You're No Lloyd Bentsen

One of my earliest political memories is of Lloyd Bentsen destroying Dan Quayle in the 1988 Vice Presidential debate. I also had the pleasure of that pleasantly vicious old man decapitating John McCain on the Senate floor one day while I was watching C-SPAN (this was a very long time ago - before McCain had won a rep for charisma). Bentsen also crushed George Bush sr. in 1970. So for a lot of reasons, I have a soft spot for Lloyd, and am sad to see him pass away.

Having said that....

When Bull Moose joined the blogger party a couple of years ago, I and others welcomed him with open arms as a defector from the conservative cause. But during that period I have been disappointed time and time again by his eagerness to forward the conservative cause. Moose has persistently lionized the likes of Tony Blair, Newt Gingrich, Joe Lieberman, and of course John McCain. Finally I had to move him from my liberal blogroll to my conservative one. I lump him with rational, well-intentioned right-wingers like Andrew Sullivan and David Beinart. As such I still accord him some level of respect, but reject categorically most of what he has to say.

A good example is his tribute to Lloyd Bentsen. After describing his career, he concludes by wishing that there were more like him:

One of the most unfortunate political developments of the last thirty years has been the decline of the Southern Democratic Party. That decline has influenced the left-ward shift of the national Democratic party. It is no accident, though, that the last three successful Democratic Presidential candidates hailed from the South.

Unfortunately, today, there are only four Democratic Senators representing that region in the Senate. The good news is that Democrats are making inroads in the Governors' offices south of the Mason-Dixon line. And hopefully Harold Ford will soon represent Tennessee in the upper chamber.

The national party desperately needs the voices of Southern, moderate hawks. The Senate Democratic caucus increasingly is dominated by Northern liberals who create the perception of the left wing party.

Moderates like Max Cleland? Sam Nunn? Ann Richards? Jim Sasser? Al Gore? Bill Clinton? Roy Barnes? John Edwards? Sorry Bull - but they're all gone. The region changed out from under them. Lloyd Bentsen would never win now.

Moose seems to think that the Democratic party has become more liberal, and that is why it has lost the South. I contend that the Democrats have faltered in that region because the South has become more conservative. Just like Moose.