Lieberman Betrays Party, Plans to Speak at RNC

Posted by Faiz Shakir, Think Progress at 9:22 AM on August 4, 2008.

On Meet the Press, host Tom Brokaw informed guest Joe Lieberman (I-CT) that nearly 50,000 activists have signed onto the "Lieberman Must Go" petition being circulated by Brave New Films. "Do you think you're going to be comfortable next year in the Democratic caucus?" Brokaw asked. Lieberman said he's crossed party lines to support John McCain because "this is no ordinary time."

Brokaw followed-up by asking if that means he will speak at the Republican convention. Lieberman practically confirmed that he would indeed speak. After stating that no decision has been made, Lieberman went on to say:

If Sen. McCain feels that I can help his candidacy ... I will do it. But I assure you this Tom, I'm not going to go to that convention -- the Republican convention -- and spend my time attacking Barack Obama. I'm going to go there really talking about why I support John McCain and why I hope a lot of other independents and Democrats will do that.

And frankly, I'm going to go to a partisan convention and tell them -- if I go -- why it's so important that we start to act like Americans and not as partisan mud-slingers.

Brokaw said "it sounds like you're going to go." Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) added, "It looks like that to me too." Watch it:

Later in the roundtable segment, Andrea Mitchell said the "good money" is that Lieberman would deliver the keynote address at the RNC Convention.

By speaking at the convention, Lieberman will be implicitly endorsing policy positions he claims to be against -- such as Social Security privatization and limiting a woman's right to choose -- while undermining support for progressive reforms that he claims to support like comprehensive immigration reform and a cap-and-trade system to combat climate change.

Tagged as: lieberman, john mccain, tom brokaw, republican national conve, sen. john kerry

Faiz Shakir is the Research Director at the Center for American Progress and serves as Editor of ThinkProgress.org and The Progress Report.