Talkingpointsmemo: Lieberman Calls Dems the "Democrat Party"

[flpoljunkie]

Lieberman Calls Dems The "Democrat Party"

By Greg Sargent - June 6, 2008, 10:38AM

The McCain campaign is touting an email that Joe Lieberman sent out to McCain's list announcing a new effort that Lieberman is chairing called "Citizens for McCain," whose chief mission is to reach out to Independents and moderate Dems.

Never mind all the narcissistic boilerplate in the email about how independent Lieberman is, and focus instead on this key line...

As you know, I caucus with the Democrats as a United States Senator and was the Democrat Party's nominee for Vice-President of the United States against President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

What's so amusing is this is that it's a kind of double-slur. It's simultaneously a reminder that the Democratic Party bestowed on Lieberman the high honor of nominating him as Veep and a reminder that despite this Lieberman cheerfully continues to echo the most inane and childish of GOP attacks on that same party.

As Steve Benen cracked: "Maybe Obama needs to back him up against another wall."

Or, maybe, you know, perhaps the fellow who is the head of the Senate Dems and who is responsible for maintaining Lieberman's plum committee slots might consider dealing with this one day? Naah.

Hendrik Hertzberg's valuable rundown on why "Democrat Party" is a slur is here.

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/08/07/060807ta_talk_hertzberg

Read full Lieberman email to McCain's email list below:

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/lieberman_calls_dems_the_democ.php

[scheming daemons]

1. "Democrat Party" is the ultimate dog-whistle.

[flpoljunkie]

2. I expect Hillary Clinton might have a thing or two to say to Lieberman for throwing her name around

in his email appealing to McCain supporters to join his "Citizens for McCain."

Lieberman's email:

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/lieberman_calls_dems_the_democ.php

[Blue-Jay]

3. I hope we gain enough seats in the Senate to kick his ass to the back of the line.

[flpoljunkie]

10. Talkingpointsmemo's Josh Marshall weighs in on this...

from "Joe Strikes Back"

What does seem clear to me is that Lieberman's days in the Democratic caucus, or more specifically, his days with a committee chairmanship courtesy of the Democratic caucus are numbered in months.

My assumption is that after the November election, regardless of the outcome of the presidential campaign, Joe will be stripped of his chairmanship. (This seems even more certain to me if Obama wins the general, but I suspect it will happen regardless.) Whether he'll actually be expelled from the caucus I don't know and probably doesn't really matter. Once he's stripped of the benefits he gains from it, presumably he'll leave himself and become an actual non-caucusing independent or, more likely, start caucusing with the Republicans.

What that tells me is that Lieberman has no incentive not to make the maximum amount of trouble over the next five months both for his senate colleagues and for Sen. Obama.

--Josh Marshall

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/199559.php

[Cha]

11. Josh Marshall gets it.

I love reading his take on our various situations.

[Max_powers94]

4. I see why Obama had him in the conner

[Speck Tater]

5. Using the noun form instead of the adjective form is insulting.

Want another example: Ask Joe Lieberman if he would rather be called "a Jewish Senator", or "a Jew Senator"? "Jewish Senator" is a simple statement of fact. "Jew Senator" is a prejudicial slur.

There's a definite difference in tone and intent. The later is insulting, demeaning, and downright nasty. Nobody would stoop so low as to call Senator Lieberman "a Jew Senator", but he thinks is perfectly alright for him to turn that same kind of insult on Democrats? Go figure.

[Barack_America]

6. Wow. Good point.

Never thought of it that way.

[Cha]

8. Isn't it kinda

senile, too?

[flpoljunkie]

9. This slur--and that's what it is--is intended to appeal to those on McCain's email list.

Has Lieberman disavowed the use of this slur in this email?

[MonkeyFunk]

7. what a schmuck

[terrya]

12. I think he's angling for VP with McCain.

Seriously.