Making Sense of Joe's Defeat

Do you occasionally get emails from someone you've never met and are none too sure of how you ended up at the receiving end of their email? One came today expressing the writer's view that Old Joe Lieberman's loss was due to the drubbing he took from our "anti-Semitic media" (his words, not mine), who slam him because he's a pro-Israel Jew who supports our military's efforts against Muslim fanatics and terrorists.

But I have a different take on Lieberman's loss. I think it has much more to do with the fact that he is clearly in the pocket of corporations and has voted for legislation that favored special interests at the expense of his constituents. People around the country are fed up with crony capitalism and those who serve corporate masters rather than the people who elected them.

As far as his war stance, I suspect a huge amount of support in Congress (and, I'd hazard a guess, Old Joe's too) has been because it profits their contributors from the military-industrial complex, who show their thanks for all the business shoved their way by making big donations to those who vote for it. There is enormous spending going on beyond all reasonable requirements on weapon systems that aren't needed (as well as some that are), with no-bid contracts awarded, in a system begging for waste, fraud, and abuse (and that's getting just that, in spades).

Why do I think he's serving a corporate master rather than principle? Besides my educated guess above, just look at his vote in support of the bankruptcy bill which most of his constituents overwhelmingly opposed. The bill he helped pass lacked checks and balances and was a bad bill. It has harmed some in his own state as well as all around the nation. He wasn't the only Dem of course. Those names I recognized that I saw listed as voting with the Republicans on that one have a long, sad history of voting for the special interests.

I suspect a lot more incumbents (of either party) are in danger of being kicked out of office than have any idea of it now. If my Republican in-laws in Fort Worth are any indication of the mood of the country, many more incumbents will be packing up and clearing out their offices than usual this go round. Disgusted, outraged, and fed-up sums up their views at least as much as my own.