Joe Lieberman can't shock us any more.
Let's face it, the only thing left for Senator Droopy to do is to go "full Zell" on us by appearing at the Republican National Convention this summer and lighting candles to John McCain. He won't have the oratory stylings of Zell at his disposal, of course, but he'll do what he can, Lieber-style.
Even so, his decision to speak at John Hagee's ironically-titled "Christians United for Israel" conference this summer left even the good senator's half-dozen remaining ardent supporters scratching their heads.
As a constituent of his, I felt compelled to write him a short, respectful letter, urging him to reconsider appearing arm-in-arm with the man who believes that the Nazis were God's messengers.
Nothing surprising about Lieberman's short, formulaic response: it's all about the foreign policy, baby.
Thank you for contacting me regarding Pastor John Hagee.
I believe that Pastor Hagee has made comments that are deeply unacceptable and hurtful. However, I also believe that a person should be judged on the entire span of his or her life's works.
Pastor Hagee has devoted much of his life to fighting anti-Semitism and building bridges between Christians and Jews. The organization that he has helped build, Christians United for Israel (CUFI), is a vital force in supporting the war against terrorism and defending America's ally, Israel.
I will go to the CUFI Summit in July and speak to the people who have come to Washington from all over our country to express their support of America and Israel, based on our shared eternal values and our shared contemporary challenges in the war against terrorism. At that conference, I will also make it clear that it is imperative that our language is always respectful and tolerant of all of our fellow citizens.
So I've learned some valuable lessons here:
- Joe Lieberman is much, much better than I at seeing the totality of Hagee's work. Once an Eesh Elo Kim, always an Eesh Elo Kim, I guess.
- It's OK to spout hate, as long as the majority of that hate is aimed at the terrorists.
- Holy Joe plans to take this opportunity to instruct Hagee to be more respectful about his speech in the future. Can't wait. And I'm sure all those filthy homosexuals who were really responsible for Katrina can't wait, either.