Lieberman Socks

Check out this funny sock puppet video of Senator Joe Lieberman holding health care hostage for his list of personal demands.

Franken refuses more time to Lieberman, McCain stunned

Joseph Lieberman To Headline Upcoming Pastor Hagee Summit

Senator Joseph Lieberman is scheduled to headline Pastor John Hagee’s 2008 Christians United For Israel Washington-Israel Summit this July 22. In accepting Hagee’s invitation, Lieberman became the most senior elected representative confirmed to appear at the annual gala. Last year, when Lieberman spoke at Hagee’s summit, he compared the Texas televangelist to the biblical prophet Moses, dubbing him “an Ish Elochim,” or “a man of God.” Unless he rescinds his pledge to appear at this year’s summit, Lieberman can be expected to deliver another soul-stirring tribute.

Hagee’s vitriolic condemnation of Catholicism, his jeremiad declaring Hurricane Katrina divine punishment for New Orleans’ hosting of a “homosexual rally,” and his generally disturbing apocalyptic theology became national news last February when John McCain accepted his endorsement in a widely publicized ceremony.

While initially resisting pressure to reject Hagee’s endorsement, McCain finally ended his relationship with Hagee when a sermon by the preacher describing the Holocaust as the will of God registered on the mainstream media’s radar (Hear the now-infamous sermon here).

“Obviously, I find these remarks and others deeply offensive and indefensible, and I repudiate them. I did not know of them before Rev. Hagee’s endorsement, and I feel I must reject his endorsement as well,” McCain said on May 22.

(Continue reading: Huffington Post)

Reid: Lieberman could lose his chairmanship

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) could be stripped of his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee after the next election, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said.

Speaking to MSNBC host Keith Olbermann on Friday, Reid suggested the former Democrat, who lost to a left-wing primary challenger in 2006 and has now endorsed Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for the presidency, is not guaranteed to keep his prestigious chairmanship.

Olbermann asked Reid if there was “anything that he could do that would make you move to take his leadership position away on Homeland Security.” The majority leader responded: “Yes, of course,” but did not elaborate.

Democratic aides cautioned not to read too closely into Reid’s comments, saying stripping Lieberman of his chairmanship remained a very unlikely scenario.

“Sen. Lieberman votes with Democrats 85 or 90 percent of the time, except when it comes to Iraq and some national security issues,” Jim Manley, Reid’s spokesman, said.

(Continue reading: The Hill)

Dems seize on McCain’s Iraq gaffe during Middle East tour

Iraq: the candidates’ stances, then and now

Democrats have rounded on John McCain’s claim to be the uniquely qualified presidential candidate to deal with Iraq after he embarrassingly confused key players in the conflict.

During a Middle East tour intended to highlight his foreign policy acumen, the Republican nominee mistakenly claimed that Iran was training al-Qaeda in Iraq, seemingly unaware that the Shia nation and the Sunni militant group represent opposing interests.

Speaking in Amman, Jordan, after his first trip to Iraq as the Republican nominee, Mr McCain said it was “well-known” that Iran was training al-Qaeda in Iraq.

We continue to be concerned about Iranians taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back,” he told a news conference.

Challenged about the claim, he continued: “Well, it’s common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran. That’s well known. And it’s unfortunate.”

It was not until Joseph Lieberman, an independent senator travelling with Mr McCain on the congressional trip, whispered in his ear that the candidate corrected himself.

“I’m sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda,” he said.

It was the second time that Mr McCain had made the mistake, having made similar comments during an interview with Hugh Hewitt, a conservative radio host. Speaking to the show on Monday, he said: “As you know, there are al-Qaeda operatives that are taken back into Iran, given training as leaders, and they’re moving back into Iraq.”

The Democrats immediately jumped on the error as evidence that Mr McCain did not understand the nuances of the conflict in Iraq.

“After eight years of the Bush Administration’s incompetence in Iraq, McCain’s comments don’t give the American people a reason to believe that he can be trusted to offer a clear way forward,” Karen Finney, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement. “Not only is Senator McCain wrong on Iraq once again, but he showed he either doesn’t understand the challenges facing Iraq and the region or is willing to ignore the facts on the ground.”

The McCain camp immediately embarked on a damage limitation exercise, issuing the following statement:

“In a press conference today, John McCain misspoke and immediately corrected himself by stating that Iran is in fact supporting radical Islamic extremists in Iraq, not al-Qaeda – as the transcript shows. Democrats have launched political attacks today because they know the American people have deep concerns about their candidates’ judgment and readiness to lead as commander in chief.”

It did not, however, address why the candidate had made the same error in the Hugh Hewitt interview.

The Republican candidate will no doubt be braced for further attacks from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, who are both due today to discuss their plans to withdraw US troops from Iraq.

Mr McCain was also pressed at the same news conference as to whether he would support strikes against Iran if Tehran didn’t cease its alleged nuclear activities.

He refused to say explicitly whether he would do so, saying only: “At the end of the day, we cannot afford having a nuclear-armed Iran.”

Mr McCain found himself in difficulty last year when he joked about bombing Iran during a campaign stop. Asked by a member of a South Carolina audience what he would do about Iran, he jibed: “Remember that old Beach Boys song, Bomb Iran?” and launched into a rendition of the band’s hit Barbara Ann with the words changed to “bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb bomb Iran”.

//times-online//

McCain’s senior moment

At a news conference in Jordan yesterday, John McCain mistakenly accused Iran of “taking al-Qaida into Iran, training them and sending them back” to Iraq.

This partnership would be a bit curious, since Iran is predominantly Shia while al-Qaida is Sunni. And while the US has accused Iran of providing assistance to Shia fighters in Iraq, there’s no evidence that it is helping al-Qaida. Asked about this, McCain responded:

Well, it’s common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaida is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran. That’s well known. And it’s unfortunate.

McCain quickly corrected himself after fellow hawk Joe Lieberman, who was travelling with him, whispered in his ear.

Perhaps it was only a senior moment – not exactly the image the candidate who would be the oldest president in history would want to project, but not all that significant either.

Given that McCain’s running for president on his foreign policy experience, though, it’s also a worrying sign that he would not only hew to George Bush’s strategy in Iraq, but also continue his tendency to conflate Iraq with 9/11, al-Qaida with Saddam and the war in Iraq with the fight against terrorism.

//guardian//

Lieberman has superdelegate status stripped

Thanks to Zell Miller, there is a rule to deal with Joe Lieberman.

Lieberman’s endorsement of Republican John McCain disqualifies him as a super-delegate to the Democratic National Convention under what is informally known as the Zell Miller rule, according to Democratic State Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo.

Miller, then a Democratic senator from Georgia, not only endorsed Republican George Bush four years ago, but he delivered a vitriolic attack on Democrat John Kerry at the Republican National Convention.

The Democrats responded with a rule disqualifying any Democrat who crosses the aisle from being a super delegate. Lieberman will not be replaced, DiNardo said.

Lieberman lost the Democratic nomination in 2006 and was re-elected as a petitioning candidate. He remains a registered Democrat and a member of the Senate Democratic caucus, but he declared himself an “Independent Democrat.”

Connecticut has 12 super delegates: six Democratic National Committee members, one Democratic senator, four Democratic members of congress and one “unpledged add on” to be selected. Super delegates are not bound by a state’s primary results.

Barack Obama’s victory in the state’s primary Tuesday will give him 26 pledged delegates, while Hillary Clinton will have 22.

For those of you keeping score at home, five of the supers are supporting Obama, one is with Clinton and five are neutral.

via//Hartford Courant