Lieberman

I think they should strip him of everything but seniority and then leave caucusing up to him. Supposedly the Republicans are trying to get him to cross party lines but I wonder how they will feel if he does so then speaks against their social platforms. Lieberman needs to pay not just for the speech at the RNC but for the fact that he started parroting the Socialist/Marxist meme AND he said that Obama puts himself before the country. And I would hope that they would do it publically and not behind closed doors not only to punish him but to deter others from similar actions.

But cutting him off would likely mean that he'd choose not to run again. Were he forced to remain completely independent (no caucus), or caucus with the Republicans, he would almost certainly face an embarrassing defeat should he choose to run again.

His favorable/unfavorable numbers in CT are already in the toilet. I understand the value in allowing him to continue to caucus with the Democrats, but I would also love to force a retirement decision on him by not doing him any favors.

Joe was a traitor to his party long before the latest election season. It's a shame that practical considerations prevented him from getting his due months ago.

As I've noted in previous entries, I think the actual Senate Dems will be far more even-handed with Holy Joe than the bulk of the party.
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The simple fact of the matter is that they need every vote they can get for cloture. Unless/until the republicans relent, the tone coming from them is still recalcitrant and obstructionist. I hope and pray that they are more reasonable now with a 3-4 vote margin than they were when they had a 10 vote margin, but we'll see.
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Really, in these last two years of Lieberman's senate career, he should be considering his legacy--unless he does some drastic and impressive tap dancing he has a whelk's chance in a supernova of being re-elected.

What sgw said.
Who had the LBJ quote involving tent occupation yesterday? I'll let you bring it back out and get the credit.

Joe Lieberman should caucus with the 'Connecticut for Lieberman' party. He should also be stripped of his chairmanships. If Lieberman's new buddies, the republicans, want him to represent them on committees, that's their choice.
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If Lieberman wants to vote with the Democrats (that he stabbed in the back), he may.

sgwhite:
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The difficulty here is that Obama really means what he says. So I think he's inclined to be generous, just as Joe Klein is. Put another way, why would we want to "punish" Joe, but welcome McCain back into the Senate's good graces? That would be the victor's prerogative of course, but I don't think Obama's going to behave like a typical victor. He didn't Tuesday night, and to the extent he has a say, he won't with the legislative branch, either.
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This may hinge on how much Reid et al. agree with Obama though. I'd strip him of his chairmanship, let him retain seniority. The question about caucusing with Democrats is whether he'll be a mole who will blab to the Republicans. In the long run that may hurt relations between the parties. This is his last chance to redeem his political career; the citizens of Connecticut will be the ultimate enforcers.
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I'm thoroughly convinced that Obama has no intention of doing to the Republicans what Republicans have done to Democrats. And if he does not, he'll cement his popularity with the majority in this country.
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I decided early on that if I supported Obama I was going to have to give up my zeal for payback. Until that moment I'd been ravenous for a piece of Republican flesh.

G0d d4mn it to h3ll, Joe, when are there going to be consequences for people's actions? How can we expect any sort of accountability in our government when those who betray their constituents get a mere slap on the wrist and a stern warning?

Cliff - the consequences are that they don't get their agenda enacted. This is about governance.

My God, Joe, are you weakening? Are you gonna forgive McCain after all just because you feel sorry for him? If so, I'm disappointed.
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It's not vindictiveness to discover that someone who presented himself as honorable threw out his principles and reached for the gutter. McCain cannot be forgiven, if only because he has foisted Palin upon us. And Lieberman was right in the gutter with him.
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Sorry, not forgiven and not forgotten.

It is not being vindictive. It is simply a matter of rewarding the other able Democratic Senators who would do a better job than Joe in manning the Homeland Security Comm.

Remember -- this is the guy who backed off an investigation into Katrina at the Bush White House's insistence. It is a not insignificant post. And he has shown himself unfit for command.

And phidda - agreed. It's not vindictive to strip Lieberman of his chairmanship.

Kathy
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Obama also said he would talk to our enemies. But don't for a minute think that means he won't put his foot in their azzes! Joe Lieberman will have his commmittees stripped because those are priviledges not rights. They should go to someone in the party who is LOYAL to the party and not to somebody who would sell his soul just to try to get his friend elected. Bringing a new form of politics to Washington does not mean being a fool and letting someone who called you dangerous, a socialist, and someone who puts himself before his country continue to head up important committees. To me it would show a profound weakness in the Democratic party if they allowed Joe Lieberman who is not even a Democrat anymore continue to stay in his leadership roles. As someone else said if the Republicans want to make him a minority leader then let them do that. I wouldn't hold my breath though

McCain, Lieberman and Graham should caucus amongst themselves.

Lieberman left the Democratic party in order to stay in power. He then made a conscious to support the Republican candidate, demonize the Democratic candidate, and lobbied to be the Vice Presidental nominee for the Republicans. Those were his choices, and now he's trying to weasel out of the consequences. Of course he should lose seniority, and his chairmanship. Allowing him to continue to caucus with the Democrats is as much "grace" as he deserve.

OT - Hey, isn't it time to take McCain's picture down from the Swampland topline?

Klein, I thought you specifically said multiple times that you couldn't forgive John McCain? Now you'd give him the benefit of the doubt, and a honeymoon? Huh?

Forget Joe Lieberman. There are consequences to the stands we take. He wasn't being shy about what he was doing, he was being brazen, and participating in some of the worst smears. What is it teaching anyone if we pat Joe Lieberman on the back and say no hard feelings? How will he behave next time?

Thus begins the rapid descent back to "Joe Klein the Idiot"?

If Obama is plotting, with his new centrist friends, to throw those who brought him, under the bus, Klein's scalp is a cheap way to throw the Left a bone.

He should be booted out of the party for his treachery.

I said Klein but I meant Lieberman above.

Cliff - the consequences are that they don't get their agenda enacted. This is about governance.

The only parts of Obama's agenda that I really care about is that he reallocate tropps from Iraq to Afganistan, and get rid of the ideological baggage carriers in the executive branch. He doesn't need more than 51 cooperative Senators to accomplish that. The improvement in our government even if he accomplishes absolutely nothing in the Congress will be immeasurable.

And leaving Lieberman as the Homeland Security chair, directly related to the issues on which he broke from the Dems in the first place? NOT A CHANCE!

Kathy, I get what you're saying, but I honestly do feel that accountability will not be restored by letting people off easy.
"Not getting their agenda enacted" just means that they'll try harder next election - no evolution, just repetition.

Off with his fecking head.

Joe,

Interesting that you would even say that you could be capable of being non-partisan since you and the pundit rag you work for have not shown that in the last two years. Maybe you can now since your candidate is elected at least regain some of your intellectual honesty by reporting to the public about the new governance. People have been so critical of Bush but he has maintained much better numbers than the Democratic congress that dipped to single digits this summer. So maybe Obama is going to be the best president ever, however no one knows because he doesn't have any experience. Maybe he will be like Clinton and get a lot of credit for doing nothing.

That would really help him. Hopefully he is not tested like Joe Biden said because after seeing his hands off approach to the Georgia situation and then finally a week later coming to the same conclusion of Bush and McCain. I hope maybe this time he will leave his vacation to actually address the issue. During the economic crisis flashing the peace sign and call me if you need me type of leadership is not going to help our current situation.

So maybe you can now start to repair your reputation with the American public which 70 percent think you MSM guys have been in the tank for Obama. So how about surprise us all an actually act like an actual reporter.

judgementz
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Why not go to freerepublic where people who think like you go to congregate? Im sure that your tinfoil hat has to be getting a little rusty by now dont you think its about time you either took it off and joined those of us in the real world or double down on it and just stroll on over to the WingNuttery sites? I mean you are making yourself look like so much of a loser by continuing the same bullsh!t smears AFTER your guy already lost. What good is it doing you now? Seriously man there has to be something better you could be doing with your time.

I say let Lieberman chair the Committee on Getting Sandwiches for Everyone Else and Don't Forget the Mustard. If he wants to retain any support at home he'd be well advised not to vote against cloture, or with the R's on the merits of most issues; if he doesn't care, letting him keep his chairmanship won't do much for the majority anyway.