Where Kristol Goes, So Go the Jews

Benyamin Korn, Director of Jewish Americans for Sarah Palin (what a lonely fellow), has a column up trying to argue that educated Jewish Americans are turning toward the former half-term Alaska governor. His examples? Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Bill Kristol, Seth Lipsky, and John and Norman Podhoretz.

Color me "lol". The fact that Republican hacks "intellectuals" like Kristol and the Podhoretzs support Palin demonstrates nothing more than the shallowness of what constitutes intellectualism in the conservative movement. Lipsky, now at the New York Sun, finds it fascinating that Palin is a constitutional originalist -- I'll pay $40 to the first person who can show to me that the Governor has thought through that position with anything approaching a 1L's rigor (not to mention, originalism as an exegetical method is pretty foreign to Judaism). And then we have Joe Lieberman, whose following amongst intellectual Jews (outside Kristol-esque hacks) has withered to virtually nothing.

I mean, can any read this paragraph without breaking out laughing?

Lieberman, Kristol, Lipsky, and the Podhoretz’s are sophisticated, educated, thinking Jews who appreciate Palin's heartfelt support for Israel, her forceful and informed advocacy for energy independence, her strong stance on national security, and her fealty to traditional moral values (sometimes we forget these are Jewish values, too!). All are bellwethers of the increasing respect for Sarah Palin amongst us – the educated and affluent American Jews.

It's a giggle a minute, here.

Lieberman to Lead on DADT Repeal

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) has announced he will be the sponsor of legislation repealing the military's risible "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy forbidding openly gay soldiers from serving their country in the armed forces. Now, Sen. Lieberman has annoyed the hell out of me in recent years, but fair is fair -- he's doing the right thing here, and I have no problem recognizing that.

Now, I unfortunately can't say I share John Cole's optimism about the impact of Lieberman's announcement:

I know I am going to be accused of hippie punching and gay bashing, but a certain someone has been claiming for months this is how this was going to happen. Let the military get out in front and be agents of change, neutering Republican opposition, and then let the Democrat who the Republicans simply can’t attack as anti-military propose the bill. And with the public showing great support for repeal, it will pass, Ike Skelton be damned.

This might have been a good strategic move or not, but let's not deceive ourselves with the one "Democrat who the Republicans simply can't attack as anti-military" business. Of course they can attack Lieberman as anti-military. They can attack anyone as anti-military. They're already attacking the military leadership as anti-military -- why on earth would Joe Lieberman be immune.

I think we're going to win the DADT battle. Aside from the bent of the arc of history and all that jazz, the polls are strongly in our favor as well. But let's not kid ourselves. The GOP pitches a fit over any proposal to allow gays and lesbians equal status as American citizens. There is no reason to suspect they'll do any different here.

Specter to Pull a Lieberman?

MyDD has the scoop on an intriguing possibilities. Now Republicans get to have the fun of mediating between a rabid and infuriated base and preserving a much-needed Senate seat!

The Prediction

Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-CT) approvals: In the tank.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT): Strip Lieberman of his committee chair.

End result: Lieberman keeps his committee chair. Senate Democrats don't have the cuts to pull the trigger -- even for the ideal option, which is giving him the chairmanship of another committee, where he is more amenable to Democratic policies.

I don't blame them though. I could never be in politics. I'm too nice and forgiving. I always want to give people another chance. Even to people who don't deserve it.

Civil Rights Roundup: 08/18/08

Your daily dose of civil rights and related news

I'm not sure I agree with this reading of Frederick Douglass' career, but the comparison to Obama is interesting nonetheless.

Virginia's new project to use DNA evidence to help exonerate falsely convicted prisoners continues.

The business community is throwing everything it has against the Ledbetter Fair Pay act.

The Kosher plant that was targeted in the Postville raid is having trouble getting itself back up and running.

How can we make it easier for our men and women in uniform to vote while overseas?

ACORN is looking to register Houston's poorest residents as voters.

An CAR native who came to the US legally for military training may be deported back to Africa, where he will likely face execution for being a deserter.

As we get ready to go back to school (or at least some of us do), the AP has a set of interesting educational stats to look at.

An author is suing PETA for their campaign which attempts to analogize animal suffering to slavery. PETA is a tremendously obnoxious organization, but I can't believe this suit has any merit.

The other LCCR (Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights Under Law) is setting up a South Carolina hot line to which voters can report in election day problems, such as glitchy machines or intimidation.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who voted against Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court on the grounds that he was insufficiently committed to safeguarding equal opportunity, now thinks that vote was a mistake.

A growing number of students Florida and nationwide are receiving food stamps.

McCain's Looking For Some Joe-Mentum

CNN's political ticker reports that Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) is going to endorse fellow pro-war Senator John McCain (R-AZ) tomorrow.

I'm not sure anyone should find this surprising. Lieberman is not exactly enamored with the Democratic Party after primary voters dumped him 2006, and the Party is likewise not thrilled at Lieberman's increasingly reactionary conservative stances on foreign policy. The odd thing, in a sense, is that Lieberman isn't that conservative on other issues. He's certainly not a liberal icon, but outside of foreign policy and business regulation, Lieberman is pretty well in line with the rest of his party. But over the past several years, it's become increasingly clear that a hawkish foreign policy agenda is his political raison d'être. The endorsement of McCain is the culmination of that shift.

So will it matter? Back to CNN:

This endorsement could help emphasize McCain's national security standing, show he is able to work across party lines, and perhaps help persuade independent voters in New Hampshire to support his presidential bid.

Possibly true -- I think in New Hampshire, particularly, Lieberman might have some sway on the independent voters (who can vote either in the GOP or Democratic primary). But by and large, I'm not convinced it will have much impact. A candidate needs more than New Hampshire to win a nomination, and I don't see Lieberman's influence extending beyond that neighboring state's quirky political climate. Lieberman isn't an influential Democrat anymore -- in fact, he isn't a Democrat at all anymore. He gets to be this year's Zell Miller, and I don't really think ol' Zell ultimately had a big impact in 2004.