Austin Bay jumps on the McCain-Lieberman ‘08 bandwagon. I’d prefer Lieberman-McCain, of course, but realistically, Austin’s suggestion is the far more likely one. (Hat tip: InstaPundit.) My brother-in-law Casey is also on board:
Man, at this point the Lieberman-McCain ticket is like those two friends from school who have been eyeing each other all year and just seriously need to knock boots.
Do it for America, John and Joe. Make some fruity purple babies and fix the freaking country already.
Heh.
It’s a longshot, I know. But as I wrote yesterday, Lieberman’s “concession” speech really did sound, in parts, like the opening salvo of a third-party movement. He talked about a “new politics of unity and purpose.” Sign me up, Joe! If yesterday’s result is the event that ultimately triggers the formation of a principled centrist party, I will kiss Kos’s and Ned Lamont’s feet.
Interesting ticket, but I still have to get past McCain’s ridiculous Campaign Finance Reform. CFR is a great idea, but his bill killed political speech.
Still, who knows what the field will look like in ‘08? Hell, who knows what it will look like in ‘07? Some people think they should try Gore again.
But… I thought you couldn’t stand Lieberman? Aren’t you worried that he’d find some way to censor your free expression from his vice-presidential bunker? ;)
Lojo, I am inclined to agree about campaign-finance reform. As InstaPundit says: “[Lamont’s win] is proof that campaign finance reform just makes it easier for rich guys to buy elections.”
In what is supposed to be a local or state-wide race, the limitations on campaign spending for individuals compared to 527’s (? was that the number), is scary. It really weights heavily towards large, outside the state groups to influence local and state elections.
And before the screaming starts, this applies equally. If Libby Dole got voted out of office and then, 2 years later, the GOP tried to shove her down my throat instead of re-electing Richard Burr, that would REALLY piss me off.
But with the spending limits, those large outside organizations can really hammer the resources.
Well, I would’ve voted McCain if it were McCain v. Gore, so maybe it’s that my respect for McCain outweighs my distaste for Lieberman. If there were a field of candidates that all favored wars to remake the world, then I just might have to vote McCain-Lieberman. Not Lieberman-McCain, though.
Oh, who am I kidding? It’s not going to happen and I’m going to vote the Libertarian guy besides.
while i could support Lieberman on the ticket, i’m not sold on McCain for three reasons
1) his age
2) i don’t like his methods of CFR, especially in regards to regulating internet speech
3) he’s too much of a media whore for my tastes.
give me a Lieberman/Coburn (give me fiscal responsibility) ticket or Lieberman/Rice (sensible foreign policy) or Lieberman/Rudy (hey, i just want to vote for somebody named Rudy) ticket tho, and i’d be for it
OUCH! That would be quite a ticket. Not sure if I would vote for it, but would vote quicker for it than McCain (and certainly quicker than any other current GOP or Democrat candidate).
While I’d find a natural home in a centrist party, I’d be more worried about the structural problems of a three-party system. Given the winner-take-all structure of our government, three-parties would lead to chronic instability.
If I were somehow blessed with political omnipotence, I would either return the Democratic party to sanity, or let them shrink into oblivion, and split the Republican party in two.
But as it is, we’re going to have to deal with all these 20-30yo liberals, born twenty-years too late, reenacting the Vietnam war. I believe it is possible to have a principled anti-war stance (the Atlantic Monthly, the New Republic), but I think most anti-war activists do not.
August 9th, 2006 at 10:01:12 am
Clarifying a little more misinformation spread by Kos… Lieberman wasn’t spending $15/mo. for service.
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001304.php
August 9th, 2006 at 10:13:17 am
Interesting ticket, but I still have to get past McCain’s ridiculous Campaign Finance Reform. CFR is a great idea, but his bill killed political speech.
Still, who knows what the field will look like in ‘08? Hell, who knows what it will look like in ‘07? Some people think they should try Gore again.
August 9th, 2006 at 10:23:37 am
Hmm. I might actually vote that ticket. Depends on the competition, though. We’ll see in two years.
August 9th, 2006 at 11:11:42 am
Sean,
But… I thought you couldn’t stand Lieberman? Aren’t you worried that he’d find some way to censor your free expression from his vice-presidential bunker? ;)
Lojo, I am inclined to agree about campaign-finance reform. As InstaPundit says: “[Lamont’s win] is proof that campaign finance reform just makes it easier for rich guys to buy elections.”
August 9th, 2006 at 11:16:19 am
Brendan -
In what is supposed to be a local or state-wide race, the limitations on campaign spending for individuals compared to 527’s (? was that the number), is scary. It really weights heavily towards large, outside the state groups to influence local and state elections.
And before the screaming starts, this applies equally. If Libby Dole got voted out of office and then, 2 years later, the GOP tried to shove her down my throat instead of re-electing Richard Burr, that would REALLY piss me off.
But with the spending limits, those large outside organizations can really hammer the resources.
August 9th, 2006 at 11:27:58 am
Well, I would’ve voted McCain if it were McCain v. Gore, so maybe it’s that my respect for McCain outweighs my distaste for Lieberman. If there were a field of candidates that all favored wars to remake the world, then I just might have to vote McCain-Lieberman. Not Lieberman-McCain, though.
Oh, who am I kidding? It’s not going to happen and I’m going to vote the Libertarian guy besides.
August 9th, 2006 at 11:31:05 am
Sean -
I understand what your saying because I wouldn’t be able to get past my distaste for Gore to vote for McCain, so, in an odd way, I understand.
August 9th, 2006 at 12:37:27 pm
Personally, I’d be all over a Giuliani-Lieberman ticket. Not so hot on McCain….
August 9th, 2006 at 1:34:59 pm
while i could support Lieberman on the ticket, i’m not sold on McCain for three reasons
1) his age
2) i don’t like his methods of CFR, especially in regards to regulating internet speech
3) he’s too much of a media whore for my tastes.
give me a Lieberman/Coburn (give me fiscal responsibility) ticket or Lieberman/Rice (sensible foreign policy) or Lieberman/Rudy (hey, i just want to vote for somebody named Rudy) ticket tho, and i’d be for it
August 9th, 2006 at 1:41:36 pm
Katie -
OUCH! That would be quite a ticket. Not sure if I would vote for it, but would vote quicker for it than McCain (and certainly quicker than any other current GOP or Democrat candidate).
August 9th, 2006 at 2:05:48 pm
McCain has sold his soul to Jerry Falwell. Not my cup of tea.
August 9th, 2006 at 2:49:34 pm
While I’d find a natural home in a centrist party, I’d be more worried about the structural problems of a three-party system. Given the winner-take-all structure of our government, three-parties would lead to chronic instability.
If I were somehow blessed with political omnipotence, I would either return the Democratic party to sanity, or let them shrink into oblivion, and split the Republican party in two.
But as it is, we’re going to have to deal with all these 20-30yo liberals, born twenty-years too late, reenacting the Vietnam war. I believe it is possible to have a principled anti-war stance (the Atlantic Monthly, the New Republic), but I think most anti-war activists do not.
August 9th, 2006 at 3:21:54 pm
Since being wrong cost me nothing but ego (and I have plenty of that to spare) I’ll make a few predictions:
1) Lamont will be elected Senator from Connecticut. Lieberman will gradually fade into obscurity.
2) The Democrats will gain seats in both houses in November, but fail to reach a majority in either.
3) Neither McCain nor Giuliani will get the GOP nomination, nor will either run as an independent.
(Now for the long odds bet)
4) The 2008 presidential nominees will be John Edwards and George Allen.
August 9th, 2006 at 3:24:10 pm
ke_future, good call about McCain’s age. It’s not talked about much, but he would be the oldest first term President in American history.
August 9th, 2006 at 6:50:01 pm
Since it is relevant here as well, I’ll point to my comment on another thread.