Sen. Lieberman Drops Centrist Coalition For More Conservative Company [View All]

[Purveyor]

Thursday December 21, 2006

Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut has decided to end his co-chairmanship of the Centrist Coalition in the Senate and will partner with a more conservative senator in a new grouping, according to a story published yesterday by Roll Call.

Senator Lieberman has for some time partnered with Republican Olympia Snowe of Maine in a bipartisan Centrist Coalition to work on legislation. But Roll Call's Emily Pierce reports that the two have parted ways after having a difference of opinion on how the group should cooperate across party lines to forge compromises.

Lieberman is now forming a new bipartisan grouping with Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. Alexander sought the Republican presidential nomination in both 1996 and 2000, when he became known for campaign appearances in a red flannel shirt. Lieberman's spokesman, Marshall Wittman, stated that the purpose of his work with Alexander was "to create as many venues for bipartisan discussion as possible."

The American Conservative Union, a body that rates Members of Congress according to their votes on political issues, illustrates the ideological difference between Lieberman's former and soon-to-be partners. While Senator Snowe had a 2005 rating of 32 out of 100, and a lifetime rating of 50 from the group, the ACU gives Senator Alexander a rating of 88 both in 2005 and over the life of his career in the Senate.

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http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Liberman_drops_Centrist_Coalition_for_more_1221.html

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/1_1/breakingnews/16363-1.html