November
28, 2000
Are You Sleeping Well, Joe?
By Tom Bevan
No one has suffered more during this year's election debacle
than poor Joe Lieberman. Too bad it's all his own doing. It seems
consecutive days can't pass without Lieberman inflicting more
damage on what's left of his honor and credibility. The former
"Conscience of the Senate" is now nothing more than
an unconscionable spinner.
Nine days ago on Meet the Press Mr. Lieberman was questioned
about the organized attempt by Democrats to disqualify military
ballots in Florida. Despite a five page memo and numerous news
reports verifying this despicable tactic, Lieberman responded,
"Let me just say that the vice president and I would never
authorize, and would not tolerate, a campaign that was aimed specifically
at invalidating absentee ballots from members of our armed services."
As we now know, the Gore campaign not only sanctioned this effort
but has continued during the past week to insist on military ballots
being disqualified on technicalities. Mr. Lieberman offered no
retractions or apologies for his gross misrepresentation last
Sunday and has not called for the effort to stop.
Instead, Mr. Lieberman stepped out five days ago to make another
public statement, this time about Republican protests in Miami-Dade
county. Mr. Lieberman told the country how "deeply disturbed"
he was by Republicans exercising their First Amendment rights.
He continued:
These demonstrations were clearly designed
to intimidate and to prevent a simple count of votes from going
forward. Shortly afterwards, one of the commissioners said, and
I quote, ''We would be up there now counting,'' end quote, if
it weren't for those objections. He then joined his colleagues
in deciding to give up the effort to count the ballots altogether.
This is a time to honor the rule of law, not surrender to the
rule of the mob. This is a time for patience and respect, not
intimidation and violence.
As John Podhoretz wrote in the New
York Post on Saturday, Mr. Liberman's accusation was a "complete
and total lie." Mr. Leahy, the commissioner quoted by Mr.
Lieberman, felt compelled to go on CNN the following day to rebut
the idea that he had been in any way intimidated by the so-called
"Republican mob."
Furthermore, it's barely necessary to point out the rampant hypocrisy
of Mr. Lieberman and his fellow Democrats over the issue of protests
after the Jesse Jackson show, Jerry "Whiff of Fascism"
Nadler, and now with the Reverend Al Sharpton's circus in town.
Again, Mr. Lieberman offered no apologies, no words of humility
or remorse for using public airwaves to make statements that are
blatantly and provably untrue.
And finally, two nights ago, Mr. Lieberman scurried out in front
of the television cameras less than 10 minutes after the Florida
Secretary of State's official certification to denounce it as
"incomplete and inaccurate." Sparing no rhetorical excess,
he pondered "How can we teach our children that every vote
counts if we are not willing to make a good-faith effort to count
every vote?" But Mr. Lieberman's effort - which is clearly
not in good faith - to undermine the legitimacy of this process
and the office of the Presidency is breathtaking in its shamelessness.
What has happened inside of Joe Lieberman to make him so reckless
with the truth and the rule of law? Mr. Lieberman, it seems, has
developed a potent case of "true believerism" derived
from his strong religious beliefs. Not only did Mr. Lieberman
gushingly describe his selection as Al Gore's running mate as
a "miracle from God", he has come to believe (like the
rest of the Democrats) that he is involved in a righteous struggle
to "reinfranchise" minorities and elderly Jewish voters
in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.
The struggle is particularly personal for Mr. Lieberman because
of his faith and because he was dispatched by Mr. Gore months
ago to rescue the state's electoral votes. The New York Times
quoted a source describing Mr. Lieberman as "apoplectic"
over the Florida struggle and saying it contained "a gut-wrenching
personal aspect for him."
Indeed, even Mr. Lieberman's statement last night alluded to
the crusade he and the Vice President are on. Mr. Lieberman said
he and Mr. Gore had "no choice" but to contest the election
because of "an obligation, not just to the 50 million Americans
who cast their votes for Vice President Gore and me, but to every
American who voted in this election. They all deserve a fair and
just outcome that respects their participation and does not diminish
the value of their votes."
Regardless of his motivation, there are simply no excuses for
Mr. Lieberman's total disregard for the truth. After Mr. Gore
and Mr. Lieberman finish tearing what's left of Florida law to
shreds and Mr. Lieberman returns to the Senate, he will never
again command the authority and respect he once did.
Tom Bevan writes for RealClearPolitics
