MARY LYON FROM THE LEFT: Pow! Right in the Kisser!

[Tace]

by Mary Lyon -- World News Trust

I almost don't know how to feel. We WON something?

I'm all the way across the country in California, but still I savored the Ned Lamont win in Connecticut over serial Bush-capitulator Joe Lieberman. That now-infamous kiss that Bush gave Lieberman for his reliable rubberstampede of the fiasco in Iraq, the Alito selection, and so much more, has turned into the kiss of death.

Well, okay. So be it. You lie down with a dog, you get up with fleas, and not a party.

As this column was written shortly after Lieberman conceded to Lamont almost as though he had his fingers crossed behind his back, I'm left hoping that it sends a shot across the country to other Democrats who think they just simply MUST go along with what George W. Bush wants. I hope they open their eyes. I hope they read the handwriting that's been blow-torched onto the walls all over Connecticut. The message seems pretty darn clear to me. From war to tax breaks for the least needy to Supreme Court justice nominees who are wolves in sheep's clothing to butting in on an anguished husband's attempts to let his irretrievably vegetative wife die with dignity -- it's plain. If you're a Democratic politician, we Democratic voters AREN'T paying you to climb into bed with the head of the enemy camp. Joe may have forgotten what being a member of the OPPOSITION party really means.

There are, and will be, many a pundit and other Wednesday morning quarterbacks who will yammer on about how Lieberman voted some huge percentage of the time for Democratic issues. Well, okay, you get your numbers and I'll get mine. Perhaps he was powerful in affirmative action advancement and other Democratic-friendly issues, years ago. Admirable, yes, but we have other matters, more pressingly current and more fundamentally life-threatening to deal with -- and deal with effectively. There is the small matter of the war, well, WHICH war? There's -- um -- more than one now, Joe (and George). Democracy is NOT what's spreading in the Middle East. Ronald Reagan was once a Democrat, too. I'm still supposed to show loyalty and not notice how far opposite he veered from me on matters I REALLY care about?

Maybe it's a case of "what have you done for me lately" but this is not just some pork-barrel cronyism being done here. We're talking about war -- based on lies. We're talking about more than 2,500 Americans who'd still be alive and probably home with their loved ones if Bush and friends hadn't ginned up the case for war, and then gone totally power-mad, Constitution busting, torturing, spying, repeatedly flouting the law -- all unchecked. And this was all just fine with Joe. While his Connecticut constituents began questioning, he didn't, nor was he moved when they urged him to do so. Maybe this is why the "Showdown" turned into a "Joe-down."

more

http://worldnewstrust.org/modules/AMS/article.php?storyid=4007

[calimary]

1. Kick!

Shameless kick, actually...


:D

[Child_Of_Isis]

2. Good stuff!

:kick:

[calimary]

3. Thanks!

I appreciate it.

:hi:

[jimshoes]

4. Here's a Kick

for ya!:kick:

[calimary]

7. Aww... MANY thanks!

:toast:

[MissWaverly]

5. One good kick deserves another

[calimary]

8. I just took a page from you in GD. D'OH! What took me so long?

Many appreciations, my dear!

:yourock:

[MissWaverly]

9. Hey, the important thing is you made it

They will probably come up with some new rule saying no, don't do this but I say why
not, if you have something important to say, why not, who is going to read it if
it sinks like a stone.

[calimary]

11. Good point. Things move awfully fast around here, especially

on a day like this. Well, hell, pretty much ANY day, anymore.

I love DU. Sometimes it's my only refuge (after I've bored my poor spousal-unit to death with the same rantings. Fortunately, he's on the same page - with handfuls of large fluorescent highlighters!

[MissWaverly]

12. that's great

and even the simplest ideas may help if people are in panic and feel defeated, persistence
is a key and being nice to people works. Will Rogers says that we are all ignorant only
on different subjects, and the person who is arguing with you may just have a valid reason
for saying what he does or he may have a kid over in Iraq and not want to say the war is
based on a lie.

[calimary]

13. Well, THAT is certainly true. All of it.

Just one more thing I enjoy about DU, actually. Because there are SO many interesting viewpoints - actually, so many of them make terrific TALKING POINTS, good ammo with which to arm yourself when you do get into disagreements with people. I've seen plenty of really strong, worthy insights shared here, and in some cases, excruciatingly beautiful ways to word things. There are some people whose posts are not just posts, they're public services. Impossible to say how vast and broadbased the learning opportunities are, here. I think this is MORE than just a website. It's a think-tank. Because we have EVERYTHING here that any self-respecting think tank has: researchers, academics, writers, strategists and tactical specialists, media specialists, issues specialists, pr people, news people, students and teachers, even some pols. All that's lacking is some sort of building that houses us all. And also, perhaps, the bigtime funding that many think tanks have. I love DU. I am honored to post and to vent here and that people actually tolerate me. And sometimes they put me on the Greatest Page - which is the GRANDEST privilege!

[MissWaverly]

16. I feel that people are empowered by the internet

it allows them to communicate rather than to be a passive observer of television, it unites us
with ideas and purpose, yes, I too get a kick out of the greatest page, but if I can make someone think about something then I actually won the battle that I am fighting.

[tnlefty]

6. A well deserved kick!

IMHO :kick:

[calimary]

10. Thank you!

My regular writing schedule has been turned upside down lately 'cause too much is happening at home (busy stuff mostly, getting kids ready for school and son through his rock band obligations). And, frankly, sometimes the news has been just too overwhelmingly depressing to get many juices flowing. Sheesh.

I appreciate the thumbs-up!

It's like I said in the column - "I almost don't know how to feel. We WON something?"

[Upfront]

14. Well stated

Kick!

[calimary]

15. Hugs to ya!

Thanks for the kick!

I can't believe how good it felt to have some good news for a change. Even if it's not the closer (which comes in November).

:yourock:

[bobbolink]

17. up to the top with ya, matey...

:thumbsup: