Joe Conason Must Read: "Lieberman Misses Point of Opponents"

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.observer.com/20060717/20060717_Joe_Conason_politics_joeconason.asp

Lieberman Misses Point of Opponents
by Joe Conason

Now Mr. Lieberman has long been known to cultivate the insurance and pharmaceutical industries, which provide jobs in his home state and contributions to his campaign fund. But he has literally been sleeping with one of their Washington representatives ever since his wife Hadassah joined Hill & Knowlton last year. The legendary lobbying and P.R. firm hired her as a “senior counselor” in its “health and pharmaceuticals practice.”

This news marked Mrs. Lieberman’s return to consulting after more than a decade of retirement. “I have had a life-long commitment to helping people gain better health care,” she said in the press release announcing her new job. “I am excited about the opportunity to work with the talented team at Hill & Knowlton to counsel a terrific stable of clients toward that same goal.”

It would be uplifting to imagine that Hill & Knowlton—after spending the past decade as a defendant in tobacco class-action lawsuits because of its role in propaganda disputing the deadly effects of smoking—is now devoted to improving everybody’s health. More likely, the firm remains devoted to improving the profits of its clientele, which has historically included Enron, the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, the Saudis, the Kuwaitis, American International Group and Boeing.

When a Senator’s wife works for one of the capital’s largest lobby shops—and others have—appearances tend to matter. In this case, something happened immediately that didn’t look very good.

more...

[SaveElmer]

1. Lieberman must have the worst case of political tin ear...

I have ever seen...it's almost like he is trying to tick everyone off!

[Douglas Carpenter]

2. excellent article -- a must read

"No doubt Mr. Lieberman would do the bidding of the pharmaceutical lobby whether his wife was on their payroll or not, but this kind of coincidence is best avoided by a man who lectures the world about morality and ethics."

link:

http://www.observer.com/20060717/20060717_Joe_Conason_politics_joeconason-2.asp


.

[Spazito]

3. Very interesting article, thanks for posting

Joe Conason is always right on target in his columns.

[Totally Committed]

4. Conason remains, as he always has been,

a great voice for the Democrats. His articles are super!

TC

[Kolesar]

5. That's killer stuff. Hope Ned Lamont can use it. eom

[bemildred]

6. "Dodges", not "misses". nt

[gratuitous]

8. Yeah, that's it

I'm beginning to think that the Lieberman apologists are willfully avoiding confronting the many valid points being made against their man. Although criticism of Lieberman isn't only about his wrong-headed support for the invasion of Iraq and all its attendant missteps, that alone should be sufficient to demand that he either represent his constituents more faithfully or be ready for a primary challenge. But it's a lot of other stuff, too, and Conason has a real juicy little nugget of Lieberman's corruption here in this story.

While it's true that a lot of people do this sort of thing (wasn't Tom Daschle's wife a lobbyist for the airline industry?), Lieberman likes to put on the Impenetrable and Unassailable Mantle of Morality when scolding other folks for their ethical lapses and sins. Pull the beam out of your own eye, Brother Lieberman, before seeking to remove the dust speck from someone else's eye.

[AtomicKitten]

7. Big fan of Joe Conason.

I have re-read "The Hunting of the President" a few times.

He has an exquisite knack of skewering those deserving to be skewered.

[cmkramer]

9. He makes good points. However

To paraphrase Dale Bumpers:

"If they tell you it isn't about the Iraq War, it's about the Iraq War."