Lieberman, far-rightist

I must admit to some perverse amusement at the fact that Joe Lieberman is holding onto his committee chairmanship, if only because Kos thinks this is cause enough to primary a sitting majority leader. Here’s what I honestly don’t understand, however: the claim that Lieberman is some sort of knuckle dragging right winger. Writes Ezra:

Lieberman’s slingshot into the furthest reaches of the far right was always a sadly transparent reaction to his rejection by the left. Human beings do not enjoy criticism. They gravitate towards affirmation.

Lieberman is pro-choice, pro-union (both teacher and AFL-CIO), and opposed the Bush tax cuts in ’02. The reason McCain ended up with Sarah Palin instead of Joe Lieberman as the VP pick is because Lieberman is very liberal. The only issue he’s really conservative on is the war; he thinks winning the war on terror is an important goal. In fact, he thinks it’s the defining issue of our times. That led him to support the candidate who favored the surge, the strategy that seems to have (gasp) stabilized Iraq and given us some hope of exiting the country with honor and leaving behind a useful ally. It does not make him a member of the “far right” by any reasonable definition of the phrase.