CQ TODAY PRINT EDITION
– POLITICS
Sept. 5, 2008 – 5:56 p.m.
After RNC Speech, Republicans Court Lieberman to Make the Switch Official
By Alan K. Ota, CQ Staff
When Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman returns to work this week, he can expect some arm-twisting from his Republican friends and the cold shoulder from some Democrats.
Lieberman, the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee in 2000, promoted a Republican for president last week in a prime time speech at the GOP’s national convention, raising questions about whether — and when — there might be retribution.
Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and other senior Democrats want Lieberman, I-Conn., to lay out his political plans and to soften his attacks on Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, the Democratic presidential nominee.
Reid was “very disappointed in Sen. Lieberman, especially when he went out of his way to distort Sen. Obama’s record of bipartisan achievements,” said Jim Manley, a Reid spokesman. “I assume that the caucus will want to revisit the situation with Sen. Lieberman after the elections in November.”
Lieberman has been caucusing with Democrats, who in turn have honored his seniority and permitted him to serve as chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, a senior Republican, said he intended to try to pry Lieberman from the Democratic fold, beginning with Monday’s cloture vote on a motion to proceed to the fiscal 2009 defense authorization bill (
“I would like to see him vote with Republicans in September,” Specter said. “He’s practically there. That would have the consequence of giving us a Republican Senate.”
Specter said he’s ready to renew a months-long discussion with Lieberman about switching parties.
Lieberman says he still considers himself a Democrat.
“I remain a Democrat. A disappointed Democrat, but a Democrat,” he said Sept. 3, hours after his speech at the Republican National Convention on behalf of his close friend, GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
Win or lose in November, Republicans are betting Lieberman will be on their side next year — either as a Cabinet member in a McCain administration or as part of a powerful band of centrist rebels who could help to block the priorities of an Obama administration.
Lieberman did little to quell speculation that he might join a McCain Cabinet, which would allow Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell , a Republican, to appoint his successor.
Whether he makes a big move or not, Lieberman seems sure to remain a thorn in the Democrats’ side. As a top McCain surrogate on security and foreign policy, he portrays expedited troop withdrawal time lines and Democratic opposition to free-trade deals as misguided.
Eye on Retribution
For months, Reid has refrained from rebuking or threatening Lieberman. He simply insisted that there be no surprises in the unusual McCain-Lieberman partnership.
Lieberman called Reid about two weeks ago, according to Manley, to let the leader know that he would accept an invitation to speak at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. Manley said he did not think the two men had spoken since then.
The day after Lieberman took swipes at Obama in his speech to Republicans, he addressed his eight-year journey from Democratic vice presidential nominee to McCain sidekick in a forum at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
“Obviously, part of this is John McCain . Our close working relationship. The trust we have. We’ve worked on national security, climate change, lobbying efforts,” Lieberman said.
Then he referred to his growing discomfort with Democrats on trade and other issues.
“The Democratic Party has changed,” Lieberman said. He specifically cited the party’s drift away from the North American Free Trade Agreement (PL 103-182) and toward opposing similar deals with Colombia and other countries.
Lieberman seemed ready for a backlash, and some of his Senate GOP pals gave every appearance of enjoying the possibilities.
“People admire Joe. If you refuse to work with a guy like Joe, it will catch up with you,” said Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, another of McCain’s closest allies.
“If they’re smart, they’ll treat him fairly,” added Charles E. Grassley of Iowa.
Longtime friend Olympia J. Snowe of Maine said it will be up to Lieberman what happens next. “His role will be what he decides it will be,” Snowe said.
Comments
Alas, like most of his power mad GOP cohorts, Mr. Spector seems blissfully unaware that you cannot change the game by pulling a fast one so close to the election. If they do, the Dems will shut them down with the filibuster they love to use so much. After the election, Mr. LIEberman should get his just reward-being stripped of his senior committee chairs and kicked out of the caucus. Let the disgraced out of power GOP have him!
Goodbye and Good Riddance!! GO NOW!! So what if the Repugnants get control of the chamber. They can do nothing without the house and/or 60 votes in the senate. Besides the 110th congress is almost history anyway. Stand up to this traitor, he wants to be a Repugnant let him. Come January he can be a part of thier shrinking minority!
I believe that Lieberman is done in the new Senate in January. But what sweet revenge in the interim. The key result of his switch would be to kick the Dems out of chairmanship positions and control of the legislative agenda. That would hurt Obama by crippling the Dems ability to consider legislation that could highlight differences with McCain in Obama's favor. Immigration is one. Child Health Care is another. and on and on . . .
I wish there was a way to strip Lieberman from his committee chair positions as well as from attending the caucus NOW and not wait until January 2009. I worry about what damage he could do between now and then.
Specter is wrong. If Lieberman jumps, the Democrats would still retain control. The organizing resolution the Senate adopted at the start of the current session does not recognize a change in control in the event of a shift in numbers during the session. The Republicans would only be able to stomp their feet and wail about the unfairness of it all. The Jim Jeffords situation in 2001 was an anomaly. The organizing resolution for that session was different than usual because Gore held what would have been the tie-breaking vote for the first two weeks of the session. (Congress starts up before the new pres & VP are sworn in.) The Dems allowed the GOP to have control at the outset in exchange for a concession -- that control would shift if the numbers shifted during the rest of the session.
Vile, horrible, small, lying opprtunist
He needs to go. When you are no longer committed to your party and show support and loyalty then he needs to switch parties. Goodbye and good luck.
He might as well. Should Obama win, and there be a Democratic congress, he's going to be awful lonely. This way he'll have a table to sit at in the cafeteria.
Does anyone mentioned in this article care about Joe's constituents. Lieberman obviously doesn't; he barely shows up to the Senate anymore and has done nothing to help the state receive greater funding. The people of Connecticut gave Lieberman a chance because he lied to them. Now most of us just want him out. Connecticut is a Democrat state now, but we'd even be happy with a real Republican rather than a grandstanding politician.
Joe is a trader. He should be stripped of any power or possition within the Dem structure. Let the cards fall as the may.
@James I didn't realize Joe Lieberman worked on Wall St... The word you're looking for is "traitor", not "trader". I'm not even going to mention "possition". With a grasp of the English language like yours, you are apparently qualified to be President of the United States.
Why do the ReThuglicans bother to court Lieberman. He already belongs to their party. What a joke!
Joe Lieberrman will do what is good for Joe Lieberman. He has long ceased being a person worth respecting in any way and I find myself repelled by him.
What a slap in the face to all the people who voted him into office, thinking they were getting a democrat. He should have to be voted back in on a Republican ticket.
Lieberman says he's a Democrat albeit a disappointed Democrat..How must all the Democrats in Conn. feel now about this excuse for an honorable person. And to think all the foolish Dem. Pols. who came out for him after he lost the primary such as Obama, Dodd and many others.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could pass a law, such as the one we have for President's, that Senators can only serve two terms. These old, out of touch. out of ideas, do nothing, lazy men are a joke. I am not proud of my country at this moment. I am bitter and sad to watch this joke of Washington play out. I do not believe anyone is capable of fixing this mess. VERY VERY SAD
What do you mean "as part of a powerful band of centrist rebels who could help to block the priorities of an Obama administration" CENTRISTS blocking an Obama administration ????? that sounds awfully odd to me, because by definition, the "centrists" would be the last ones to announce to block the work of an administration before it even exists. the ones to announce such nonsense would be the fashists (the very right wing of the republicans). Besides that, Obama is known for for his non partisan approach of solving problems. Wouldn't that be appealing to CENTRISTS ????
"I would like to see him vote with Republicans in September," Specter said. "He's practically there. That would have the consequence of giving us a Republican Senate."....but Specter doesn't realize the Republicans will lose ALOT of seats in the upcoming election. The argument about keeping Joe is moot. Please HAVE HIM! The Democrats and Connecticut don't want him anyway.
Joe started betraying the Democrats in fall 2000 when, during his "debate" with Cheney, he played oh-so-agreeable instead of highlighting real differences with Bush-Cheney. We shoulda known then.
"He needs to go. When you are no longer committed to your party and show support and loyalty then he needs to switch parties. Goodbye and good luck." I am reading many responses like this, but maybe yall forgot. The Democratic Party abandoned Joe Lieberman, not the other way around. They have already kicked him out of their party.
Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham are part of John Mccains Smear Machine. Lieberman and Graham are perfect examples of what is wrong with politics today. A Mccain Regime may actually make George Bush look good.
Keep your friends close, your enemies closer. Waiting till after the election of Obama and more Democrats to the Senate and the House is the smart move.
Lieberman's switching would have no affect on congressional posts this year. The Dems would lose nothing by ousting him from his chairmanship position. Basically, Iraq is the only issue he agrees with the Repubs on. He would be a liberal republican if he switched. He won't switch because he knows he would NEVER win reelection in CT as a Republican. As it is, I don't think he will win re-election as an Independent after what he's done.
Too bad it won't save him from annihilation come the next senatorial election in Connecticut. Poll: Lieberman's Approval Rating In Connecticut Sinks To Lowest Ever (http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/07/poll_liebermans_approval_ratin.php) Lieberman is a joke. It's always Lieberman first. He definitely isn't a Democrat. We won't be sorry to see him go, and in a few years the people of Connecticut will wave him goodbye for good.
You dems are so angry all the time! If you are looking for the real thugs and power hungry politicians, look to your own party. All you want to do is control the population and turn our free country into a socialist prison. You hate America, because of our greatness, because of some silly underlying guilt trip, and want to "change" our way of life. Lieberman still loves our country so I understand why you must hate him. He makes me think that maybe all dems don't hate the USA and gives me hope for our future.
Joe Lieberman left the Democrats well before 2000. He and Lynn Cheney have been behind the "morality agenda: for a long time. This included: support for censorship and his :holier than thou" approach to the Lewinsky affair, which turned a partisan witchhunt about a BJ into a national crisiis.
What are you talking about, Joshua @ 8:09? Lieberman lost the Democratic primary to Ned Lamont fair and square, then vowed to run as an independent and squeaked it out on the strength of his name recognition. But you can confidently bet the total value of Fairfield County real estate that the people of CT will be kicking his *ss out the door in 2012, and are wishing we didn't have to live with him that long. What a schmuck! It makes me almost glad that Gore conceded in 2000....
Liebermann: a parasiitic virus.He latches onto you,takes what he can for himself,makes you sick,and when you reach to pull him off,he finds another host.He's drained all he can out of the Democrats - after this election,before they can bat him away,he'll have latched onto a Republican host.
It's time for J&J John and Joe to retire. Though Lieberman is a little, very little pain most people look at him as a looser in Connecticut who is trying to get back at the democrats for not choosing him. Well Joe this is the way it is, you have one vote and mine will offset yours.
Lieberman is doing what's best for LIEBERMAN, and he's been doing that since at least his last re-election. If he had been an honorable man, he would have ACCEPTED HIS DEFEAT in the Democratic primary and moved on, instead, he was more interested in promoting his own interests than in promoting Democratic interests. He's interested in representing a constituency of one, Joe Lieberman, not in representing his state or Democrats. He may well be enamored with McCain, but its also his only chance of having a political future (being part of a McCain administration). He'll never get re-elected to the Senate, not in such a heavily Democratic state. The Dems will RIGHTLY give him the boot in the next Congressional session. Even if he defects to the Republicans for the remainder of his term, he can't get re-elected, the Republicans will never fully trust and embrace him (for good reason, given his track record), and they won't waste any money on him, given his liberal social standings and that he won't have a chance in hell of being returned to office for another term.
He might as well, I heard he's teaching foreign policy to Sarah Palin as we speak. Traitor. HOW did he get elected?? He wants desparately to keep U.S. military in the middle east.........Ugh!!
"You dems are so angry all the time! If you are looking for the real thugs and power hungry politicians, look to your own party. All you want to do is control the population and turn our free country into a socialist prison. You hate America, because of our greatness, because of some silly underlying guilt trip, and want to "change" our way of life. Lieberman still loves our country so I understand why you must hate him. He makes me think that maybe all dems don't hate the USA and gives me hope for our future. " Are you kidding me? What kind of a brain dead Repugnant would believe this crap? This is why are country is in the trouble we are in. People with the IQ of a fruit fly have been in charge for the last 8 years. What scares me is that these people believe this crap and they are allowed to vote!! I'm so glad the Rethugnant pary is slowly dying. Death to Fascism; Goodbye Right Wing Zealot: So Long Corporate Masters!! Hey TOP why don't you try watching something else besides FOX? Also try reading books instead of banning them.
Maybe Lieberman and the Repugs think the democrats are just sitting by and watching. Have they thought that Hagel might switch tparties too if Lieberman does same. Then we'll see who laughs last.
I have heard Joe Lieberman called "the weasel." I think that is a good name for him.
Well good riddance! There are other democrats that may not necessarily love Obama but they have not done what Lieberman has done.
Good bye Droopy Dawg
As a Connecticut resident, Its embarrassing to think that Lieberman is "representing" us. He ran on the campaign of "same old Joe" and has he ever gone back on that one. The Democrats need to grow a spine, strip him of his positions and throw him out.
Joe was playing politics all the way. He thought he would be making that speech at the RNC as the VP nominee because I'm sure McCain told him he would be considered very strongly with a good chance of getting the nomination. You could tell he wasn't very excited to give that speech as the so-called "Democrat at a Republican convention". I was say he is already a Republican disguised as an Independent.
I voted for Lamont over Lieberman because I felt Lieberman was more interested in serving his own interests. However, I am a fiscally conservative Democrat in a liberal state. Yet, I do not think that Lieberman will stay around until 2012. He will retire early (2010) or be appointed to a McCain administration (should McCain win). The Dem legislature has veto power in CT and can force Rell's hand and force her to appoint a Dem by revising the law (the same way that was done against the Dem gov. in Wyo, forcing him to appoint a Rep.). In the event, that the legislature does not act, then expect soon to be defeated Shays to be appointed to the seat.
I'm a Connecticut resident and have been a life long Democrat. Joe Lieberman is 1 of the few true Democrats left in Congress. It is despicable that a Senator MUST vote the party line every time or become ostrisized. The number 1 priority of the party's is no longer what is good for the Country but to make sure that the other party is not able to do anything that might the other party look good.
Leiberman leaving the party or the caucus won't shift the Senate. The bill establishing Senate rules following 2006 doesn't allow it, and it usually doesn't. This only happened in 2001 because the parties agreed that it would happen (given that the Senate was split 50-50) when they made the rules.
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