The Liberal Patriot

It’s Beat Bush, Stupid

J.G. Schwam - December 24, 2003

James Carville and Karl Rove have both proved one thing is political campaigns one thing irrefutable. Stay on message. Choose your issues and hammer them home day after day after day. Joe Lieberman’s antics attacking Dean miss that fundamental mark. Every day Lieberman angers more and more Democrats whether or not they are declared supporters of Dean. Beating up Dean off message. He is wasting our time. His antics s obscure coverage of what Terry McAuliffe has called on Democrats to in numerous fund raising appearances to do, beat Bush.

That message should be clear as day in every remark of every Democratic presidential candidate. Not to Joe Lieberman. Joe will just end beating himself. Joe Lieberman is acting like he wants the Democrats to beat themselves in November.

Lieberman attacked Howard Dean for being too liberal on foreign policy when Dean said the United States should take a more "even-handed role" as the chief mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On Sept. 3, Dean said he believed that the United States should work to "bring the sides together" and "not point fingers" and debate who is to blame for the numerous prior failures of both parties to find solution the Palestinian- Israeli conflict.

Lieberman’s accusations that evenhandedness would "compromise our support for Israel," and lead to the "breaking commitments to longtime allies" do nothing but hold up the continued reason for the failure all previous negotiations. The reason for these failures lies at the root of Deans statements. All negotiations have placed the value of the USA’s alliance with held Israel as the prime interest in the negotiation of any agreements with the Palestinians. Dean is right, prior negotiations have not been conducted on even field.

Lieberman’s message backed up in sentiment in an open letter sanctioned by the House Democratic leadership seems more like Karl Rove’s attack the messenger approach than the more valid state your “own” principal and stand by it approach Democratic leaders should be taking. It’s time to face facts Israel’s occupational tactics must change or negotiations will continue to fail.

Statements by Lieberman like "Howard Dean thinks he can conquer by dividing”, but the truth is, in politics you win by uniting," illustrate Lieberman as out touch with the fact that Dean has already united the substantial group of Americans that are outraged at the conduct of Bush and a compliant DLC that divided them, from the nation they love.

Lieberman’s wedge issue approach makes his uniting talk merely more out of touch beltway twaddle. If Lieberman was paying attention he would know that a vast number of proud to be liberal democrats others newly liberalized that felt themselves labeled; terrorists since the Bush White House’s with us or against statements, for being outraged daily by Bush’s policies are already united behind one fact. It’s beat Bush, stupid.

What the candidates need to understand is that it’s just all about beat bush, stupid. America is not concerned with nor do most know what the DLC thinks. It’s just all about beat bush, stupid.

The DLC should have realized by now along with the rest of us that to Bush’s GOP Democratic Party centrism is a joke. Dean’s calling the Democratic Leadership Council the "Republican" part of the Democratic Party becomes true every time the DLC can’t rally enough within its own ranks to stop Bush from ramming bad bill after bad bill after unconstitutional bill past them, its beat Bush, stupid.

The DLC and the DNC need to take a lead form the fundraising literature the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have been sending out for months, its beat Bush, stupid.

Tell them Terry, remind them if they fight each other no one wins but Bush and his right wing extremist wing of the GOP. Remind Lieberman to remember that like he said “in politics you win by uniting.” Lieberman and others should start by uniting our party not dividing it.

Who would argue otherwise? Its all about one thing….beat Bush, stupid!

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