As was widely reported over the weekend, Sen. Zell Miller (Ga.), the lone member of Democrats for Bush, attended the Georgia Republican state convention Friday night to launch into another rambling tirade against John Kerry.
Sen. Zell Miller, the Bush campaign’s most famous Democratic attack dog, ripped into John Kerry on Saturday as an “out-of-touch, ultraliberal from Taxachusetts” whose foreign and domestic policies would seriously weaken the country.
Miller, the lone Democratic senator publicly backing Bush, made the remarks in a Bush-Cheney grassroots event during the state Republican convention, where he was greeted as a hero.
Not surprisingly, there were quite a few Dems who found this upsetting, especially online. Kos and Poppy want Miller thrown out of the Dem caucus, while Atrios did a fine job explaining that Georgia’s taxes are actually higher than Massachusetts’, so Miller’s complaints are fundamentally flawed.
All of this is right, of course, but I wanted to emphasize something else: what Miller said about Kerry before Miller lost his mind. Sure, Miller is using the GOP playbook to attack his colleague now, but it wasn’t long ago that Miller had a far more favorable impression of the Dems’ presidential nominee.
Consider, for example, what Miller had to say in August 2001, at Georgia’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, as he introduced his allegedly “ultraliberal” colleague to the state’s Dem leadership.
“My job tonight is an easy one: to present to you one of this nation’s authentic heroes, one of this party’s best-known and greatest leaders — and a good friend….
“In his 16 years in the Senate, John Kerry has fought against government waste and worked hard to bring some accountability to Washington. Early in his Senate career in 1986, John signed on to the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Bill, and he fought for balanced budgets before it was considered politically correct for Democrats to do so. John has worked to strengthen our military, reform public education, boost the economy and protect the environment.”
Notice the sweeping praise. In Miller’s own words, Kerry is an “authentic hero,” a “great leader,” who has fought to bring “accountability to Washington,” and worked to “strengthen our military.”
Less then three years later, Miller is singing a different tune. Kerry hasn’t changed; Miller has. It’s a shame.
As upsetting as it is to read about Miller’s anti-Dem whining, I’m feeling more pity than anger. Ultimately, it’s just sad to see a man fall apart like this, devolving into a pathetic GOP shill after a lifetime of public service. A man who was once a fine public servant has clearly shed his values, forgotten his principles, and rejected what were once high standards. I actually feel sorry for him and his once-admirable legacy.