Joe Lieberman is not the Democratic Party's John McCain! It isn't true!

[Free the Press]

Joe Lieberman is a left-winger on all but Gun Control and War and Peace.

http://www.peacemajority.org/dia/organizations/PeaceMajority/scorecard/scorecard.jsp?person_legislator_ID=344

On Gun Control and War and Peace, Joe is a right-winger.

***

John McCain is a right-winger or moderate on all but gun control and War and Peace.

http://www.ontheissues.org/John_McCain.htm

http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=S0061103

On Gun Control and War and Peace, John McCain is an extreme right-winger!

http://www.peacemajority.org/dia/organizations/PeaceMajority/scorecard/scorecard.jsp?person_legislator_ID=337

John McCain's moderation is more perceived than evident. In his votes on legislation that is approved by the US Senate, John McCain votes with the right-wing of his party for passage of most Republican legislation, and when he doesn't he only moves toward the center - not the left-wing of the Senate.

***

A true Republican Senator that mirrors Joe Lieberman doesn't exist today.

That Senator would need to be a staunch right-winger on all issues except Gun Control and War and Peace, and a left-winger on those two issues.

[Larkspur]

1. Lieberman helped get the bankruptcy bill passed and Alito confirmed

He voted FOR cloture on both those issues and by doing so helped derail Democratic changes on stopping them.

Lieberman is a Repuke mole. He just had a fundraiser where 3 of the 5 top donors were Repuke lobbyists. That's the kind of Dem Lieberman is == a Benedict Arnold Dem.

[Radical Activist]

2. Against civil unions, pro-NAFTA/WTO

aka pro-sending US jobs overseas and forcing American workers to work for slave wages at Wal-Mart.

He is NOT conservative on only two issues. Funny how I've seen that spin on several threads today.

[dolstein]

8. Wrong -- Lieberman supports civil unions

Like John Kerry, the notorious right-wing DINO, he opposes gay marriage. But he supports civil unions. In that respect, he's no different than most Democratic office holders.

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/664/

Joseph Lieberman
The senator is quite clear on this issue. “I am opposed to gay marriage,” he wrote in a statement adding at the same time that he supports ‘same-sex unions.’ Lieberman also voted for the Defense of Marriage act in 1996. “Marriage has a special status in our culture, our heritage, our history,” he said recently.

[Radical Activist]

9. Ok then. He's anti-gay marriage, voted for DOMA and

supports horrible trade policies that cripple the American worker. We're still not looking at anything which remotely resembles someone who is progressive except for "one or two issues."

[dsc]

19. actually he either changed his position or this is very misleading

During the campaign Lieberman was quite clear that he wanted to judge each right of marriage on an individual basis, where both Kerry and Dean wanted all or nearly all the rights to be assumed to be part of a civil union. That isn't a minor difference but a huge one.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Lieberman is the Republcan's John McCain.

[Totally Committed]

4. No offense, because you are probably very sincere in your beliefs, but...

that's bullcrap!

As Larkspur pointed out so well, he votes with the administration almost as much as Mc Cain does when they need him most, and against us especially when we need him most. The man is a disgrace to this Party, and needs to either be reigned in or set free to go elsewhere and be with all his Bushie friends.

I cannot abide him.

TC

[Free the Press]

13. The proof is in Joe's voting record.

If you won't post the links to his votes that support your opinion, then how can I take your claim seriously?

Just post the links to Joe's voting record.

If you are correct, I will concede that point to you.

btw, I have already looked closely at Joe's actual voting record, and it was the basis for my OP.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NativeTexan]

6. My biggest problem with Joe is.....

....he is WAY to much in favor of the IRAQ war. And it seems to me that he does with that what the Christian RIGHT does, and that is let his religion have too much of a say...at least in THIS situation. Believe me when I say that there is absolutely NOTHING anti-semitic about ME....I am a Southern Baptist, and I can't stand it when Southern Baptists won't government policy to lean toward their own personal views as seen thru their religion. And it just looks like that is the case, because otherwise, I can't see any reason, especially after Murtha could see the light on Iraq, for Joe to continue to back the occupation unconditionally.

[dolstein]

7. Let correct one key fact, shall we?

Lieberman is a strong supporter of gun control. Just look at the ratings he gets from groups like the Brady Campaign and Gun Owners of America:

2005 Senator Lieberman supported the interests of the Gun Owners of America 0 percent in 2005.

2003-2004 Senator Lieberman supported the interests of the Gun Owners of America 10 percent in 2003-2004.

2003 Senator Lieberman supported the interests of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence 90 percent from 1988-2003 (Senate) or 1991-2003 (House).

2003 Based on the results of a questionnaire the Gun Owners of America assigned Senator Lieberman a grade of 10 (with grades ranging from a high of A+ to a low of F-).

2002 On the votes that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence considered to be the most important as of 2002, Senator Lieberman voted their preferred position 90 percent of the time. These scores are cumulative for each representative's time in their current office. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence considered votes from 1988-2002 in the House and 1991-2002 in the Senate when determining these scores.

2001-2002 Based on the results of a questionnaire the Gun Owners of America assigned Senator Lieberman a grade of F (with grades ranging from a high of A+ to a low of F-).

2000 Based on lifetime voting records on gun issues and the results of a questionnaire sent to all Congressional candidates in 2000, the National Rifle Association assigned Senator Lieberman a grade of F (with grades ranging from a high of A+ to a low of F).

1999-2000 Senator Lieberman supported the interests of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence 100 percent in 1999-2000.

1999-2000 Based on the results of a questionnaire the Gun Owners of America assigned Senator Lieberman a grade of F (with grades ranging from a high of A+ to a low of F-).

http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=S0141103>

I think that Lieberman is like McCain in two respects. First, he's perceived by the public at large as bipartisan. Second, he's perceived by hard-core partisans within his own party as being much more of a maverick than he really is. Just as McCain is a reliable conservative on most issues, Lieberman is a realiable liberal on most issues. Lieberman is foreign policy hawk, which distinguishes himself from most northeastern Democrats, but let's not forget that most of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate joined him in voting for the resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq, and that very few of his colleagues have embraced the Murtha position. Lieberman just happens to be the most visible of hawks, but he's hardly the only one.

[Free the Press]

14. My claim is based on Joe's actual votes on Gun control legislation.

Again, I invite links to Joe's actual votes on 2006 and 2005 legislation, which I have already reviewed prior to posting the OP.

I am not beyond making errors.

Please post the links to Joe's actual votes on Gun Control legislation, and I will concede the point to you, if you are correct.

[Arugula Latte]

10. With all due respect, that's BS.

Lieberman is an enormous suck-up to Bushco and does their bidding for them.

[Free the Press]

15. Sucking up and posturing to * are different voting on Senate Bills.

[Radical Activist]

11. Supports the death penalty, even for minors

This is an interesting page I just found
http://www.joseph2004.org/

Here's the link for the death penalty votes
http://www.issues2000.org/2004/Joseph_Lieberman_Crime.htm

One more nail in the "he's progressive on all but two" coffin.

[MrBenchley]

12. Wow....the very first sentence contains a falsehood

"Michael Barnes, President of Handgun Control, today praised Senators John McCain of Arizona and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut for introducing bipartisan legislation to close the gun show loophole.
"By introducing this legislation today, they refute claims by some naysayers that gun control is not a winning issue," Barnes said. "Here are two of the most prominent members of the Senate, of different political parties, focusing on gun control as a key issue. In doing so, they recognize that Americans want sensible laws passed to reduce the epidemic of gun violence in this country." "

http://www.bradycampaign.org/press/release.php?release=293


""On the issue of protecting American families with sensible gun laws, Senator Lieberman is an honest, thoughtful legislator. Senator Lieberman voted for the Brady Law, for the assault weapons ban, and for the Lautenberg Amendment last May that would completely close the gun-show loophole. It was that vote, by the way, in which Vice President Gore broke the Senate's tie, indicating again that the Vice President's vote on always hard-fought gun issues can be a critical one.
"In contrast, Governor Bush's running mate Dick Cheney, who voted for cop-killer bullets and for allowing the manufacture of plastic guns, is wildly out of the mainstream on the gun issue. Joe Lieberman, whose dedication to keeping guns out of the hands of children and criminals could not be stronger, reflects the views of his Connecticut constituents, but also of more than 80% of the American people. ""

http://www.bradycampaign.org/press/release.php?release=7

But then when do facts ever matter to our Democrat-bashers?

[Free the Press]

16. Mr. B. post the links to all of his votes on gun legislation.

I will gladly concede the point to you, if you are right.

Based on the responses in this thread on Joe's gun control voting record, I may have used bad data, but I want to see the voting record in full.

As for the rest of the claims made in the OP, the US Senate votes made by Joe and McCain on legislation are the only proof of their political leanings on issues.

[MrBenchley]

17. I've already shown what a pantload your claim was....

If you want to keep up the charade, you can do it without me.

[fujiyama]

18. Lieberman is a hawk

There is no doubt about that. And he supports Bush way too much on FP issues.

But he's to the left on gun control. I'd say on social issues, his views are similar to other Dems from the NE.

I still don't like him though. He does damage to the party whenever he's on TV.

But if you are going to attack him, do so truthfully.