PrintAugust 14, 2008
Pelosi Threatens Lieberman
Joe Lieberman's days as a committee chairman are numbered.
The former Democrat now independent has been Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee while caucusing with the majority since his re-election in 2006. He also has seniority on the Armed Services and Small Business Committees which could put him in line for one of those chairmanships as well.
No longer. In a radio interview promoting her new book (that virtually no one is buying), House Speaker Nancy Pelsoi made it quite clear that once the Democrats expand their majority in the Senate, they will kick Lieberman out of the governmental affairs chair and take away his seniority:
Ed Lasky adds:
I suppose the Democratic Party is not a "big tent". Toe the company line as laid out by Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi or you may find yourself demoted. How about that free speech principle that Democrats are supposed to hold so deeply? Besides, why would Nancy Pelosi-Speaker of the House-feel compelled to comment on a Senator?
The former Democrat now independent has been Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee while caucusing with the majority since his re-election in 2006. He also has seniority on the Armed Services and Small Business Committees which could put him in line for one of those chairmanships as well.
No longer. In a radio interview promoting her new book (that virtually no one is buying), House Speaker Nancy Pelsoi made it quite clear that once the Democrats expand their majority in the Senate, they will kick Lieberman out of the governmental affairs chair and take away his seniority:
Pelosi said during the radio interview that Senate Democrats are in a tough spot -- they need Lieberman to maintain their 51-49 majority -- but that "it will be interesting to see what . . . the Democratic leadership in the Senate does [after the election] in terms of Joe Lieberman's chairmanship of his committee."
Ed Lasky adds:
I suppose the Democratic Party is not a "big tent". Toe the company line as laid out by Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi or you may find yourself demoted. How about that free speech principle that Democrats are supposed to hold so deeply? Besides, why would Nancy Pelosi-Speaker of the House-feel compelled to comment on a Senator?
Since the Democrats are expected to win a minimum of two seats and perhaps as many as 6 in the Senate, it appears that "Fighting Joe" will be humiliated by being kicked out of the Democratic caucus and stripped of his chairmanship.
Pelosi also played psychic in the interview, saying that a candidate like Obama comes around very rarely:
Here we have a leader for the future, really a great leader for the future and one that comes along only every now and then, and [Republicans] know it, so they have to undermine him. And one of their best weapons, of course, is someone who is considered by some to be a Democrat."
In a very real sense, she is correct. It is indeed rare for a charlatan so full of himself and without substance of any kind to be able to hoodwink the voters of a major party and get the nomination.
Pelosi should polish up her crystal ball.
