Jumpin' Jim Feeling Badly These Days

Jumpin' Jim Jeffords, the GOP turncoat who abandoned the party in 2001 and followed the siren song of Tom Daschle and the Dems and changed control of the Senate, is feeling rather badly these days (from Best of the Web Today):

'I Just Feel So Bitter'
Remember Jim Jeffords? Neither do we, but he's the U.S. senator from Vermont who achieved historical-footnote status in 2001 when he left the Republican Party and handed control of the Senate to Democrats for a little over 19 months. Yesterday Vermont Public Radio interviewed Jeffords and, we're guessing, reminded Republicans of why they're glad to be rid of him:

Host: Sen. Jim Jeffords says he won't be surprised if the Bush administration launches a war with Iran next year. Speaking Tuesday night on VPR's "Switchboard" program, Jeffords says he remains convinced that president Bush went to war in Iraq in order to control that country's oil supply and to bolster the president's chances of winning re-election to a second term.

Jeffords: I think it was all done to get--all that's the end result is going to be some oil agreement and the loss of life that we had. And the cost of it, to many was just a re-election move and they're going to try to live off it and probably start another war. Wouldn't be surprised next year, probably in Iran.

Host: Jeffords says he fears that President Bush will use the same tactics to invade Iran in the coming year.

Jeffords: I just feel so bitter about the thinking that's gone on behind them and the reasons they go to war, went to war. But I feel very strongly that they're looking ahead and there will be an opportunity to go into Iran.

Host: Jeffords says nothing has happened in Iraq that justifies the Bush administration's decision to go to war in that country. He says he'll strongly oppose efforts to expand the war to Iran.

So let's see if we have this straight: According to Jeffords, the president went to war in Iraq to "control the country's oil supply" and to help his own re-election chances. This doesn't quite jibe with what happened, which is that Bush was re-elected even though Iraq's oil industry, which America doesn't control at any rate, is operating at far from full capacity and U.S. gasoline prices are quite high compared with recent years.

"Nothing has happened" to justify "the Bush administration's decision" (actually it was Congress's) to go to war. Apparently Jeffords hasn't heard about the Iraqi elections. Oh, and now he thinks the administration is making plans to "go into Iran." Why? To get their oil and help Bush get re-elected again?

Between this guy and Howard Dean, Vermont has become a laughingstock, the Mississippi of the 21st century.

This is just nonsense, and sounds more like "anti-Bush Classic" than a complaint that makes sense in the current environment. What's wrong with the Senator from Vermont? Let's take a look.

Prior to his defection, he was practically the invisible man. With the exception of singing tenor with Trent Lott, Slade Gordon and John Ashcroft in the "Singing Senators" quartet, he didn't make much news. Most of the country was completely agnostic about him; they didn't know if he existed and didn't really care. Then magic happened.

Tom Daschle came calling, promised him a bunch of fame and committee chairmanships, and Jim made the jump from GOP to Independent. Suddenly he went from invisible man to man of the hour. The GOP hated him and the lefties loved him, and that was better than just being ignored.

Unfortunately for Jim the magic was shortlived. The GOP retook the Senate in 2002 and Jim was backbencher once again. The bitterness is obviously coming to the forefront now. So sad.