Lieberman–Chosen to Deflect GOP’s “Immoral Behavior” Darts?
Lieberman–Chosen to Deflect GOP’s “Immoral Behavior” Darts?
By Fred Jackson
AFR News
August 8, 2000
(AgapePress) – Democratic strategists say Al Gore chose Senator Joseph Lieberman to be his running mate for one reason, and one reason alone. They say something had to be done to dull the Republican’s attack of linking Gore to Bill Clinton’s immoral behavior.
With Lieberman being the first Democrat to openly criticize Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, the Democratic strategists say the Senator was the obvious choice. The Washington Times quotes Democratic campaign advisor Mary Ann Marsh, who says every speech at the Republican convention made it clear the Bush campaign wants this election to be a referendum on Bill Clinton’s personal life–and she says Lieberman is a great weapon to respond to that attack.
If last night’s media coverage is any indication, that strategy appears to be working. Most news networks did exactly as the Democrats hoped they would. They played the Lieberman anti-Clinton speech from September 1998 over and over again.
However, as The Times notes, Lieberman’s public condemnation of Clinton’s immorality is about as far as he went. When it came down to actually punishing the President for his actions, Lieberman stepped back firmly into the pro-Clinton camp and voted against both articles of impeachment.
Nevertheless, while the mainstream media continues to describe Lieberman as a moderate Democrat, conservative analysts say many of his decisions put him firmly in the liberal camp. CNSNews quotes Brian Kennedy of the Claremont Institute, who says Lieberman is “the quintessential New Democrat.”
“He talks very conservatively, but governs to the left,” Kennedy told CNSNews.
As evidence of that, Kennedy cites Lieberman’s vote to override the ban on partial birth abortion.
In another example of working both sides of an issue, analysts note that Lieberman has publicly endorsed efforts to clean up the Hollywood entertainment industry. Yet, as various media reports have indicated, Lieberman has financial investments in both CBS and Fox–two of the main contributors to the sex and violence on television.
Lieberman has also sided with liberals in other matters. He voted to extend hate crime laws to include special protection for homosexuals, and he voted against the appointment of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, a USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll over night shows the Lieberman choice appears to have given Gore a big boost. Last Friday, a poll from the same group showed George W. Bush with a 19-point lead over Gore. But according to this morning’s poll, that lead has been cut to just two points.
Copyright 2000, Agape Press. Used with permission.