Posted by
Always To The Right on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 7:04:22 PM
Patrick makes a number of mistaken assumptions in this passage, chief
among them the idea that Joe Lieberman would somehow become a
mostly-party-line Republican in the Senate under any circumstances.
That actually sells Lieberman short as a man of principle. Lieberman
has a well-established record as a liberal Senator throughout his
career, with Poole Report ratings that consistently put him on the left
side of his caucus.
Lieberman’s endorsement did not win John McCain the primary,
either. His friendship with McCain probably hurt him among Republicans
as much as it helped among independents voting in GOP primaries. It
certainly lent some heft to the RINO charge, especially since
Lieberman’s liberal record is very plain to see. By the time the
official endorsement came on February 3rd, McCain had already won more
primaries than his rivals (New Hampshire, South Carolina) and held a
slim lead in delegates over Mitt Romney.
The addition of Joe Lieberman will not convince independents that
McCain is a maverick; it will convince an already-skeptical GOP base
that McCain is a RINO. Patrick knows better than most how essential
enthusiasm is to the GOTV efforts and fundraising. McCain appears to
have finally generated some of that enthusiasm, and picking Lieberman
would snuff it out for good. Republicans respect Lieberman, but they
don’t want a liberal Democrat as the person who would succeed to the
Presidency if something happened to McCain — which is the entire point
of the Vice Presidency.