Please enumerate PROs vs. CONs of letting Lieberman keep his committee chair.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

Sorry if this has been done, but I'm particularly interested in PRO.

PRO

-A possible critical vote for cloture on contentious issues like a major health care initiative. (The question is, wouldn't he vote in a way consistent with his ideas anyway even if he was a Republican?)

CON

-Makes the Democratic congressional contingent, and the party as a whole, appear weak. We don't need Nazi style party discipline but it seems as if there is basically NO discipline, the other end of the spectrum, and it looks bad. It appears there are little or no consequences for transgressions as serious as campaigning for the Republican ticket and speaking out against the Democratic nominee at the RNC and on national media. These are not small transgressions.

Please, those on the PRO side overall, please enumerate the arguments, or does the one pro I listed trump all?

[patricia92243]

1. 99% of people won't know anything about it, so will not know or care if the party "appears" weak.

100% of Americans will profit by us Democrats being sure we can get our programs through. Getting programs through make our party "appear" strong - and it will actually be strong.

IMHO