Jon (and his big mutt) recently moved to Shaw from upstate New York. He recently wondered if he was going to wind up with only gay friends.

Watching “Democrat” Joe Lieberman bash Senator Obama Tuesday night at the Republican Convention, I felt like I was being punched in the stomach. As a Democrat, this was a man I had worked to elect, and THIS is how he repays us? Putting aside all the Party loyalty stuff – you may recall that even when Lieberman lost the Democratic nomination for his Senate seat, Barack Obama endorsed him – he went way over the line Tuesday night. Not only did he praise McCain and Palin, he also went out of his way to attack Obama. Well, now it’s my turn. The following is my letter to the traitor from Connecticut.

Dear Senator Lieberman,

In the fall of 2006, I was a law student at the University of Connecticut in Hartford. Having been impressed by the campaign you and Al Gore ran in 2000, along with your service in the Senate, I volunteered for your reelection campaign. As an ardent Democrat, the decision to support you over Ned Lamont was one I did not make lightly. I reviewed each of your platforms and traveled to hear each of you speak. In the end it was your experience, reputation, impressive understanding of the issues, and lifelong commitment to Democratic values that won me over.

Throughout that fall I made phone calls for you, cheered for you at the debate moderated by George Stephanopoulos, and served as precinct monitor. On the night of the election, I stood outside my local polling place wearing my campaign t-shirt, waving a sign, and encouraging voters to support you. While I talked to a lot of people that night – some who supported you, and others who I worked to convince – one conversation stands out. A young man, probably just a few years older than myself, approached me and asked how I could support you. He told me that his brother was in Iraq and that the best thing I could do to support the troops was to help bring them home. I defended your positions and told myself that while this man clearly had a point, I trusted your judgment. I now regret putting my faith in you.

Watching you at the Republican Convention last night, I was ashamed. Ashamed that I supported you, and ashamed that I devoted my time and energy to helping you get reelected. It’s one thing to support Senator McCain, it’s another to attack Senator Obama and praise Governor Palin – a woman who is devoted to tearing down everything you have supposedly fought your entire career for. I understand that you support John McCain’s plan for Iraq – I don’t, but I respect that fact that you do. What I don’t respect is your desire to turn your back on the rest of the issues you ran on. A woman’s right to choose (Palin doesn’t even support abortion in cases of rape or incest), universal health care, and the environment. I’m also a gay man, and listening to you praise Sarah Palin made me sick. Palin not only supported Alaska’s constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, she also worked to deny health benefits to gay and lesbian partners. And John McCain isn’t much better.

After attending your election night celebration in 2006, I made my way with some friends to the hotel bar. Watching (and cheering) as the results of other races came in, I was surprised when I looked up and saw Alan Schlesinger, your Republican opponent, entering the bar. I’m not sure if he met with you that night, but he was certainly enthusiastically congratulating your staff. Watching him schmooze his way around the bar, I could have mistaken him for the winner. Now I know why he was so happy. You may not be a Republican yourself, but you’re enabling and even campaigning to continue what have been perhaps the worst eight years in our country’s history. Before your election in 2006, you assured your Democratic supporters that you would remain a Democrat, saying the following to New York Magazine, “I’ve been a Democrat for 40 years, I’ll die a Democrat, I’ll probably be a Democrat after my death.” Apparently John McCain means more to you than the people who elected you. Senator Lieberman, I’m ashamed I ever supported you.

Sincerely,
Jon

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