So reports Kagro X over at dKos.
Post what you read or hear in comments.
EDIT: The Hill reports the vote was 42-13.
UPDATE 2:From Steve Benen:
Second, let’s pause to appreciate just how smart Lieberman is. In this case, I don’t mean that as a compliment. It was inconceivable that if Obama won in a veritable landslide, while the Senate Democratic caucus grew by (at least) six seats, that Lieberman would not only get off scot-free, but would also be in a position to dictate to Democrats, without any leverage at all, which outcomes he found “unacceptable.” If someone had predicted this scenario to me a month ago, I could have found it ridiculous. And yet, here we are.
Josh Marshall had a post back in June explaining, even before some of Lieberman’s most outrageous conduct, that Lieberman was burning bridges that couldn’t be rebuilt. “My assumption is that after the November election, regardless of the outcome of the presidential campaign, Joe will be stripped of his chairmanship,” Josh said. I agreed wholeheartedly at the time. It was a no-brainer.
Except, it wasn’t. Lieberman knows Senate Democrats better than Democratic voters do. My friend Matt told me via email yesterday, “If Lieberman ends up keeping his gavel on Homeland Security, I think we need to stop for a moment and recognize him as the smartest politician in Washington. He will have correctly made a bet about the fortitude of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate and he will have been right, against all apparent odds.”
Exactly. This is a decision about long-term management, not partisanship.
UPDATE 3: Jane Hamsher at FDL says:
Asked what it would mean if Lieberman kept his chairmanship, one Senate Democratic aide said bluntly: “The left has been foiled again. They can rant and rage but they still do not put the fear into folks to actually change their votes. Their influence would be in question.”
I hope this puts to rest the notion that this is all some master stroke of kumbayah, of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.
This is about telling you that you mean nothing. That democracy is a nice word, but it should never threaten the entitlement of the most exclusive club in the world.
No matter what Joe Lieberman does, the people who are protecting him hate you much more than they hate him.
This is abit over the top, but does point out that this body is more conservative (and more navel-gazing) than folks give them credit for, and won’t be less so with their new additions. And does point out that all of the folks that helped to give them more control over that body than they’ve had for years are quite expendable.