Joementum or Joe Mama?

Sen. Joe Lieberman is a vexing political figure for the Democratic Party in that he regularly comes to the defense of the party's political nemeses while continuing to be a truly decent guy. His high-profile support for the Iraq war and the infamous (and bizarre) kiss from President Bush at the State of the Union have turned the left-wing blogosphere against him with a fury. Having the left-wing bloggers root against you is usually a good thing- thus far I don't believe they've helped a Democratic candidate win a significant race yet (Howard Dean, Francine Busby, Paul Hackett)- but the intraparty strife is worrisome.

It's especially worrisome because the left-wing bloggers seem to have no institutional memory of the Democratic Party prior to 1998. All they seem to remember is impeachment and the recent losses at the presidential level. And, in truly bizarre fashion, their inspiration has come not from those who appeal to their ideals, but from those whom they despise- Karl Rove and Tom DeLay. They pray at the altar of party discipline, believing that all Democrats should believe what they do and "fight" for their agenda. They don't realize that without Susan Collins and Chris Shays and Dianne Feinstein and Joe Lieberman, today's moderates, Democrats would wield ZERO influence over the political process.

Sirota, Kos and the rest of the blogging crowd fail to recognize that the extremes are often wrong on both politics and policy. The framers of the Constitution established the many checks and balances so as to ensure that compromise and consensus would steer the political process. Just because a bunch of radicals from Texas hijacked our government doesn't mean that we should hijack it back for our own agenda.

Moderates are frustrating and wishy-washy, but they've made many important contributions to our political system. Sen. Lieberman deserves another term.