Moderate and Conservative Dems, Do You Really See Lieberman...

[unfrigginreal]

as the candidate of choice? I ask this as a moderate myself. I can't fathom voting for him. My opinion may be clouded by the fact that I see him as putting Israels interests over ours, but I don't think that's my overiding reason. He comes across as too much in agreement with Bush and the GOP for my liking.

I'd be very interested in all of your opinions.

[lkinsale]

1. I'm moderate by DU standards

and I never liked Lieberman, and I never thought he could beat Bush, even before I knew who the other Dem candidates were.

I know a lot more about all of them now.

Graham is my choice. I truly believe he would be the best president and I also believe he is the one who can beat Bush on all counts.

Whether he can get the nomination, I don't know. I hope so, for the country's sake. Without taking anything away from the other candidates, I think Graham would bring this country back together. I think he has an appeal that would capture the sore hearts of all of us who are just sickened by the level of political discourse the Republicans have brought on us.

********

Contribute to Graham For President (Enter "Laura Kinsale" as your BobCat if you want to give me credit toward my pledge to raise 1k for Bob.)

[jbou]

5. I admire Graham's stand on the war on terror

I've given a little bit of money to Graham's campaign because I want him to get his message out, but I'd like to see a Dean/Graham ticket. Graham for Veep!

[lkinsale]

11. Thanks Jbou!

Every little bit counts.

[ewagner]

2. No

Al Gore said he would not run because the '04 election would then become about the past and not the future. Lieberman is about the past because of the'00 election and, without Gore, he is just another middle-of-the-roader.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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[sfecap]

7. Stop with the anti semitism, already!

What, is it anti semitic to simply dislike Lieberman?

That is really lame....and that's the second time you've made that accusation.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

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[jbou]

3. here's a nice moderate you can get behind

As Governor, Dean Was Fiscal Conservative
Presidential Candidate Imposed Discipline on Vermont Legislature's Efforts to Spend

By Michael Powell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 3, 2003; Page A01


BURLINGTON, Vt. -- The new governor faced a roomful of fellow Democrats in 1992, liberal warriors eager after two years of Republican rule to right every perceived wrong in Vermont. But Howard Dean issued no call to arms.

All of your progressive ideas, Dean told his party caucus, won't amount to anything if Vermonters don't trust you with their money -- and they don't. We're seen as tax-happy liberals who spend money unwisely.

Dean's words foreshadowed years of acrimonious battles with his party's formidable liberal wing, which controlled the legislature. From 1991 to 2002, Dean issued more vetoes than any previous governor. But he slowly bent Democrats to his will. When he left office in 2002, Vermont had a fairly balanced budget, while states across the nation bled fiscal red ink.

"He made us very disciplined about spending, even if we didn't really like it," said former state Senate president Dick McCormack, who sat in that caucus room in 1992. "I was a liberal Democrat, and I fought him a lot, but he made the Democrats very hard to beat."

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

[cherryperry]

6. Moderate? hmmmm

Kucinich is the best; Kerry will win: so saeth the cherry! :toast:

[unfrigginreal]

9. Thankfully, you've shown your intelligence in earlier posts...

we know to NOT BELIEVE YOU now! Thanks for playing.

[Jim Sagle]

10. Sorry, pal. YOU'RE the one I don't believe. But that's just me.

[unfrigginreal]

12. I didn't expect your support Sagle...

but that's just me, Bud. I guess it's up to everyone else to decide which one of us has a bias.

[Josh]

13. No, I don't -

but I'm really sick of people singling out Lieberman for what they're so sure will be an Israel First policy. Lieberman is not exactly loved by the right wing in Israel. They don't like him or need him. You know why? They've got another candidate who is closer to their needs: George W. Bush

I'm stanchly pro-Israel but I'm hardly a fan of the Likud Party. I like Lieberman generally but don't agree with him on enough issues to support him.

If you're looking for a candidate for moderate and 'conservative' candidates, I'd point to Bob Graham, who strikes me as sensible and honest - the "real thing."

Yes, Lieberman is too close to Bush, yes he's conservative on some (but not ALL - he has excellent ratings from women's groups, from the NAACP, from environmental groups, from economic groups, etc.) issues, but I wish people here would stop using Israel as the wedge in all this. It's intellectually dishonest bullshit. Every single candidate (or ALMOST every single candidate) in the Democratic race supports Israel just as much as Lieberman but he is singled out, and it's not necessarily a conscious thing. I just don't like it.