Minister Without Portfolio

David Weigel | September 7, 2007

Michael Ledeen is so proud of Joe Lieberman he could bust.

All hail Joe Lieberman! He has denounced his Democratic Senate colleagues for quietly reducing—by two-thirds!—the funding to support democracy in Iran.

The administration had famously asked for $75 million, but Senator Joe Lieberman told Radio Farda (our Farsi-language facility to Iran) that a Senate appropriations subcommittee had reduced that request to $25 million... You'd think the State Department would be up in arms at this sabotage of its program. You'd think the White House would be annoyed, too. But no. It takes a Senator.

But in completely unrelated news:

Hobbled by inadequate funding, unclear priorities, continuing reorganizations and the absence of an overarching strategy, the Department of Homeland Security is failing to achieve its mission of preventing and responding to terrorist attacks or natural disasters, according to a comprehensive report by the Government Accountability Office.

The highly critical report disputes recent upbeat assessments by the Bush administration by concluding that the DHS has failed to make even moderate progress toward eight of 14 internal government benchmarks more than four years after its creation.

The inspiration for the Department of Homeland Security came from Joe Lieberman. The chairman of the Senate committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs is... also Joe Lieberman.

I can't shake the impression he's more interested in Iran than he is in the Homeland, these days. 

Comments

LibertyPlease|9.7.07 @ 11:36AM|#

The highly critical report disputes recent upbeat assessments by the Bush administration by concluding....

The Ministry of Truth will fix those numbers...

|9.7.07 @ 12:07PM|#

Once we've crushed the heathen Islamofascists, we won't need Homeland Security, and it will wither away.

Rhywun|9.7.07 @ 12:09PM|#

"We read National Review so you don't have to!"

|9.7.07 @ 12:10PM|#

Remember during the Clinton administratin, when there were millions of Iranians in the streets demanding democratic reforms, and the regime was so frightened that they were compelled to jail some of their security personnel on murder charges for killing protest leaders?

All gone now, thanks to the "Democracy Promotion" strategies of people like Leeden and Lieberman.

|9.7.07 @ 1:05PM|#

How Leeden became known as an "expert" on Iranian affairs is beyond me.

AEI was advertising a job opening for exactly what I do just a few months ago. I have to admit that fifth columnist thoughts went through my head.

Eric|9.7.07 @ 1:34PM|#

This is obviously a conspiracy by jews like Lieberman to take out Iran so that Isreal don't have to.

....|9.7.07 @ 1:44PM|#

The above post should be written by Eric "Supertroll" Dondero.

edna|9.7.07 @ 2:17PM|#

I can't shake the impression he's more interested in Iran than he is in the Homeland, these days.

if we can get 99 other senators to be the same, that could only be a good thing. better they should be too busy fucking up the iranians' lives to be fucking up ours.

Ramki|9.7.07 @ 2:19PM|#

I can't shake the impression he's more interested in Iran Israel than he is in the Homeland, these days.

There, fixed that for you. You know, I am usually an Israel supporter, but Lieberman just makes me gag with his one point agenda of destroying the Arabs, to make the world safe for Israel. I wonder if there is anyone in Israel who has such a single minded devotion to "the cause."

Ramki|9.7.07 @ 2:20PM|#

Oops. The strikeout should have ended after the word Iran. Note to self: A-L-W-A-Y-S preview.

S.A. Miller|9.7.07 @ 2:24PM|#

Does the DHS being a God awful mess negate Lieberman's effort to support Radio Farda?

I'm guessing the point of this is to attack Lieberman because Lieberman is attacking his fellow Democrats?

Weigel why don't you just admit your are Democrat and get it over with.

|9.7.07 @ 2:51PM|#

Lieberman isn't a Democrat; he left the party over a year ago.

|9.7.07 @ 5:06PM|#

Lieberman isn't a Democrat; he left the party over a year ago.

joe, Lieberman is a DIABN (Democrat In All But Name). He left the Democratic Party solely because he lost a primary to an asshat -- hasn't changed his political philosophy, hasn't quit caucusing with the Democrats, has quit voting with them for purposes of which major party assumes control of the Senate.

|9.7.07 @ 5:07PM|#

hasn't quit voting with them for purposes of which major party assumes control of the Senate.

Even with preview, managed to screw that up.

|9.7.07 @ 5:13PM|#

"I'm guessing the point of this is to attack Lieberman because Lieberman is attacking his fellow Democrats?"

If Lieberman were a Democrat this would make sense, but Joe Lieberman is an Independent, he was kicked out of the Democratic party during the Lamont challenge.

S.A. Miller|9.7.07 @ 5:26PM|#

If Lieberman were a Democrat this would make sense, but Joe Lieberman is an Independent, he was kicked out of the Democratic party during the Lamont challenge.

Semantics. Bernie Sanders and Joe Lieberman both caucus with the Democrats, hence for practical purposes they are Democrats. (Also, Lieberman when he runs for his next term will again run as a Democrat.)

|9.7.07 @ 8:06PM|#

prolefeed,

Seen a lot of Democrats arguing passionately that opposing the Iraq War is treason, have you?

Caucusing with a party isn't membership in that party.

|9.8.07 @ 12:56AM|#

lieb is such a neocon.