Holy Joe Has To Go

Howard Dean, as the front-runner in the Democratic primary, is the main target of his rivals. This shouldn't be surprising. Most of the attacks are disappointingly "politics as usual" spin, but that is to be expected. Even Dean's campaign has descended to such tactics, though mercifully (like the majority of the candidates' efforts) he has mostly stayed to the high ground.

Even these jabs are made with attention to avoiding ammunition for Rove in the general election. Dennis Kucinich and Dick Gephardt have both taken aim at Dean, but their rhetoric has concentrated on bread-and-butter Democratic issues, hitting Dean from the left and raising issues that are (to some extent) legitimate.

Senator Lieberman is another story.

Comments like "the Bush recession would be followed by the Dean Depression" and accusing him of "not standing by our values in our foreign policy" in Dean's attempts to bring sanity to the Israel/Palestine issue are perfect fodder for the general election. I don't think Lieberman has really absorbed the fact that Dean could very well be the Democratic nominee in 2004. If Dean wins in the primaries, Senator Lieberman's comments could very well become part of Republican advertisements in the later part of the year.

Ironically, Lieberman's clueless attitude is merely a symptom of a greater problem. The reason that Democrats have a chance in '04 is because the party base is energized like never before. People across the political spectrum, including classic lefties, modern progressives, thoughtful centrists, and real conservatives alike are concerned about the Bush Administration. However, the heart of the Democratic party -- the practical liberals and moderates who want our government to serve justice and freedom alike -- is absolutely outraged by their attacks on freedom, their staggering incompetence in foreign policy, and their ransacking of the economy. Almost any candidate will be able to ride that outrage going into November of '04. Any candidate but Lieberman. His deliberate movement away from the party's spirit is alienating increasing numbers of the faithful, and will definitely blunt the trend of left-wingers leaving third-parties to return home. Both of these groups will lose turn-out if Lieberman wins the nomination, and many third-party members (including the all-important Greens) will stay with their own parties and candidates.

Lieberman himself, along with the Democratic Leadership Council, have declared this primary "a battle for the party's soul." Though the target was Dean, most of the other candidates are actually running to the left of Doctor Dean, including the other two front runners, Gephardt and John Kerry. The DLC has realized that the battle is already over, and the soul is the same as it has always been. (Terry McAuliffe, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has asked the DLC to stop its attacks on Dean, and they have apparently acquiesced.) The Senator has instead chosen to wage this battle all-out. He cannot win this way, and can only harm Democrats if he persists. If Lieberman does not moderate his rhetoric, his candidacy should be rejected by all Democrats of conscience.

(/) Roland X
He's still light-years ahead of Bush, though