Legal Commentary

Whither Lieberman?

By Big Tent Democrat

The plot thickens:

Bolstered by a newly expanded majority, Harry Reid met with Joe Lieberman on Thursday to sketch out the conditions by which the Connecticut independent could continue to caucus with Senate Democrats. But Lieberman did not accept Reid's initial offers, leaving his future in the caucus uncertain, and potentially setting off a campaign to pressure the Democratic steering committee to decide Lieberman's fate.

(Emhais supplied.) Apparently Reid asked him to relinquish his committee chairmanship:

Reid offered Lieberman a deal to step down as chairman of the homeland security committee but take over the reins of another subcommittee, likely overseeing economic or small business issues officials said.

What next? Lieberman begging and pleading I suspect:

Immediately after his meeting with Reid, Lieberman told reporters that he had not made a decision about his future in the caucus, and appeared to launch his first public appeal to members of the Democratic steering committee, whose members decide committee chair assignments. "I completely agree with President-elect Obama that we must now unite to get our economy going again and to keep the American people safe. That is exactly what I intend to do with my colleagues here in the Senate in support of our new president, and those are the standards I will use in considering the options that I have before me," Lieberman told reporters.

What a weaselly sh*t Lieberman is. That said, I still think the deal should be that Lieberman must never join a GOP filibuster. I would let him keep a committee if he agreed to that.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on November 06, 2008 (boomark / email).