An important reason to vote progressive in the 2008 elections, and not along a partisan Democratic line, is that if you don’t vote according to principle, you’ll get a pragmatic political result — and political pragmatism is not pretty.
Take for example the case of Joe Lieberman, who popped into a meeting of a committee of which he is not a member to put in a special good word for George W. Bush’s nominee to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Belgium. That nominee, Sam Fox, funded the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group in 2004 that injected outright slander into the presidential race. Such a person with a history of ham-handed public venom really should not be engaged in any diplomatic venues. But the ever-pragmatic Senator Lieberman vouched for Fox, “Sam Fox represents what America is all about, and that’s why he will be, when confirmed, an extraordinary ambassador.”
Why would Joseph Lieberman say such a kind thing about someone who funds counterfactual, irrelevant dirty tactics in political campaigns? Boy, you’ve got me…
Say, did I mention that Joe Lieberman recently received checks for a total of $21,000 from Sam Fox and his wife?
Yes, Joe Lieberman is a very pragmatic politican, which is exactly what you get when you forget to vote your principles.
(Source: Hartford Courant, March 8 2007)
“What I know is, Joe Lieberman’s a man with a good heart, with a keen intellect, who cares about the working families of America.”
“I am absolutely certain that Connecticut’s going to have the good sense to send Joe Lieberman back to the United States Senate.” – Senator Obama – March, 2006
I always wondered how much it costs to get an ambassadorship. But the article says he contriburted to the campaign after the election. I don’t understand that part.