Carper Changes His Mind?
From anonone and Think Progress: Carper thinks Lieberman ought to face some reprisals.
An interesting comment from Lieberman’s Whip Team, and since Carper isn’t going out on a limb by himself, I’d say that the prevailing thoughts on Lieberman are to take his committee from him.
To which I’d say, Smart Move.
(Thanks anonone!)
Tags: Tom Carper
I don’t believe it.
Don’t believe what? That Carper has changed his mind or that the Dems will remove Lieberman from his committee?
That Carper changed his mind AND said something so direct and unequivocal.
As I read that link I was rubbing my eyes and wondering if I was reading the Onion.
Hey, I remember when that picture was taken. It was down at the Riverfront by the Barclay/Juniper building.
If Lieberman’s lost Carper, he’s toast. I guarantee you he will lose that chairmanship now.
El Somnambulo thinks that Democrat of Convenience Carper is searching for a Third Way. The Daily Kos warns against allowing Loserman to keep his chairmanship while losing seniority on other committees, which is just the sort of thing Carper might float as an alternative.
I think that El-So is probably correct — Carper is looking for a Third Way. The Chairmanship really needs to be taken from him. And it wasn’t as though he was leading that committee anyway. Besides, all of those Senators who are up in 2010 ought to imagine Joe Lieberman coming to their states to campaign against them ala Norm Coleman.
El Somnambulo has come up with another scenario that would account for Carper’s seeming bold stand.
Both sides have been counting votes. If Carper knows that Leiberman is going down, it costs him nothing to hand him an anvil and seem to do the bidding of progressives for once.
The vote could gain him some undeserved brownie points from his strongest critics. In this case, El Somnambulo is happy if Tomasito does the right thing for the wrong reason. El Somnambulo hates Loserman!
If Lieberman really is boxed in, he may be cutting deals on who does end up heading Homeland Security. Carper comes to mind.
National Interest: When will Biden resign?
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/11/17/when_will_biden_resign_from_senate.html
I’ve long since given up on hoping for Tomasito to do the right thing for the right reason.
I agree with El Som’s second take. There is no third way. Carper would never have gone public without a clear sense that Loserman was getting the boot.
It would be fundamentally unlike Lieberman to cut a deal on behalf of his supporters. Lieberman only makes deals that help Lieberman.
Im going to very far out of character here and appear to support Lieberman.
Let me start with the disclaimer that I voted for, and volunteered for and supported Obama from the start. I don’t want a cookie, I just don’t what that questioned.
Having said that, it was Joe Leiberman’s right to support whoever he wanted. If he really felt like McCain was the best person for the job, he was right to … and here is where I get a little ill saying it… put country first.. (or at least what he saw as his country’s best interests) and not just follow his political party. Let us not forget that Hillary ALMOST said that McCain was better than Obama, and therefor she should get the nomination because she was better than McCain. Now, the speculation is that she will be brought into the administration for a top level position. I know that many people who post on this site seemed to feel the same way back in the late spring and early summer.
It would be bad to set a standard of punishing party members who show the slightest bit of disloyalty to the party.. kind of like the Bush administration insinuating that not supporting the war meant you hate the troops and don’t love America.
I have never been impressed with Leiberman… at all. But we praised Republicans who supported Obama. It’s a shame non of the ones in congress had the stones to really campaign for him. What would we be saying about them now. Either a turn-coat is a turn-coat, or an independent thinker is an independent thinker. Whats my solution? Well, I don’t really have one. I doubt Leiberman will actively try to undermine the Obama administration he still wants to get re-elected, and if this administration is as successful as it should be, the people Leiberman is REALLY supposed to be loyal to, those who voted for him, will either fire him as they fit, or allow him to keep his job.
a.,
I think Lieberman has the right to support whomever he wants for president. The issue is whether the Democratic party should allow him to keep his seat as the Chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. That is a decision for the Democratic caucus to make. There are plenty of Senators who don’t have committee chairs who did support the party’s nominee. No one is suggesting he has to leave the caucus, that’s up to Lieberman himself. Why should Lieberman get rewarded when there are better Democrats available?
Slightest bit of disloyalty? He backed the Dem opponent for President. He was at virtually every campaign stop, grinning that unctuous grin over McSame’s right shoulder. He even backed Coleman in Minnesota.
He has every right to free speech, but he has no right to expect that his actions will be overlooked or forgiven by his fellow senators. It’s not like he’s being thrown out of the Senate. He is having his chairmanship taken away. Unless, as usual, his Stockholm Syndrome colleagues capitulate.
Loserman is Zell Miller without the cornpone.
If there are in fact better democrats than they should absolutely get the job, but for that reason. Not because of who Leiberman voted for. I could really get off on a rant here about how I feel about party politics and our 2 party system, and interests of the party versus interests of the whole country….. this business with Leiberman has a lot to do with why I feel negatively about political parties in general. maybe thats another thread for another day.
Leiberman all but called Obama a socialist, terrorist and all that crap! He left the party years ago. Its time for him and Carper to admit they are DINO, democrats in name only. As for Hilary she shouldnt get Sec. of State either…her foreign policy is too far right wing. Nothing will get done in Iraq, Iran, Palestine/Israel, Pakistan/Afganistan with foreign policy all over the place. If Henry Kissinger is pushing for Hilary Obama should run like hell away from her.
“He is having his chairmanship taken away.”
Interestingly enough, it will be taken away by the Senate Dems the same way the House Dems will decide the chairmanship battle between Dingell and Waxman: via secret ballot.
And then, in early 2009, the same Dems will strip that right from the American worker.
Boo hoo. You lost.
-OR-
How else are we supposed to intimidate people into voting for unions?
In an Obama administration, his policy will be the agenda. I really dig this “team of rivals” ideas. everyone in the bush administration agreed with each other all the time, and look where that got us. They punished those who questioned them and began to think that because everyone around them agreed… they MUST be right all the time. I would hate to see the Democrats who for so long were kept quiet to go down that road of single minded group-think. Leiberman wants to keep his job, his constituents like Obama.. he needs to do what THEY want if he wants to get re-elected. He does, therefor we don’t need to worry about what he is going to do.
As for HIllary, I think she is a red herring. Either she wont be offered, or she wont accept. I actually think Biden would have made the best S.o.S but now I think Richardson is the next best choice. I want to see HIllary replace that wuss Harry Reid as Senate leader while she waits for her appointment to the Supreme Court.
And then, in early 2009, the same Dems will strip that right from the American worker.
Which is wingnut bullshit.
A federally sanctioned secret ballot won’t go away if that is what workers want. The current effort is to add back in card check for those workplaces who want them. And cardcheck makes it lots easier for management to conduct anti-union campaigns PLUS worker intimidation efforts.
And if the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace finds any of its bullshit in here as some kind of evidence — go to their website and look who sponsors it. Not a single real employee group. It is sorta like that crazy lobbying group that Exxon and others poured alot of money into to muddy the waters re: global warming. Lots of money spent for a whole lot of discredited data.
Roll Call apparently is reporting (I don’t have a subscription, so I can’t see the whole thing) that Lieberman may be on track to keep his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee but lose his Environment and Public Works subcommittee chairmanship.
Oy.
Such bullshit.
Perhaps Carper is willing to throw Lieberman overboard…because he would next in line for Homeland Security.
El Somnambulo says that Carper is NOT next in line. Apparently Sen. Akaka of Hawaii is. And El Somnambulo knows that Akaka spelled backwards is…