So, if we have truly entered a new age of bipartisanship in American politics let me get in the spirit by complaining equally about a member of each party.
First up, and hopefully the last time I ever feel compelled to talk about her, is the easiest Republican target since Dan Quayle, Sarah Palin. With the election over it now appears that as harsh as the media and pundits were on her it turns out she deserved all that and then some. The stories starting to surface about her now are truly cringe-worthy considering how close she came to being one heartbeat away from the presidency. And the best part about it is that these stories have been broken by Fox news . Among the most damning (hopefully; though who knows what other stories will emerge) are reports that "she was unaware that Africa was not a country but a whole continent" and that she was "unable to name the countries that belong to the North American Free Trade Agreement: the US, Mexico, and Canada." I could go on a long diatribe about this being a reflection of McCain's bad judgment and so on and so forth, but you know what? More than anything I just want to be done with her. Ms. Palin, I wish you all the best in your future endeavors, but please slink back to Wasilla now and become irrelevant to my life once again.
This story though, bothers me a bit more. Harry Reid is apparently leaning towards removing Joe Lieberman as Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. In a statement, Reid said "While I understand that Sen. Lieberman has voted with Democrats a majority of the time, his comments and actions have raised serious concerns among many in our caucus." However he wishes to phrase it, the bottom line is that this is punishment for Lieberman supporting John McCain. Look, I am not a big Lieberman fan. I thought he was a poor choice for VP in 2000 and I often found myself getting very angry at him throughout this campaign. But this is 100% the wrong thing to do. Democrats won on Tuesday based largely on a campaign of ushering in a new era of bipartisanship. That means extending an olive branch across the aisle to people who may have done you wrong in the past and whom you may not even like very much for the betterment of the country. Well, Joe Lieberman isn't even across the aisle. If Congressional Democrats can't even make peace with someone who has been one of their own for the vast majority of his career, I have absolutely no faith in their ability to heal the rift with Republicans. It also sends the message that breaking with the party to stand up for what you believe is right for the country will not be tolerated. I can't think of a single worse message to send right now.
On the far, far lighter side of things I am on my way to the Cheech and Chong show at the Rosemont Theatre tomorrow night. I honestly haven't watched a single Cheech and Chong film or listened to a recording of them in about 10 years, so it will be interesting to see how the humor has held up. In any case, Cheech Marin has aged a lot better than Tommy Chong has, so I had a feeling this would be my only chance to see them and I'm looking forward to it.
Have a good weekend everyone!
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2 comments:
You're right, that is pretty ridiculous about Lieberman.
I'm finding it interesting how the conservative media (well, I guess just Fox news... haven't looked into the talk radio just yet) is now all backing Obama without nary a protest to speak of, and now they’re all like, yeah, he’s the better choice. Like all their screaming and lunacy about him up til now was just an act meant to scare up voters, and they didn’t really believe it themselves. Were they just marketing to their audience? It’s all very strange. I think it possibly speaks to a new era of specialized media outlets. Not that I don't like that they're embracing him now, mind. But it's weird.
(To finish a thought from the other thread, Mikey, that was my problem that I could never tell who was posting under the same 'anon' name, and couldn't address them properly. You know I love you.)
I really don't know how to feel about the post-election partisanship. On the one hand, Reid has every right as majority leader to do whatever he wants (within the boundaries of his power.) On the other hand, making the move to remove Lieberman PURELY for political retribution is very petty. If the democrats want to claim moral superiority (and lets face it, they do) they need to be above this crap and simply put the best person for the job in the post.
And, on the other hand (yes, that makes 3 hands,) Lieberman was defeated in the democratic primary and won back his seat as an independent. So it has been a a while since he has been a true democrat, voting record or not.
But, on the fourth hand, if there is someone you can't trust, and never know what he is going to do, and he can switch allegiances at the drop of a hat, you might not want him in a position of power in ANY case.
REally I'm just saying that I don't know enough about Senate rules, policies, and internal politics to make a truly informed call on this one.
On the right though, there is always the chance that a certain Alaskan senator wins reelection, gets thrown in jail, and has a certain Alaskan Governor name herself senator in his place. Scary.
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