The guy is a neocon, we just don't call him that because he's a Democrat. But Lieberman is more purely what a neocon is -- a liberal who's long on support for Israel, short on patience for the Muslim world (let alone the Palestinians) and prior to our invasion, eager -- to the point of obsession -- to topple Saddam Hussein. Because of his hawkish politics on the war, Lieberman's popularity in his party of choice (it might not be much of a choice -- he had to run as a Democrat to win in Connecticut) has been on a downward spiral since Al Gore's historic choice of him as his veep candidate in 2000 (a huge mistake by Gore, who should have picked Florida's Bob Graham, won Florida with the help of the popular Graham and become president...)
But now, Lieberman is throwing off any pretense of being other than he is -- a commited neoconservative who wants to "stay the course" at any cost, who's willing to push the propaganda (a few Senate junkets and he thinks he knows more about what's going on in Iraq than TIME's Baghdad bureau chief Michael Ware or an expert like Robert Baer, both of whom insist we're spinning our wheels and making a mess of Iraq...) and who has completely drunk the Bill Kristol/Natan Sharansky Kool-Aid. Lieberman's latest proposal: a "war council" made up of Democrats and Republicans, joining hands to make the president's policy work in Iraq. After all, Bush "will be commander in chief for three more years..." need he remind us? Well, Lieberman's war council idea went over like a lead balloon. In fact, at this point, Joe Lieberman is a lead balloon. He is now so isolated within the Democratic Party, he might as well switch (he could create a new War Party with John McCain, perhaps...) And despite the administration's embrace of him, surely Joe knows deep down that whatever he (and McCain and Bill Kristol) may want, we are pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq before next year's midterm elections (not all of them of course, and not our permanent bases...)
Lieberman may share the neocons' dreams (and their delusions) but he lacks their political potency because he is acting largely alone. That could change, if as the rumors go he becomes Rumsfeld's replacement, or if he takes the logical step of switching political parties. For now, he's Zell Miller: the Democrat right wingers love to love, and Democrats love to hate.
<%
dim done
done = request.form("done")
if done = "" then
done = "No"
%>
Tell a friend
<%
Else
if request.form("done") = "Yes" then
'sets variables
dim email, sendmail
email = request.form("email")
Set sendmail = Server.CreateObject("CDONTS.NewMail")
'put the webmaster address here
sendmail.From = "webmaster@aspbasics.com"
'The mail is sent to the address entered in the previous page.
sendmail.To = email
'Enter the subject of your mail here
sendmail.Subject = "Check out this website"
'send a specific page or send a site url
dim url
'url = Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
url = "http://www.aspbasics.net"
'This is the content of the message.
sendmail.Body = "Site recommendation from a friend!" & _
vbCrlf & vbCrlf & "A friend has sent you this email and thought you would should check out this site." & _
vbCrlf & url & vbCrlf
'this sets mail priority.... 0=low 1=normal 2=high
sendmail.Importance = 1
sendmail.Send 'Send the email!
response.redirect Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
'Response.write ("Sent to ") & email
End if
End if
%>
"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
