What Lieberman defeat was all about

by

Gerald Plessner

August 14, 2006 - The defeat of three-time elected senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut should be a wake-up call for both Democratic and Republican political leaders. For the times, they are a-changing!

There is a broad malaise among voters of all persuasions rustling the political trees across America. The Lieberman defeat highlighted just a few of the reasons for this discontent and the party that does not recognize that will lose big in November.

Poll after poll indicate that a large percentage of voters who have previously supported President Bush no longer believe in him or trust his leadership. The revolt in Connecticut --- and that is just what it was --- might portend a coming disaster for Republicans in November.

You will find voter anger and frustration in letters to editors if you read them as I do. Even our local conservative newspaper carries a stream of complaints about the failure of presidential leadership. That is not the only issue that letter writers worry about but such letters are often a good barometer of public opinion.

Here are just a few things that could mean November victories for Democrats.

WASTED LEGISLATIVE TIME - Many voters are angry about Republican political manipulation that devoted days to debate on Constitutional amendments about flag burning and gay marriage. Many feel that Congress should be dealing with real and important issues like the overreach of presidential power, an Iraq was that is worse every day and outrageous deficit spending.

CORRUPTION - Voters have not forgotten the overwhelmingly Republican corruption which is still out of control in Washington. They don't believe that their representatives will ever act to police themselves and they may take out their anger on any Republican incumbent for reelection.

LIES AND DISTORTION - I receive letters in response to all of my columns and many readers who write are mad about the administration's manipulation of language to frame issues in their favor. Though some cannot yet admit that they have been manipulated by people like Karl Rove, Rush Limbaugh and almost everyone on FOX News, many readers are tired of propaganda slogans like "flip flopper", "unelected judges" and "cut and run".

The net result of this "label fatigue" (my term) is to diminish the perceived integrity of the administration and its spokespersons.

PRESIDENTIAL FATIGUE AND DISCONNECT - There is a feeling among many readers that the president is tired and disconnected from the many issues he presumably must face daily in the decision-making process.

President Harry S Truman described the White House as a "glorious prison" and Gerald R. Ford called it "the best public housing I have ever seen." Every president has been eager to leave Washington during its hot and humid summer months, but the president's recent departure for his ranch, telling the public that "Condie" can write the letters and presumably answer the phone when other world leaders call, seemed to sum up his uninvolved management style. (Of course, one presumes the president has a cell phone like everyone else.)

If the president continues to be carried along by world events rather than shape them, and if he continues to take a minimalist approach to his job, he and his party's candidates will suffer at the polls this Fall.

If you add to these issues the problems which are certain to arise in the coming months, voter discontent may become even more acute. Some of the potential problems are:

THE DEVELOPING CIVIL WAR IN IRAQ - With Iraq devolving into a civil war, the president can no longer praise the Iraq elections as a shining moment on the way to democracy. Most everyone in the country understands that.

INTERNAL PRESSURE TO WIDEN THE WAR TO IRAN AND SYRIA - The same "gang of idiots" who gave us the war on Iraq now want us to attack Iran and Syria! Represented by Elliot Abrams, who is the National Security Council executive on Middle Eastern affairs (and an Iran-Contra convicted perjurer), the group includes Newt Gingrich, Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle, all men who promoted the pre-planned campaign against Iraq.

These men mislead America into the tragedy of Iraq and they are close to vice president Dick Cheney. They still have big influence in the White House over national security affairs. With Newt Gingrich calling for naming the current situation "World War III", we once again find a slogan meant to shape public opinion in favor of a war we are now unable to fight and likely not to win.

MORE FIGHTING BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HIZBOLLAH OR HAMAS - Who knows what the tragic war between Hizbollah and Israel will create in its wake? With Iran's control of Hizbbollah and its endless supply of rockets, there is still much to be heard from the front in Lebanon.

VOTE FRAUD - Many voters now believe that the Republicans stole not only the 2000 election, but the 2004 election as well. Almost no one trusts the Diebold company's voting machines and their failure to provide a paper trail of the voting. The company is controlled by active Republicans, and its chief executive is a fund raiser for George W. Bush.

An active campaign to exploit probably vote fraud in Ohio in 2004 is gaining momentum and could be a big issue in November. If Democrats retake both Houses of Congress, not only will impeachment become an issue, but Congressional investigations of vote fraud will probably be the product of new Democratic power.

SURPRISES FROM IRAN - The most dangerous lesson from the war in Lebanon is the emergence of Iran as the chief source of strife and their intention to control much of the Islamic world. Their use of Hizbollah to further their own geopolitical objectives should make the Western democracies worry as never before about the future of the Middle East and organized terror. The question is, do we have a plan to respond to the new Iranian thrusts for power? Your answer?

If Republicans lose control of even one house of Congress, we can look forward to two years of investigations and pressure to end the incursion into Iraq.

If, on the other hand, Democrats allow Republicans to brand them as weak on national security, to "Swiftboat" important Democratic candidates, or steal an election in a swing state, then we will have two more years of disconnect from the president, discontent from the people and dishonesty from our elected Republican officials.

God bless America.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Gerald Plessner is a Southern California businessman who writes regularly on issues of politics and culture. He would be pleased to hear from you and may be contacted at gerald@geraldplessner.com.

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