Letters
Lieberman: Does he accurately represent Democrats' ideals?
Regarding the Aug. 2 article "In Connecticut, insurgent left aims at Democratic hawk": Among the "antiwar" Democrats who opposed the Iraq war from the outset is former Senate Intelligence chairman Bob Graham of Florida. Senator Graham voted for the Gulf War in 1991. Former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, who served under Republican Presidents George H.W. Bush and Gerald Ford, had the same view as Democrat Graham on both wars.
Democrats who are frustrated with Sen. Joseph Lieberman are being lumped in with '60s hippies for having the same view as Mr. Scowcroft. I lived in New York City during 9/11 and completely supported the US efforts in Afghanistan, and would completely support US Special Forces operations against Al Qaeda around the world. But I opposed the Iraq war because Iraq had no operational ties to Al Qaeda, as an independent bipartisan commission reported so clearly.
"Antiwar" has come to mean pacifist and naive. Many opponents of the Iraq war may be pacifist and naive, but many are neither.
Would Senator Lieberman say Scowcroft or Graham are "in a spider hole of denial" or imperiling the nation with their opinions? Of course he wouldn't. President George H.W. Bush thought it was a bad idea to occupy Iraq. Not everyone who opposes a war is a 1968 hippie.
Joseph Musco
Daytona Beach, Fla.
Regarding your Aug. 10 editorial, "The other message in Lieberman's defeat": My wife and I are unaffiliated voters in Connecticut who opted to become temporary Democrats to vote for Joe. We didn't like his turn to the left as Al Gore's running mate, but we liked his return more to the center. We really didn't like seeing Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton at Ned Lamont's side.
Most of the other Democratic voters I spoke to about the election voted for Lamont as a protest vote against the Iraq war.
It will be interesting to see the results of the November election with the weak Republican candidate if Joe can fund his independent senatorial campaign.
Ed Lyons
Old Saybrook, Conn.
Regarding the Aug. 10 article, "Shockwave for Lieberman race": Joe Lieberman lost the primary election; now, he is destroying his credibility.
Running an independent campaign against the winner of the Democratic primary shows lack of character.
Mr. Lieberman should accept defeat, accept the decision of primary voters, step aside, and support his party's nominee, Ned Lamont.
The voters chose Ned Lamont, but Lieberman is so determined to keep his Senate seat that he is willing to run against their choice.
Gene W. DeVaux
Greenwood, Mo.
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