across our borders want to kill us.
To Bee or Not to Bee
To Bee, Or Not To Bee
Thousands of honey bees have disappeared from Scotland, Spain, Italy, Poland, Greece, Portugal, France, and as many as twenty-four states in the U.S. Agriculture and ecosystems, as well as the beekeeping industry, are threatened. A quote, usually credited to Einstein, says, “If all the honey bees were wiped out, mankind would follow in about four years.” This is serious stuff.
While it is normal for beekeepers to lose about 25 percent of their bees in the fall, entire hives are disappearing this spring with losses of 30 to 60 percent on our West Coast and more than 70 percent in some cases on our East Coast and in Texas. Janice Furness, the secretary of the Fife branch of the Scottish Beekeepers’ Association, has likened this unusual behavior of bees to mass suicide. Bee specialist Dennis van Engelsdorp says that bees pollinate more than “$14 billion of U.S. seeds and crops a year – every third bite that we eat.” Normally, scavengers take over deserted hives – but not in these cases. All that is left in these hives are queens and developing broods.
Throughout the world, scientists and specialists of all stripes are scratching their heads. They have advanced theories ranging from stress, toxins, and viruses to cell phone towers, attack hornets, and fungi. My family and students have come up with several theories.
1) The bees have been abducted by aliens to pollinate their barren, dying home planet.
2) Hate speech by Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Bill O’Reilly have driven the bees to fly into the oceans and drown themselves. Bees listen only to conservatives, never to liberals, and they are extremely sensitive to all the hatred in the world.
3) Al Qaida terrorists have taken the bees hostage and are hoarding them in Arab countries. Notice that there are no Middle Eastern countries reporting missing bees. Hmmmmm.
4) The hive queens have become feminists and signed their own ERA. They have eaten the drones (useless males) and then the workers (an embarrassment to females everywhere). This would be the Insecticide Conspiracy Theory.
5) If Bush had signed the Kyoto Treaty, this never would have happened. My husband thinks there’s a link between “Kyoto” and “coyote.” He postulates that rogue coyotes, enraged by the President’s refusal to sign what they thought was the “Coyote Treaty,” have eaten the bees for revenge.
6) White, male opossums are attacking the hives and eating the bees. They are ugly, sneaky little creatures as well as being white and male.
7) O’Neil Tyson, one of my African-American students, thinks that it’s a government conspiracy to rid the world of African bees or any sort of black bees. We used to have a hive, and I remember that there were Midnight bees and Italian bees, as well as other kinds. What if all the missing bees are Midnight bees? O’Neil may be right.
8) And now, my personal favorite – the bees are victims of global warming (again attributable to Bush and the Kyoto Treaty). Their hives are too hot, and in the absence of hive air conditioning, they have gone to cooler climates. There are probably thousands and thousands of honeybees floating on icebergs near the melting polar ice caps. Forget about the polar bears. Our food supply is in danger. Quick, get a hybrid to drive. Start recycling. Turn that heat down and the air conditioning up. If it makes you happy, stop doing it immediately. We haven’t accomplished anything, but I feel better. Don’t you?
Thousands of honey bees have disappeared from Scotland, Spain, Italy, Poland, Greece, Portugal, France, and as many as twenty-four states in the U.S. Agriculture and ecosystems, as well as the beekeeping industry, are threatened. A quote, usually credited to Einstein, says, “If all the honey bees were wiped out, mankind would follow in about four years.” This is serious stuff.
While it is normal for beekeepers to lose about 25 percent of their bees in the fall, entire hives are disappearing this spring with losses of 30 to 60 percent on our West Coast and more than 70 percent in some cases on our East Coast and in Texas. Janice Furness, the secretary of the Fife branch of the Scottish Beekeepers’ Association, has likened this unusual behavior of bees to mass suicide. Bee specialist Dennis van Engelsdorp says that bees pollinate more than “$14 billion of U.S. seeds and crops a year – every third bite that we eat.” Normally, scavengers take over deserted hives – but not in these cases. All that is left in these hives are queens and developing broods.
Throughout the world, scientists and specialists of all stripes are scratching their heads. They have advanced theories ranging from stress, toxins, and viruses to cell phone towers, attack hornets, and fungi. My family and students have come up with several theories.
1) The bees have been abducted by aliens to pollinate their barren, dying home planet.
2) Hate speech by Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Bill O’Reilly have driven the bees to fly into the oceans and drown themselves. Bees listen only to conservatives, never to liberals, and they are extremely sensitive to all the hatred in the world.
3) Al Qaida terrorists have taken the bees hostage and are hoarding them in Arab countries. Notice that there are no Middle Eastern countries reporting missing bees. Hmmmmm.
4) The hive queens have become feminists and signed their own ERA. They have eaten the drones (useless males) and then the workers (an embarrassment to females everywhere). This would be the Insecticide Conspiracy Theory.
5) If Bush had signed the Kyoto Treaty, this never would have happened. My husband thinks there’s a link between “Kyoto” and “coyote.” He postulates that rogue coyotes, enraged by the President’s refusal to sign what they thought was the “Coyote Treaty,” have eaten the bees for revenge.
6) White, male opossums are attacking the hives and eating the bees. They are ugly, sneaky little creatures as well as being white and male.
7) O’Neil Tyson, one of my African-American students, thinks that it’s a government conspiracy to rid the world of African bees or any sort of black bees. We used to have a hive, and I remember that there were Midnight bees and Italian bees, as well as other kinds. What if all the missing bees are Midnight bees? O’Neil may be right.
8) And now, my personal favorite – the bees are victims of global warming (again attributable to Bush and the Kyoto Treaty). Their hives are too hot, and in the absence of hive air conditioning, they have gone to cooler climates. There are probably thousands and thousands of honeybees floating on icebergs near the melting polar ice caps. Forget about the polar bears. Our food supply is in danger. Quick, get a hybrid to drive. Start recycling. Turn that heat down and the air conditioning up. If it makes you happy, stop doing it immediately. We haven’t accomplished anything, but I feel better. Don’t you?
Are You Glad to Be Here?
Are You Glad to Be Here?
I saw an interesting bulletin board Sunday at church. The ESL class participants had replied to the question, “Why did you come to America?” Oscar wrote, “I came looking for better opportunity and better style of life, but I find the best thing, ‘This is Jesus.’ He is in my life. Thanks so much.” Guevara said, “I came to see this country because I heard about beautiful country. I like it.” Maria responded, “I came because I need work for a better life and help my family and learn English than I can learn in my country.” Nancizo said, “I came to learn English and know more about American culture. It was a hard decision in my life, but I believe it was right because I have met great people here. I have met great teachers and great humans. If one day I have to leave this country, I will miss this church and its people.” Nolvia simply wanted “to have a better life.” Dales wrote, “I want to know more about this culture, and I want to graduate from high school. I guess this education is wonderful for me. After this I hope I can get a good job and help my family.” Jose said, “I needed to make more money and get a better way to live for my family. In my country, old people like me cannot get good opportunities looking for jobs. There are a lot of young people trying to get the same for their families. I thanks and say, ‘Thanks, my Lord, because I got a job, and I can make it.’ God bless America and their people.” In his photo, Jose looked to be about thirty years old. “I came to U.S. for a great reason – to improve myself and help my family and to live a little better than before, if God allows,” wrote Bernardo. Juan said, “I came to the U.S. to see, and I liked it very much, and I started to work.” I especially liked what Peter wrote: “Our daughter, son, and our grandson live here. We like living here because it is a free country.”
These people are truly thankful for the opportunities they find in the U.S. They actually like it, and they want to learn our language. They are eager to learn more about our culture. Why don’t most native-born Americans feel privileged to live here?
According to a Newsweek poll, 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with our country’s direction, and 69 percent are unhappy with President Bush. We have one of the highest standards of living in the world. We have electricity, running water, climate controlled homes and shops, and the world’s best network of interstate highways. We can drive “from sea to shining sea” on great roads without stopping to show a passport or to change our money from state to state. We have restaurants, hotels, churches, schools, post offices, fire departments, phone service, cablevision, treated water, excellent medical care, free libraries, and law enforcement in nearly early town. Our homes have televisions, telephones, and labor-saving devices. Familes take vacations, buy houses, have several cars, and own computers and all sorts of other electronic equipment. Teenagers have cellphones, cars, and nice clothes.
Stop listening to the media tell you how unhappy you are. Think for yourself and thank God for all the blessings He has showered on our country. Learn from people who were not blessed to be born here. You may not miss our way of life until it’s gone.
I saw an interesting bulletin board Sunday at church. The ESL class participants had replied to the question, “Why did you come to America?” Oscar wrote, “I came looking for better opportunity and better style of life, but I find the best thing, ‘This is Jesus.’ He is in my life. Thanks so much.” Guevara said, “I came to see this country because I heard about beautiful country. I like it.” Maria responded, “I came because I need work for a better life and help my family and learn English than I can learn in my country.” Nancizo said, “I came to learn English and know more about American culture. It was a hard decision in my life, but I believe it was right because I have met great people here. I have met great teachers and great humans. If one day I have to leave this country, I will miss this church and its people.” Nolvia simply wanted “to have a better life.” Dales wrote, “I want to know more about this culture, and I want to graduate from high school. I guess this education is wonderful for me. After this I hope I can get a good job and help my family.” Jose said, “I needed to make more money and get a better way to live for my family. In my country, old people like me cannot get good opportunities looking for jobs. There are a lot of young people trying to get the same for their families. I thanks and say, ‘Thanks, my Lord, because I got a job, and I can make it.’ God bless America and their people.” In his photo, Jose looked to be about thirty years old. “I came to U.S. for a great reason – to improve myself and help my family and to live a little better than before, if God allows,” wrote Bernardo. Juan said, “I came to the U.S. to see, and I liked it very much, and I started to work.” I especially liked what Peter wrote: “Our daughter, son, and our grandson live here. We like living here because it is a free country.”
These people are truly thankful for the opportunities they find in the U.S. They actually like it, and they want to learn our language. They are eager to learn more about our culture. Why don’t most native-born Americans feel privileged to live here?
According to a Newsweek poll, 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with our country’s direction, and 69 percent are unhappy with President Bush. We have one of the highest standards of living in the world. We have electricity, running water, climate controlled homes and shops, and the world’s best network of interstate highways. We can drive “from sea to shining sea” on great roads without stopping to show a passport or to change our money from state to state. We have restaurants, hotels, churches, schools, post offices, fire departments, phone service, cablevision, treated water, excellent medical care, free libraries, and law enforcement in nearly early town. Our homes have televisions, telephones, and labor-saving devices. Familes take vacations, buy houses, have several cars, and own computers and all sorts of other electronic equipment. Teenagers have cellphones, cars, and nice clothes.
Stop listening to the media tell you how unhappy you are. Think for yourself and thank God for all the blessings He has showered on our country. Learn from people who were not blessed to be born here. You may not miss our way of life until it’s gone.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
American Soldiers Show True Heroism
American Soldiers Show True Heroism
On March 5 in Baghdad, a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb killing himself and at least twenty-eight other people. Dozens more people were wounded, and human flesh was scattered around the area. Other suicide bombers in Iraq and Afghanistan blew themselves up along with at least forty other people last month. These Muslims were killing other Muslims, and the silence was deafening. Neither Muslims, nor the European press, nor the Western press publicized or condemned the killings.
NBC reported a story a couple of weeks ago that shows a difference in the worldviews of terrorists and American soldiers. Wounded terrorist insurgents were brought into a U.S. medical facility near Tikrit. Two insurgents had been caught in the act of placing a roadside bomb that was intended to kill American soldiers. An American helicopter fired on the terrorists to stop them, and a U.S. medical team risked their own lives bringing the wounded terrorists in for medical treatment.
One of the terrorists needed thirty pints of blood to survive, but the base was already low on blood. The request went out for blood donors, and within minutes, American soldiers were lined up by the dozens to donate blood. Brian Suam was at the head of the line. He was asked if he minded that his blood was going to save the life of a terrorist. Suam smiled and said, “A human life is a human life.”
On the radical Muslim side, people are taught to kill themselves if infidels (that would be any non-Muslim) will also die. Our Christian heritage teaches that human life is sacred, whether the life is that of an enemy or that of a friend. Most Americans believe in the sanctity of human life, whether or not they are Christians.
Don’t let anyone tell you that all religious people are the same. Don’t let anyone say to you that there is no difference between a Christian and a radical Muslim terrorist. Muslims will continue to blow themselves up until their leaders condemn the action. Peace-loving Muslims have no leaders who are teaching them anything contrary to what the radicals are espousing. We cannot afford to ignore the situation and come home.
I would love to be an isolationist, to close the borders, to bring all the troops home, and to produce everything we need right here in the good old U.S.A., but that is a pipe dream. There is no way to shut out the rest of the world. As long as there is terrorism and tyranny, we must fight it. We must support those who are literally giving their blood to promote freedom.
On March 5 in Baghdad, a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb killing himself and at least twenty-eight other people. Dozens more people were wounded, and human flesh was scattered around the area. Other suicide bombers in Iraq and Afghanistan blew themselves up along with at least forty other people last month. These Muslims were killing other Muslims, and the silence was deafening. Neither Muslims, nor the European press, nor the Western press publicized or condemned the killings.
NBC reported a story a couple of weeks ago that shows a difference in the worldviews of terrorists and American soldiers. Wounded terrorist insurgents were brought into a U.S. medical facility near Tikrit. Two insurgents had been caught in the act of placing a roadside bomb that was intended to kill American soldiers. An American helicopter fired on the terrorists to stop them, and a U.S. medical team risked their own lives bringing the wounded terrorists in for medical treatment.
One of the terrorists needed thirty pints of blood to survive, but the base was already low on blood. The request went out for blood donors, and within minutes, American soldiers were lined up by the dozens to donate blood. Brian Suam was at the head of the line. He was asked if he minded that his blood was going to save the life of a terrorist. Suam smiled and said, “A human life is a human life.”
On the radical Muslim side, people are taught to kill themselves if infidels (that would be any non-Muslim) will also die. Our Christian heritage teaches that human life is sacred, whether the life is that of an enemy or that of a friend. Most Americans believe in the sanctity of human life, whether or not they are Christians.
Don’t let anyone tell you that all religious people are the same. Don’t let anyone say to you that there is no difference between a Christian and a radical Muslim terrorist. Muslims will continue to blow themselves up until their leaders condemn the action. Peace-loving Muslims have no leaders who are teaching them anything contrary to what the radicals are espousing. We cannot afford to ignore the situation and come home.
I would love to be an isolationist, to close the borders, to bring all the troops home, and to produce everything we need right here in the good old U.S.A., but that is a pipe dream. There is no way to shut out the rest of the world. As long as there is terrorism and tyranny, we must fight it. We must support those who are literally giving their blood to promote freedom.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
You Go, Joe!
You Go, Joe!
After President Bush outlined his plan for the Iraqi War, which included a troop surge, the House couldn’t wait to pass a “non-binding resolution” against the plan. While the Democratic leadership did allow some debate on the measure, they would not allow Republicans to introduce any opposing resolution.
Senator Harry Reid had similar plans for a resolution in the Senate, but he was stopped. The Republicans have been blamed, but the Democrats are in the majority. The Republicans could not stop the Democrats from introducing and voting on a resolution if the Democrats chose to do so. The one man who could stop the resolution was Sen. Joe Lieberman.
During the last election, the Democrats chose to support Ned Lamont for Connecticut’s Senate seat instead of supporting the incumbent and former vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman. Lieberman ran as an Independent and won, but he has caucused with the Democrats, giving them a slim majority of one. When Reid decided to push for a resolution against Bush’s plan, Lieberman demurred. He said, “I have no desire to change parties. If that ever happens, it is because I feel the majority of Democrats have gone in a direction that I don’t feel comfortable with.” He also said that the fight over funding the war could induce him to switch parties. If Lieberman leaves the Democratic caucus, the Republicans gain the majority in the Senate, and all the committee chairmanships change to Republicans. Republicans, not Democrats, would decide which legislation would make it out of committee and to the floor for a vote.
Only five Senate Democrats campaigned for him against Lamont, and Lieberman was elected by Republicans. In the past, Lieberman called Sen. Dodd (D, CT) his best friend. Recently he was asked if that was still the case. Lieberman replied, “I have so many good friends in the Senate. John McCain is a very good friend.” Ouch. Lieberman has been isolated. He is a Democrat on social policy but a Republican on defense.
I think Lieberman’s main concern is Israel. If we leave Iraq and it crumbles, the Middle East will further destabilize and Israel will be more of a target for terrorists. Lieberman will never vote for anything that might hurt Israel.
I guess he who laughs last laughs best.
After President Bush outlined his plan for the Iraqi War, which included a troop surge, the House couldn’t wait to pass a “non-binding resolution” against the plan. While the Democratic leadership did allow some debate on the measure, they would not allow Republicans to introduce any opposing resolution.
Senator Harry Reid had similar plans for a resolution in the Senate, but he was stopped. The Republicans have been blamed, but the Democrats are in the majority. The Republicans could not stop the Democrats from introducing and voting on a resolution if the Democrats chose to do so. The one man who could stop the resolution was Sen. Joe Lieberman.
During the last election, the Democrats chose to support Ned Lamont for Connecticut’s Senate seat instead of supporting the incumbent and former vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman. Lieberman ran as an Independent and won, but he has caucused with the Democrats, giving them a slim majority of one. When Reid decided to push for a resolution against Bush’s plan, Lieberman demurred. He said, “I have no desire to change parties. If that ever happens, it is because I feel the majority of Democrats have gone in a direction that I don’t feel comfortable with.” He also said that the fight over funding the war could induce him to switch parties. If Lieberman leaves the Democratic caucus, the Republicans gain the majority in the Senate, and all the committee chairmanships change to Republicans. Republicans, not Democrats, would decide which legislation would make it out of committee and to the floor for a vote.
Only five Senate Democrats campaigned for him against Lamont, and Lieberman was elected by Republicans. In the past, Lieberman called Sen. Dodd (D, CT) his best friend. Recently he was asked if that was still the case. Lieberman replied, “I have so many good friends in the Senate. John McCain is a very good friend.” Ouch. Lieberman has been isolated. He is a Democrat on social policy but a Republican on defense.
I think Lieberman’s main concern is Israel. If we leave Iraq and it crumbles, the Middle East will further destabilize and Israel will be more of a target for terrorists. Lieberman will never vote for anything that might hurt Israel.
I guess he who laughs last laughs best.
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