Reply #24: Lieberman isn't a Repub, but he's certainly a Repub enabler... [View All]

His utter and dripping disdain for anything vaguely resembling populism serves to cut the legs out from any stool that the Democratic Party tries to stand on. Also, he was possibly even MORE hawkish than the neocons in the run-up to the Iraq invasion, and he hasn't backed off that stance one iota. And don't even get me started on his ties to the insurance and accounting industries, and how he's compromised himself in dealing with recent financial scandals.

Lieberman likes to present himself as a voice of reason, someone who will work with the Republicans to get things done. If he does that in reality behind the scenes, that's all well and good. In fact, that's how government really works. But when it comes to advancing an agenda, he's a miserable failure.

Why? Because media coverage of politics is determined by what government officials say. If the members of an opposition party are openly critical of the party in power, then the press coverage will reflect the same. Conversely, if members of an opposition party vary between being cordial to the party in power to tripping over themselves to praise them, then the press coverage will reflect the same. In this regard, with his visibility, Lieberman only hurts the Democrats' chances for advancing anything resembling an alternative agenda to the Republicans.