PrintNovember 8, 2008
Will Joe Lieberman Caucus with the GOP?
Be careful what you wish for. Lieberman is very liberal on social policy, likes Big Labor, and would be unreliable on judges.
But McConnell is reaching out to him nonetheless:
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has reached out to Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) about the prospect of joining the Republican Conference, but Lieberman is still bargaining with Democratic leaders to keep his chairmanship, according to Senate aides in both parties.
“They’ve been talking,” McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said.
A Lieberman aide cautioned that “Sen. Lieberman’s preference is to stay in the caucus, but he’s going to keep all his options open. McConnell has reached out to him, and at this stage, his position is he wants to remain in the caucus but losing the chairmanship is unacceptable.”
A Republican Senate aide said Friday morning that there was little McConnell could offer in terms of high-ranking committee slots, which is why Lieberman is resisting overtures from the Republican side.
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Lieberman met Thursday, yet Reid is waffling over whether to revoke Lieberman’s chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee and may instead hold a secret vote among Democratic members on whether to kick Lieberman out of the caucus.
Senate aides from both parties caution that Lieberman’s state is still truly up in the air and Reid could still craft a scenario where Lieberman keeps his chairmanship.
McConnell is doing the right thing but I suspect in the end, the Dems and Lieberman will not part ways. Better to be a high ranking Committee member in the majority than a low ranking Committee member in the minority. And outside of foreign and defense policy, Lieberman is just not a good fit.
I think Reid is playing to the crowd, i.e., the netroots. They've been livid with Lieberman for his support of Bush's Iraq and Iran policy. And Lieberman has a lot of very powerful friends in the Senate and they show no sign of abandoning him - yet.
Lieberman will add nothing to the Republican party and is probably personally better off as a Democrat - even if he has to give up his Homeland Security Committee chairmanship.
