On Lieberman and Lethal Injection
By Bob Gaydos
Some random thoughts at the end of yet another year …
Use it or lose it: What is the point of being the most powerful political leader in the world — free or otherwise — if you don’t occasionally use that power? Especially against your political opponents. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for Barack Obama’s diplomatic efforts to repair America’s relationships with other countries. The Bush era of arrogance and ignorance did serious damage to this country’s global interests, never mind its image. Having a president who is perceived as capable and approachable, but not a pushover, cannot be bad for the U.S. and could encourage more cooperation from other nations in the war on terrorism as well the war in Afghanistan and a host of non-violent issues.
But really, it is long past time that Obama told Joe Lieberman to take a hike and have lunch with his Republican buddies. Lieberman, a Democrat until he lost a primary in his home state of Connecticut, calls himself an independent senator who caucuses with the Senate Democrats. That gives Democrats the so-called super-majority of 60 votes needed to head off filibusters. It also makes Lieberman — who was almost John McCain’s running mate on the Republican presidential ticket last year — more powerful than any single Democrat in the Senate.
He used his leverage to carve up the health reform bill to his liking — no public option –before agreeing to vote with his former party. And, because of Obama’s reluctance to boot him despite his support for McCain, Lieberman remains chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. That could well put him in position to ride herd over the health reform bill, since his committee would oversee what has been offered as an alternative to the public option. Lieberman, of course, has been one of the health insurance industry’s biggest supporters on Capitol Hill. In other words, he’s a guy who understands power and how to use it to get what he wants.
Yes, I know Obama campaigned on the arcane principle of non-partisan governing, but that approach requires at least one other person on the opposing side to cooperate. Republicans unanimously opposed everything the president has proposed this year. They have gone beyond that to the point of making up facts about the health bill and economic stimulus plans. They encouraged the health forum bullies. If Obama’s for it, they’re agin’ it, even if they have traditionally supported it. The idea is to somehow make him look bad in the hopes they can regain some political influence next year and thereafter. Some Republican governors even rejected aid for their unemployed residents to try to inflict “defeat” on the president.
That’s stupid politics, in my opinion. It is also irresponsible governing. And it does not require the president to forever ignore it. No more Mr. Nice Guy. Call a lie a lie, Mr. President (and tell that jerk who called you a liar in front of the Congress to watch his back). Demand that Republicans who make up facts prove their case. Tell Joe Lieberman to find another party and strip him of his Senate chairmanship and seniority on other committees. Forget fighting with Fox News. They long ago sold their journalistic soul, but at least most thinking Americans know it. The opponents who matter are the ones who can actually make change happen — the ones who were elected. They are also the ones for whom you can make life miserable or pleasant, even if they are in the other party. Governing is tough, Mr. President, and you have made admirable efforts in many areas, but politics is tough, too. It’s time to step on some toes and twist some arms. You’ve got the power. Don’t be afraid to use it.
Death take a holiday: Here’s a heartwarming story for the holidays. Americans are apparently falling out of love with the death penalty. A report released this month by the Death Penalty Information Center reveals that fewer death sentences were imposed this year than in any year since 1976 when the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment. In fact, Richard Dieter, director of the center and author of the report, says annual death sentences in the United States have dropped for seven straight years and are now 60 percent less than in the 1990s. Dieter also notes that 11 states considered abolishing the death penalty this year, with New Mexico becoming the 15th state to ban it.
Could it be true? Have Americans really come to their senses and decided to behave like a truly civilized people? Maybe yes, maybe no. Consider the comments by New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on abolishing the death penalty. He said a sentence of life in prison without parole was “a strong punishment,” but also noted that the high price of executing someone was “a valid reason (to ban it) in this era of austerity and tight budgets.”
Indeed, the Death Penalty Information Center has another report to back up Richardson’s point. That report concludes that “states are wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on the death penalty, draining state budgets during the economic crisis and diverting funds from more effective anti-violence programs.” The report included a nationwide poll of police chiefs which found that they ranked the death penalty last among their priorities for crime-fighting, do not believe the death penalty deters murder, and rate it as the least efficient use of limited taxpayer dollars
It’s still the economy, stupid.
Which decade was that?: I know this is the proverbial dead horse I am about to beat, but since when did nine years make a decade. As we approach the 10th year of the 21st century, Sports Illustrated, Time, various radio and TV news outlets have been offering us their lists of the key events of the first decade of this century. This, of course, assumes that when we started counting years, the first one was zero, which makes no sense whatever. Year one was year one. The nonsense began with the millennium celebrations in 2000, which was actually the last year of the 20th century, not the first of the 21st. Most producers of these early end-of-decade lists justify them by saying that’s what most people think, so we do it. Well, once upon a time, people thought the earth was flat and the sun revolved around it. But at least they could count from one to 10.
P.S: Fire the Giants’ offensive and defensive coordinators.
Bob can be reached at bob@zestoforange.com
Tags: Bob Gaydos
December 30th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Here Here!! And I once thought Lieberman had a clue….. he doesn’t. Stop tip-toeing around these guys. The other side of the isle has clearly taken their stand – no desire to compromise there.
December 31st, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Good points about the ‘opposition’. Rove and Cheney set the mood for politics to move away from the classy, Clinton years (minus Monica) and utilize thug tactics to stay in power and influence legislation not in our best interest. Hey, it worked for a while until Palin became a caricature of the Party-of-NO and Joe Wilson went beyond his usual lack of decorum. Government should not be a free-for-all and conservatism should not be equated to a total disregard of the facts, yet the neoCon fringe has bullied for so long that they believe they are an American institution that should never die or be forgotten.
In November, voters were afraid of Palin for good reason: no country can be run by self-serving, closed minded, inept, ignorant liars for long without things going badly, and badly they did for the last nine years!
But I sense one caveat in your criticism of the President’s Mr. Nice Guy/ let’s work together approach. One thing a new president does not want is to do is shock the country into changing that which is necessary for security and prosperity.
People and markets get nervous when things happen in too quickly. Super tankers take time to change course and the United States is no different. Many of us wanted change to happen immediately – some things have changed, like the election of a black democrat – but cultural, political and economic change should never be forced on Americans without letting them see both sides, no matter how far apart, before the changes happen. There was a reaon for the recovery and stock market’s progress – confidence earned the hard way!
I think Obama is a gifted leader who instinctively knows the above and will always steer the ship toward what’s right for the American people and away from the interests of the elite few. Compromise is the American way in politics and more so since we have had few restrictions on lobbyists who influenced government to represent their interests over everyone else’s. The pendulum of political reality is slowly swinging toward the center and hopefully will take it’s time finding where it belongs. Rebuilding a city destroyed by a flood takes time; rebuilding a nation almost destroyed by its own government, takes a lot longer!