Lieberman’s Day of Reckoning to Come Thursday

[sabra]

Source: Roll Call

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is scheduled to meet with Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.) on Thursday to discuss his future in the Senate Democratic Conference, according to a Democratic Senate source.

A growing number of Senate Democrats have been pressuring Reid to penalize Lieberman for aggressively backing Republican Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) in this year’s presidential contest. At stake for Lieberman is his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and his place in the Democratic Conference.

It remains unclear what Reid will say in his upcoming meeting with Lieberman, but Democrats believe he is inching toward at least wresting the Homeland Security gavel from him. Lieberman, who sides with Democrats on most issues except the war in Iraq, became one of McCain’s most ardent allies and one of President-elect Obama’s vocal critics this presidential season.

Senate Democrats were particularly incensed with their Connecticut colleague after his bruising speech during the GOP presidential convention, during which Lieberman went on the attack against Obama. Lieberman was Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee in 2000.

Read more: http://www.rollcall.com/news/29881-1.html

[lilymidnite]

1. come to jesus

Hope he kicks Lieberman to the curb.

[Demeter]

26. Just Say NO, Harry

It's good for the spine.

[AnneD]

28. I think Obama.....

already had a come to Jesus meeting on the Senate floor several months age. They handwriting was on the wall then.

Took him aside to an out of the way spot and was doing a serious private conversation. Just the look on Obama's face said it all. He'd better straighten up and fly right.

[Spiffarino]

29. They underestimate Barack at their peril

Barack's a nice guy, a good family man, honest and hard-working. He's also tough as a 20-penny nail. He WILL kick ass when necessary, so Holy Joe better get ready for a beat-down.

[TygrBright]

32. Exactly. He's a Chicago pol. Not part of The Machine, but...

...he's had to do political business in Chicago since day one of his public service career.

I pity the fool who thinks they can hustle, railroad, threaten, or otherwise manipulate our next President.

Damn, I love typing that: "Our next President!"

happily,
Bright

[Spiffarino]

35. I love saying it, too.

Except I love to say, "President Barack HOOOOOSAAAAYYYNNN!!!!! Obama" to all my right wing friends. :evilgrin:

[proud progressive]

33. not sure what influence obama can have but i hope you are right about his temperament

conneticut should be ashamed to have put that primary-losing scumbag back in congress. not even sure the repukes would take him...oh, hell, they would take the devil himself if they didn't already have his 44 sons and daughters...or, is that down to 43?

[Spiffarino]

47. We know who "43" is

Son 43 is the soon-to-be ex-president of the United States. :nuke:

[AnneD]

57. To go through all the ridiculous RW BS talking points....

and not lose his cool-he's got the temperament. He Reminds me of Jackie Robinson. Now there were better baseball players in the Negro Leagues, but Rickey chose Jackie Robinson for his temperament. He was told up front what to expect. He was literally spat on by fans and players. And yet all through this abuse, he knew if he screwed up, there would never be another African American in the National Baseball league. I look at Obama in the same light. Wish I could find that picture of Obama talking to Leiberman on the Senate floor. Obama's brows were just the slightest bit furrowed and you could just sense he was pissed but too polite/mature to have a public temper tantrum.



We chose wisely.

[atommom]

2. He needs to just switch parties and be done with it. He cannot be trusted

to help the Dems in any way.

[Miss Chybil]

39. I agree with you. I think many Dems worry about losing his vote in the Senate,

but he can't be trusted to vote with the Dems anyway. He can be a Republican and vote with the Dems, just as he has been a Dem and voted with the Republicans on the war. I think it may be easier just to rip the bandaid off quickly, instead of letting it drag on and on. Let him be what he is and we can all quit hoping and he can quit pretending.

[KewlKat]

3. Senator Reid to Liebertoast: Give me the fucking gavel

[MNDemNY]

4. To the curb with the Liarman.

Fuck him, and the whore he rode in on.

[Donnachaidh]

5. Harry -- grow a set and kick him to the curb.

LIEberman needs to go. NOW.

[endarkenment]

6. Didn't Lieberasshole state today that he is against increasing the

democratic party lead in the Senate? How much more evidence is required before we just show him the door?

[Tempest]

21. He said it would be a disaster for the country if Dems got 60 seats

He needs to be stripped of his perks and then tarred and feathered.

[WheelWalker]

74. Meaning it would be a disaster for Lieberman. He needs to be recycled. Never thirst.

[indepat]

7. Throw the bum out!

:P

[still_one]

8. Reid had better remove lieberman from his chairmanship. If he wants to vote with the repugs let him

he made his bed, let him sleep in it

[Vinnie From Indy]

9. I doubt that Reid will bring down the hammer on Lieberman on Thursday

I would imagine that Reid will, at the very least, wait to discuss Joe's standing until after the results of the Franken/Coleman election and other races are resolved. While I am sure that Lieberman will have to pay some price for his traitorous ways, the question will be how much. Time is on Reid's side and I think he is smart enough to understand that fact.

[VaYallaDawg]

11. Agree. Revenge is a dish best served cold.

He should let the little weasel squirm a while.

[MarianJack]

10. Uh, Joe,...

...AMF! :spank:

[TheCowsCameHome]

12. Joe is all about Joe. Anything else is beyond his grasp.

He is a sick, self-centered fool.

I hope Reid kicks his butt.

[MercutioATC]

13. We're talking about the same Harry Reid, right??

Reid will make some whiny little noises...that's all.

He barely has enough spine to walk upright.

[Old Codger]

34. Yep

There is another change or two to be made... Reid is one and Pelosi is the other.......Get some real LEADERSHIP in both houses..... we took the first step installing some leadership in the White House, they need to follow up

[redstateblues]

14. He will be quietly marginalized- That's Obama's style

There will be no overt revenge

[Juan_de_la_Dem]

23. agreed

[zbdent]

15. Remind him that Bush is no longer his President, and that McCain cannot be his President

and that he should work with THE President-elect ...

[Hawkeye-X]

16. He's no ID. He's a IR.

Idiot Republican.

Reid will kick him out of all committees, strip him from his power, demote him to junior senator from Connecticut, reassign his room to the janitor's broom closet in the basement until he gets kicked out in 2012 after none of the Thugs want him either.

Hawkeye-X

[chiefofclarinet]

49. Lieberman IS the junior senator from Connecticut

Chris Dodd is the senior senator from Connecticut.

[Idealism]

17. you guys have failed to comment

on why lieberman ultimately won't be punished as hard as we would like. we need his vote in the senate to count towards breaking a filibuster. for that reason reid wont bring the hammer down

[Tempest]

24. You're right

We need to sit tight for two more years and then work hard to get him thrown out of office.

[Spiffarino]

30. Nope.

Lieberman must be punished. The Dems won't have a veto-proof majority and thus don't need Lieberman. They can reach across the aisle to him when legislation demands cooperation and, when it's politically dangerous for Lieberman to oppose the legislation, he will have to accede.

Kick him in the nutsack and be done with him.

[AnneD]

58. We were able to get GOP votes and things passed ...

without Leiberman. It is Barack's style to get consensus. Joe will be sent to the GOP card table with the other kids for Thanksgiving Dinner. The will be marginalized and effectively neutered

[BklnDem75]

73. What you fail to realize...

is on every important vote in the senate, lieberman sided with his new friends on pretty much all of it. Keeping him around will do nothing if he's against it. It would only give him more power than he deserves.

Don't forget this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/nyregion/02lieberman.html?ex=1301634000&en=c409706e3ff696da&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss


He's not someone we need. Even if the count was 59.

[Phred42]

18. Sometimes a Cancer has to be cut out -

[Horus45]

19. I hope Reid does not Wimp Out on this!!

LIEberman must go!

[no name no slogan]

20. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy

Don't think of it as goodbye so much as "Smell Ya Later, Joe".

/ my party-- get out of it.

[MO_Dem]

22. Perhaps

Pres. Obama could appoint Lieberman to an ambassadorship to some very remote place in the world? How would CT fill his Senate seat if that happened? :evilgrin:

[Nothing Without Hope]

25. He can't be trusted by ANYONE. Throw him out! We have work to do

and his ego can't be allowed to stand in its way.

K & R

[pattmarty]

27. Reid will make a deal with Lieberman, this will be the best of.......

.....both worlds. I don't think the Dems will reach the magic 60 number, so I believe Reid will let Lieberman keep at least 1 of his positions and probably both as LONG AS HE VOTES AS NEEDED on crucial votes. If this is the outcome, I would call it a "good" political compromise. I don't care at all for Lieberman, but the Dems will need his vote on certain things for passage.

[lonestarnot]

31. relegate that flying turd to latrine duty for the rest of his career!

[ladywnch]

36. I think Lieberman will come out and announce he is changing his party

I think he will announce he is now rethug.

good luck with winning CT again joe.

[droidamus2]

37. Personally...

I think as long as the Democrats keep licking Lieberman's feet because they 'need' him he will continue to be a pain in the ass. Rather than say we will let you keep your position if you stay in line tell him you are stripping him of those positions for now and if he works his way back into your good favor you will think about giving him some position in the future. I think Lieberman has the idea that due the fiasco in his last election and this so called position of 'needing' him he thinks he holds all the cards. I say make him ambassador to Israel, let the CT governor appoint a real Republican and then defeat him in the next election.

[ToolTex]

45. nah, make him ambassador to Bangladesh. a good muslim country.

[femrap]

38. I'd like to take lieberman's

gavel and stick it in his.....

[Kalifornia.Kid]

40. Off with his head - just behind the horns.

[ToolTex]

41. Get rid of him. Remember the Nuclear Option? Eliminate filibusters!

if the thugs can threaten it, so can we.

[Plucketeer]

42. Take that asshole's "D" away from him

and let him exercize his pitiful powers as the "I" he wore for his seat swindle. He's an insult to our party and an insult to his faith.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

43. This is when we find out if the leadership will grow a spine or not.

Personally, I'm a cynic.

[Javaman]

44. "Lieberman, who sides with Democrats on most issues except the war in Iraq"

um, what?

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

56. Lieberman, who stumped for McSame

and stated he fears for the nation if the Democrats gain a majority....

um, what?

[mreilly]

46. I want Robert DeNiro to be there

And tell Lieberman the following in that DeNiro style nobody else can duplicate:

"Let me tell you something, you fucking scumbag. Your days of running around behind the scenes suckin' dick for the GOP are OVER. You hear me? OVER. Who the fuck do you think you are, backstabbing the party that supported you and ran you for fuckin' VICE PRESIDENT in 2000? Why didn't you have the balls to be a man and join up with the Republicans straight out and bypass all this "I'm a Democrat - now I'm an Independent" bullshit. FUCK you. Now this shit has come back to haunt you. Here's what going to happen. All the extracurricular shit you're involved in - DONE. All the outside groups you have a part in - DONE. Any ounce of power you have outside your goddamn Senate seat - GONE. You can sit there, shut the fuck up, and vote with the Democrats for the rest of your term, or so fucking help me you won't be able to go to the can and take a fuckin' leak without begging for permission. You hear me? LOOK at me when I'm fuckin' talkin' you, prick!"

[Kali]

53. ...

:rofl:

[Goldfish]

54. Amen!

Loved your message!

[AnneD]

59. Sweet....

nice job of channeling DeNiro:spray:

[mcg]

61. !!!

[Liberalynn]

48. Lieberman should go snake the Congressional toilets

so he can become the real "Joe the Plumber"

[yardwork]

50. Send a message. Make the message clear.

I'm tired of watching the Republican National Convention every four years and seeing Democrats railing against my party!

Lieberman crossed the line. Strip him of all leadership and toss him out. Let him vote his conscience - whatever is left of it. He's a snake.

[9thkvius]

51. He just keeps digging that hole deeper

Some of his recent commentary to Glenn Beck makes me think that he has no future with the Democrats. The guy has made so many enemies in recent years it is just mind-boggling. I sincerely hope that the voters of Connecticut sent him out to pasture as soon as possible. If he manages to stick around in the Senate a while longer, expect him to switch parties soon, especially now that the Republicans desperately want to prevent the Democrats from getting that filibuster-proof majority.

[Kelvin Mace]

52. Reid will cave

in the spirit of "collegiality" and "bi-partisanship" and embrace this viper to his bosom.

I'd love to be wrong.

[Le Taz Hot]

55. I can see it now:

Reid: "Now, Joe. You were VERY BAD when you campaigned for McCain. We're going to have to punish you."

(thinking)

"Joe, we have no choice but to write you a strongly-worded letter!"

THE END

[2Design]

60. have to wait until jan 20 when new congress and majority is swore in

[tigereye]

62. hmm, but he usually votes with us...

that's a really hard one. I was so pissed that he spoke at the Rep Con. :grr:



I don't see how someone could run for VP for us one minute and then be speaking at the other party's convemtion!

[happygoluckytoyou]

63. SEND LIARMAN BACK TO THE GOP... he has worn out his Democrat welcome, we got nothing for him anymore

[BanTheGOP]

64. TOUCHY SUBJECT...

...considering that he is actually has one of the more LIBERAL voting records out there, other than his support for the Bush-inflicted terror war on Iraq.

Nonetheless, we are stuck with Lieberman for four more years. We have enough votes to pretty much give President Obama (please note, I will NEVER say just "Obama" anymore; everyone here should follow suit and give him the respect that the title actually deserves). However, it is a very real threat to consider about even that voting record.

I DO have a better solution. Offer him a cabinet (NOT Defense or State!), and let a REAL democrat be assigned by the Connecticut governor! Best of all worlds...not the optimum, but very doable, and it DOES get us another progressive senator.

[JM]

67. If it didn't look so much like

a reward for trashing the very person who would be appointing/nominating him, I would say it is a good idea.

[BanTheGOP]

68. (Lieberman) It's not about "looks"...

...it's about MOVEMENT. He has voted in many key financial issues that kept the repugs in check, insuring that the blame for the mess lay 100% on the republicans. Without such votes, much of the crap may have been attributed to some of the senators who won admittedly tight races.

BUT...in the new congress, he IS an impediment. We NOW have the progressive votes to ensure that President Obama will be able to get the needed legislation done to get rid of capitalism and ensure a smooth migration to the welcome arms of socialistic, people-oriented organizations.

So let's move on and get him his position outside of the realm of legislation. PLEASE UNDERSTAND, I in NO WAY ENDORSE his republican dark side involvement. And yes, he DOES need to be stripped of any involvement with committees. But we can at least acknowledge that his usefulness is now past, and we can part without too much rancor...UNLIKE the republican scum whom will ALWAYS be in my sights for indictment, and preferably, extradition to the world court for prosecution.

[TerribleLarryDingle]

65. Time for a spanking Liebershmuck

Every one get in line!

[JM]

66. IMHO, let JL twist in the wind at the bottom of the Dem

food chain.

It serves several purposes. Let him sit on some lowly committee for which he isn't even the chairman.

He will have no power whatsoever save his vote, which it looks like won't matter anyway. Think about it. The Repubs won't go obstructionist on anything but the most extreme after getting their asses handed to them in this election, unless of course they want to lose even more seats in the next midterm. His staff will shrink along with his perceived power. With it goes his ability to bring funding back to his constituents. He shrivels up and goes away.

In addition, President-Elect Obama has already set the tone. Last night, after an event that warranted a massive national and even worldwide party, he laid down the way we should behave. We accept our win, we don't gloat, and we set down to the business of making things right.

While I would love to see JoeMentum take his momentum right into the Potomac, I don't think it serves any purpose other than vindictiveness and spite. If we want to show that we are better than the Bush machine that espoused this approach, we shouldn't be practicing it ourselves.

Just because we can, doesn't mean we should.

I have been on this board since it's beginnings. I have seen a good deal of what is bad in our society, both from observing Washington and seeing our society's reaction over the past 8 years.

Last night I saw the good things we can accomplish. We have an opportunity to set things right. We have an opportunity to participate in the process in a way unlike any of us has been able to for decades. We have an opportunity to help chart our own course in such a way as we may be able to see an end to our collective sleepless nights.

Why spoil it over some twit who thinks he has more mojo than he really has? We are much, much better than that.

[panzerfaust]

69. What to say? How about Adiós MF?

After supporting McSame, he should go across the aisle and claim his reward there.

[clear eye]

70. Let's flood Reid's email w/ calls to remove JL's chairs

and it wouldn't hurt to send one out to the DNC while we're at it.

Added on edit: He can work w/ us, but he'll have to start back at the bottom. As an unsympathetic Independent he doesn't rate any party perks. A turncoat Dem can still have a claim on those, but his party threw him out in his last primary. Gifts should only be given to the most closely allied independents.

Doubt the Repubes will give him a better offer. Odds are he planned on retiring at the end of his term anyhow.

[Raine]

71. The dirty traitor

needs to be thrown out and left hanging on his own. I doubt the rePUKEs want him either...he sure didn't help McSAME in any way.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

72. I'd bet he'd have been fine if we had won 59 seats.

I thought everybody was trying to get along. Let's run him off and make him caucus with the republicans, that sounds like a great idea.

David

[Joe Bacon]

75. Bye, LIEberman

Strip that traitor of his chairmanship and all committee assignments. Cast him off in limbo. That asshole deserves it!

[Bobcat]

76. Joe L

Pound sand up his ass and say good-bye!!

[Fire1]

77. Lieberman is a 'sell out' and an opportunist.........KICK HIM OUT!!

That's a man that CANNOT be trusted. KICK HIS AZZ OUT!!! The snake.

[RCinBrooklyn]

78. He's an "independent". Let's give him his independence (and a boot in the ass).