MMDFA XCom Says NO to Lieberman!

Thursday, November 13, 2008 – Mason, Michigan:

The Executive Committee of Mid-Michigan Democracy for America – one of the Greater Lansing Area’s most dynamic progressive action organizations – announces that they are taking a strong stand against the U.S. Senate’s 57+-member Democratic caucus giving one of the 17 Senate committee chairmanships to the caucus’ most wayward member, Independent Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman. While our group takes no position on whether Sen. Lieberman should remain a member of the caucus, we feel strongly that Senate chairmanships should not be awarded to a legislator that bucks both party and principle.

Sen. Lieberman has bucked principle in his past tenures as Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. In 2002, when President Bush nominated the former Judges and Stewards Commissioner for the International Arabian Horse Association – Michael “Brownie” Brown – to the position of Deputy Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Sen. Lieberman held a confirmation hearing that lasted only 42 minutes! The fact that an appointment of such tremendous importance to the American people was given to a person who was not competent for the position warranted no more attention from Sen. Lieberman is a serious lapse of professional judgment. Furthermore, since Sen. Lieberman regained the chairmanship of that committee in 2007 he has held not one, not a single investigation into the various shenanigans, failures, and yes, crimes of the Bush administration.

Sen. Lieberman has bucked the Democrats not just by being a lousy Senate committee chairman. He has also attacked the judgment and patriotism of President-elect Obama and was the most prominent Democratic critic of former President Clinton, yet has praised and campaigned with both President Bush and former Republican presidential nominee John McCain. He campaigned against the Democratic Senate candidates in both Minnesota and Maine this year. And in his 2006 re-election campaign he lied about wanting to bring the troops home from Iraq, then after being re-elected turned around and vilified the elected officials, candidates, and other Americans who held that position.

Finally, the fact that the Democratic party fails to stand up for itself against turncoats like Lieberman sends a signal to the American people that they are not fighters. It is hard for people to believe that a party that won’t fight for itself will stand up and fight for them against enemies either foreign or domestic. We urge our Michigan Senators Levin and Stabenow to stand up against granting Senator Lieberman a chairmanship. And we urge our Mid-Michigan members and fellow progressives to contact our senators before the Nov. 18th chairmanship vote and tell them how we feel:

The Hon. Carl Levin
269 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-6221

The Hon. Debbie Stabenow
133 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-4822

Sincerely,

Ted Kilvington
Chairman, Mid-Michigan Democracy for America