Local Politics Lieberman

[loangod]

Lieberman’s Fate in New Senate Looks Grim

Wednesday, November 5, 2008 3:12 PM By: Newsmax Staff

U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, the former Democratic vice presidential candidate who backed Republican John McCain for president, will meet with Democratic leaders this week to determine his fate with the party. By all accounts, it appears to be grim. Unless there’s some change in sentiment determined by a new balance in the Senate, the independent Democrat from Connecticut will likely lose his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, according to several reports. That may push him into the Republican caucus. “I can’t see how he keeps the chairmanship for that committee, but they will talk and part of the discussion will focus on Lieberman’s actions during the presidential campaign,” a senior Democratic aide told Politico. Lieberman spent election night in Arizona with McCain, his close friend. He is expected back in Washington on Thursday and said he’s seeking to smooth things over. “Now that the election is over, it is time to put partisan considerations aside,” he said in a statement, “and come together as a nation to solve the difficult challenges we face and make our blessed land stronger and safer. I pledge to work with President-elect Obama and his incoming administration in their efforts to reinvigorate our economy and keep our nation secure and free.” But Lieberman’s statements about the Democrats at the Republican Convention, and just before Election Day, have angered many Democrats. Blogs like the Daily Kos and Moveon.org, angered by his support of the Iraq war, campaigned against him in his last election. He lost the Democratic primary but won his fourth Senate term as an independent. Even more infuriating to some was his appearances with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the woman who may become the new face of the GOP. "She's so strong, she's . . . so capable, she's so competent," he told a GOP rally last month in Clearwater, Fla. On Tuesday, Lieberman said he feared that the country would be hurt if Democrats won a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the Senate. The Connecticut senator was asked on the Glenn Beck radio show on Tuesday whether he agrees with Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah that, “if we don’t at least have the firewall of the filibuster in the Senate, that in many ways America will not survive.” Lieberman responded: “Well, I hope it’s not like that, but I fear.” Reid is under heavy pressure from some Democrats who want him to act decisively against Lieberman. "As long as he's stripped of his committee chairmanship, I don't care what he does,” blogger Markos Moulitsas of DailyKos said in an e-mail. “He can be an irrelevant backbencher in our caucus if he so decides, or he can quit, or he can switch parties. Whatever. It'll have little practical impact on anything, so I'm ready to move on.” But booting Lieberman from the Democratic ranks would mean losing a loyal vote for Democratic priorities on most issues, and Reid may not want to do that at this point, Politico said. And since Senate Democrats probably will not end up with the six to seven seats that many hoped for, they won’t have a big margin of control on panels. With 57 or 58 seats without Lieberman, they would have had a three-vote margin on the powerful Appropriations Committee. But if Lieberman joins the Senate GOP Conference, Democrats would have only 55 votes in the chamber, giving them less room to flex their muscle on Appropriations and other Senate panels. © 2008 Newsmax. All rights reserved. http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/lieberman_senate_fate/2008/11/05/148121.html

[eoeleven]

looks like Lieberman is goign to be stripped of the committes he chairs

I still thinkt he best thing Obama can do is step in and prevent them from punishing Lieberman

Then it puts it on Joe to leave or stay, if he stays they are a step closer to 60

If he goes it was his choice and the DEMS do not look vendictful

Either way it does not matter by 2010 the 60 vote majority is a lock

[loangod]

Originally Posted by clarke

You think? I think there could be some backlash if the legislative approval rating stays this low...eventually people will forget about Bush and see the real problems are legislative.

If the Republicans can organize and get their shit together, I could see it being more like 1994. The Dems will recede in both houses.

[eoeleven]

Originally Posted by clarke

You think? I think there could be some backlash if the legislative approval rating stays this low...eventually people will forget about Bush and see the real problems are legislative.

right now the Obama momentum is too strong for a GoP recovery in 2010

the fund raising will go nuts the next two years and some of the races are in trouble areas anyway

Sen Martinez in Florida is in trouble in the GoP, for mismanaging the primary dates and not producing better GoP results as election chair and the DEMs made huge gains in his district

Burr in North Carolina (1 termer in a formerly blue district)

Voinivich in Ohio (retiring)

Specter in Pennsylvania (retiring)

DeMint in South Carolina

Bond in Missouri (retiring)

Greg in New Hampshire

Grassley in Iowa (retiring)

Vitter in Louisiana (1st termer in a traditionally blue seat)

Bunning in Kentucky

are nine GoP senates seats that are dangerously vunerable

Brownback in Kansas

Shelby in Alabama

Coburn in Oklahoma

Bennet in Utah

are probably all safe but will draw well financed opponents

I imagine public enemy #1 for the DEMs the next two years will be Thune in South Dakota. He is strong and viewed as a MAJOR pillar of the GoP's future.

[eoeleven]

Originally Posted by clarke

Yes, the Dems are organized and have lots of money, but if the economy is still shaky are they going to be able to sell the idea that it is still Bush's fault? Hell, the media is already starting to distance themselves from Obama so that they cannot be held accountable if he fails (listening to soundbites from Limbaugh's show today....cannot quote exactly....1 of the biggies was an interview by Brokaw last Friday where he and some democrat were talking about how we really don't know the real Obama yet and he has not done much....I could not believe it when he said it was from last Friday - BEFORE the election).

No, if there is not a rousing success, if there is any perception that Obama lied, and when our taxes go up, there will be that perception, then they will lose seats....

Its really too early to tell, but I don't think its a slam dunk that the Democrats will gain in 2010. Many of those places will be gains, but there could be some serious heads rolling on their side of the aisle.

BTW, Specter will be gone UNLESS he goes Democrat. Either way, its not good.

BTW Specters seat belongs to Ed Rendell, Specter just gets to sit in it for another two years

best case scenario I can see in 2010 is only losing two seats net in the Senate

anything can happen but that would seem to be a best case

if the GoP wants to pick up they are going to have off set losing in NC, Ohio, Penn, and Iowa or basically gain 4 to 1

~the best way to get 4 for 1 is...

Arnold Schwarzenegger vs Barbara Boxer Cali
Mitt Romney vs Ted Kennedy Mass
Mike Huckabee vs Blanche Lincoln Ark
Bill Owens vs Ken Salazar CO

~all of these guys have either aspirations or dillusions of the 2012 PoTUS ticket (one of them is considered the 2012 front runner) so it will be hard to convince them to run for senate

2012 will be a rebound year in the senate and then the house will fall in

2016 should be a year a John Boehner and John Thune ticket reclaims the White House

[eoeleven]

Barack Obama has intervened on behalf of Joe Lieberman

this is the right thing to do by Obama, and a pretty clear indication he is not afraid to have a different opinion than Reid and Pelosi.

1 for 1 in not walking their walk

[cowboys_junkie]

If anything Obama's whole campaign was a big finger to the Democratic establishment.

Let's hope they aren't able to steal that additional seat in Minnessota.

[eoeleven]

Originally Posted by cowboys_junkie

If anything Obama's whole campaign was a big finger to the Democratic establishment.

Let's hope they aren't able to steal that additional seat in Minnessota.

it sucks that they are allowed to just go in and "re-interpret" votes on ballots counted once that voted for president but not in the senate race

it also seesm VERY unlikely to me that a 100 vote gain would be possible after the first talley.

I have seen first hand that canidates can get 5 to 15 more votes (out of 10s of thousands) when re-examined, but they are usually low numbers and usually appear for both canidates.

100 vote pick ups in ONE CITY, for ONE canidate seems awfully shady

[loangod]

Originally Posted by eoeleven

Barack Obama has intervened on behalf of Joe Lieberman

this is the right thing to do by Obama, and a pretty clear indication he is not afraid to have a different opinion than Reid and Pelosi.

1 for 1 in not walking their walk

Obama has only said he wants Joe to caucus with the Dems. He said he will not get involved with any Chairmanship decisions.

[eoeleven]

Originally Posted by loangod

Obama has only said he wants Joe to caucus with the Dems. He said he will not get involved with any Chairmanship decisions.

it would be out of line for a President to ask for those kind of things

the fact that he, as the grand pooyba, of the Democratic party asked for Biden to remain with the caucus is enough.

~of course removing Lieberman from chair positions with out removing him from the caucus would be rather tricky