Tom Carper On Being Made a Fool of By Joe Lieberman

While he admits to having been duped, I don’t happen to believe that the letter below was actually written by Tom Carper.

Where are the threats to turn the IRS on me? Where are is the simmering violent psychopathy?

No promise to rip my head off and give it to his dog to use as a chew toy = no authentication that tom Carper ever even glanced at the boilplate below the fold.

December 22, 2008

Dear Mr. S:

Thank you for contacting me to share your belief that there should be significant consequences for the criticism that Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) directed at President-elect Barack Obama this year.

Senator Joe Lieberman’s repeated criticism of Senator Obama earlier this year was not just disappointing to me, it was hurtful. I was the first Senator to sign up to support Senator Lieberman’s candidacy for our party’s nomination for President in 2004 and served as general chairman for his campaign in Delaware, where he finished second on primary day, his highest finish in any state’s presidential primary that year. In addition, I strongly supported his reelection bid to the Senate in 2006, and was one of a half-dozen senators in our caucus who continued to support him after he lost the primary that year. When I first heard rumors that he might attend the other party’s convention, I urged him not to go. When he decided to attend, I urged him not to speak there. When he said that he had decided to speak, I urged him not to speak critically of Senator Obama. Ultimately, he chose not to heed my advice.

Along with a large majority of my colleagues in the caucus, I believed that there needed to be consequences for his comments. With the 42-13 vote in our November 18, 2008, caucus meeting, we ensured that there would be. As a result of the caucus’ resolution, which Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) wrote, Senator Lieberman has relinquished his seat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, where he was number two in seniority behind Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and chaired the subcommittee whose jurisdiction includes climate change and global warming.

In a spirit akin to atonement, though, Senator. Lieberman explained at some length on the 18th why he had spoken as he did and then went on to express regret before our caucus for his earlier criticism of Senator Obama. He made clear his belief that Senator Obama can go on to be the extraordinary leader that our nation needs at this challenging time in our history, and he expressed his gratitude for the belief that bygones should be bygones that President elect Obama expressed in a statement – a copy of which appears below – released several days prior to our caucus. In addition, Senator Lieberman also made clear – as he has in the past – that he will continue to vote overwhelmingly with our caucus on the issues before the Senate in the years to come.

Here is a copy of that statement from the Obama-Biden Transition Office:

We aren’t going to referee decisions about who should or should not be a committee chair. President-elect Obama looks forward to working with anyone to move the country forward. We’d be happy to have Sen. Lieberman caucus with the Democrats. We don’t hold any grudges.

I agree with President-elect Obama and with Senator John McCain (R-AZ) that our nation is in need of healing. The time has come for us to unite as one people again. We need to put the past behind us and face the future together.

With our caucus’ vote on November 18, my colleagues and I did just that. We concluded that if the President-elect can forgive, then so can we.

If he can move on, then so can we.

I stated after the conclusion of our caucus that I believed what needed to be said had been said, and what needed to be done had been done. The air has been cleared. We need to turn the page and get to work on the enormous challenges that our country faces.

I regret that you may not agree with the action that our caucus has taken. Having said that, I do appreciate your willingness to honestly share with me your views on what has been for many of my colleagues and me a difficult chapter in our lives in the Senate. I hope that you will continue to share your thoughts with me on other issues that come before us and are of interest to you and of importance to our nation.

With best personal regards, I am

Sincerely,

Tom Carper
United States Senator