Lieberman frustrates both parties

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) has had the unusual distinction of frustrating both Republicans and Democrats as they head into their conventions.

Democrats are disappointed in their former colleague’s high-profile role supporting Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for president and his decision to speak at the Republican National Convention.

{mosads}Republicans have welcomed the Democrat-turned-Independent’s support. Yet many in the party’s evangelical base are flabbergasted that Lieberman, who is pro-abortion rights, could be on McCain’s speculative shortlist for vice president.

McCain is expected to pick his running mate in time for the GOP convention, which begins on Sept. 1.

Lieberman, along with former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, has sparked immediate condemnations from conservative leaders who say the party should stick to its anti-abortion platform.

“Having a national ticket that is unapologetically pro-life is essential to motivating Republican voters,” said former Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed Jr., who emphasized he wasn’t specifically assessing either Lieberman or Ridge.

Reed said he disagrees with the notion that McCain needs a pro-choice running mate to attract centrist voters and win the election. He said polling has shown just the opposite, that the Republican base is what has kept McCain competitive against Obama.

"John McCain can pick a pro-life running mate and win,” Reed said. “All polling shows what has been the key has not been just the fact of over-performing among independents, as important as that has been. It’s been the Republican grass roots coming home.”

Such an assessment, though, moved a GOP abortion-rights group to push back on Friday with a poll commissioned by the group that shows exactly the opposite. Republican Majority for Choice (RMC) canvassed 600 likely voters — all registered Republicans — last week and found 67 percent don’t consider abortion a litmus test for a vice presidential pick.

“When you look at the poll numbers, the numbers of middle, moderate Republicans — and even disenfranchised Hillary Clinton voters — far outnumber the few votes at the very, very right,” said RMC Co-Chairwoman Jennifer Blei Stockman. “We have the numbers to prove it now. And the McCain campaign knows this.”

Democratic strategists are enjoying the rift Lieberman is causing within the GOP. Longtime campaign consultant Bob Shrum, for one, said Lieberman has pulled “a half-Zell Miller,” referring to the former Georgia Democratic senator whose harsh anti-Democratic speech drew notice at the 2004 Republican National Convention.

Shrum, who worked on the 2000 Democratic presidential campaign that featured Lieberman as vice presidential nominee, said Lieberman “let us down so badly” in performing as Al Gore’s running mate.

“I’m a strong advocate for Joseph Lieberman as a Republican vice presidential nominee,” Shrum said. “He was a bad VP candidate for us, and he might as well be a bad VP candidate for them.”

Lieberman’s spokesman, Marshall Whitmann, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Peter Brown, an analyst for the Connecticut-based Quinnipiac Polling Institute, said the talk over Lieberman’s appeal on the political spectrum is missing the mark. McCain strategists, Brown said, are likely looking instead at his geographic appeal.

“The real question is not whether he’ll win more moderate votes than he will lose, but will he win enough moderate votes in states like Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, Virginia and Florida?” Brown said. “Those are the big ones. If he loses you conservative votes in Wyoming, it doesn’t matter.

“Conservatives in the Republican Party have done everything they can to tell John McCain they don’t want a pro-choice candidate, but [Lieberman] has very good numbers nationally and he’s well-known. The issue isn’t whether it disrupts the convention, but where John McCain is on Sept. 15.”

Lieberman is no stranger to raising a ruckus. After the failed 2000 campaign, he lost his Democratic primary reelection bid in 2006 but won the general election as an Independent. His strong support for the Iraq war has put him increasingly at odds with his former Democratic colleagues, culminating in his support for McCain’s campaign this year.

He has further irritated Democrats this summer by repeatedly criticizing Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), the party’s presidential candidate, and accepting the speaking slot — like Miller — at the upcoming GOP convention.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), co-chairman of Obama’s campaign, said Thursday he had discouraged Lieberman from the move.

“But Joe’s his own man,” Durbin said. “Once this is over, I hope we can come together again and find common ground.”

Such comments suggest that, for all the angst he is causing, Lieberman is unlikely to be kicked out of the Democratic conference or lose his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Durbin and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) — mindful that Lieberman’s vote gives them their slim 51-49 majority — have handled him carefully, criticizing him gently and noting to reporters that the independent-minded senator still sides with Democrats on most issues.