kos: Lieberman will not caucus with Democrats

[longship]

This is big news. I'll let kos speak for this, himself. He cites an internal Lieberman memo obtained by the AP. Is AP going to drop this bomb? Or, is this something the Blogospherians have to do.

Lieberman is in it for himself. He'll caucus with whoever can offer him the best deal. He hasn't had any loyalties to the Democratic Party in a long time, and nothing has changed.

Concerns about the senator's return were evident in an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press.

"We should discuss his schedule when he's in DC and whether it makes sense to go to Caucus events, etc. or not," wrote a senior Lieberman aide to several other top staffers.

Party leaders who try to play nice with him are being played for suckers. Lieberman already turned back on promises to stick with the Democratic Party in return for their support in the primary, and there's nothing he could say that he wouldn't toss by the wayside if it wasn't in his interest.

That's "integrity" Lieberman-style at play.

So, here we go. And there goes Joe.

Link here

[Erika]

1. So what is new?

Lieberman is a true disappointment.

[longship]

3. What is new is that the AP has a memo.

This is huge news if this is true and it gets out.

[MaryRN]

2. Good news for us for sure in terms of having more evidence of his treason

but I hope Harry Reid can put on his alleged boxing gloves and deal with it.

[femrap]

31. I just sent Harry Reid an email asking him to

stand up and be a Democrat! IMHO, Ned Lamont is Jimmy Stewart in 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.' He's the best thing I've seen come along for the Dems in a damn long time.

I asked Reid...."Don't you know a good thing when you see it?"

Lieberman hasn't been a Democrat for a very long time.....!

Please join me and write Reid and if you got time, write Schumer as well.

Thx.

[Crunchy Frog]

4. So who didn't see that coming?

This kind of sums up the whole problem with our party, party leaders trying to play nice and being played for suckers. Are they ever going to learn?:(

[Tesha]

20. The big guns at the DLC.

> So who didn't see that coming?

The big guns at the DLC such as Al From.

The alternative theory, of course, and the one I actually
subscribe to is that the DLC *ARE NOT DEMOCRATS*, they are
corporatists and they understood (and understand) completely
what principles Lieberman stood for/stands for and they agree
with those "principles".

Tesha

[FighttheFuture]

44. That alternative theory seems pretty on target!!

[sipsake]

5. I know there was talk

Any chance that Reid will strip LIEberman of his committee appointments before the election?

[longship]

6. I've heard that this isn't possible.

There's some issues with this. It might mean a rule change, which would involve the Repukes. I'm no expert on this, but it's something which was reported somewhere around here.

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. Why not?

Lieberman is no longer a DEM.

Didn't they pull Jeffers off of all his committees when he switched to IND?

[immoderate]

18. Committee assignments have to be approved by the whole Senate.

--IMM

[izzie]

7. I am not shocked. This is about Joe's ego

One is best not to stand between a man and what he thinks he is. He would make a good pal to Bush it seems. Two men who are right and you better believe it.

[Richard Steele]

19. "Two men who are right and you better believe it."

[Skidmore]

8. Let us hope that CT will not return him to DC to caucus with

anyone. Message should be that Lieberman cannot be counted on to represent the people, only himself.

[w4rma]

10. This means no chance for a majority in the Senate if LIE wins the general.

He won't be voting for Sen. Reid as Senate Majority Leader. LIE will be voting for Sen. Frist for Senate Majority Leader.

[longship]

11. Um. Frist isn't running for his seat.

Whoever is Republican leader in January, it won't be Frist because he's goin' back to doctorin'.

[w4rma]

12. That's right. Frist's replacement. Majority Whip Sen. McConnell, maybe.

It'll be fun. :sarcasm: The headlines from the AP, Reuters, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News:

LIEberman says McConnell is a "good man whom I can vote for"
Republican Party succeeds in retaining control of the Senate for 2 more years.
President* Bush's power remains unchecked.
LIEberamn presses Bush to expand the Iraq War.
LIEberman says Democratic Party isn't the Party it used to be and is "weak against terrorists".

LIE *must* be defeated. Now.

[Ignacio Upton]

27. ...Then runnin' for President

nt

[burythehatchet]

24. This is precisely how the Repigs have been playing this

[Kolesar]

13. The last Dem pushed out of the caucus was Rep Jim Traficant of Youngstown

The Mahoning Valley turncoat voted for Hastert as Speaker of the House, so Gephardt threw him out of the caucus in January. Traficant had zero committee assignments.

Note: the WaPo article does not say that JoeLie is leaving the Dem caucus. Markos still needs a reference for that.

[w4rma]

14. "… whether it makes sense to go to Caucus events, etc. *or not* …"

Don't be a sucker.

[Kolesar]

16. Still kind of tangential

and don't call me names

[w4rma]

17. Sorry, this is all you get in detective work like this. (nt)

[wicket]

23. Good memory!!!

I had forgotten about that.

:popcorn:

[Ignacio Upton]

28. Ah, Jim Traficant, the corrupt DINO!

[KamaAina]

37. And all this time I thought it was a rug

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[NewJeffCT]

15. Interesting

Kos has generally been ahead of the curve on Lieberman... so, I'm not surprised. But, I don't think it's certifiable evidence that he is not going to caucus with the Dems.

[JerseygirlCT]

21. I knew it. He's going to sell himself to the highest bidder

I wish I were surprised by this.

[patricia92243]

22. I assume Lamont will let all CT Democrats know this - loud and clear, n/t

[lyonn]

39. Yeah, that's what I like about that guy

Not afraid to tell it like it is. If only we a a bunch more like him running.

[corkhead]

25. Repukes won't want him as soon as he is their's. He's a LIBRUL!!!

[Jacobin]

26. Aw, so when he goes on Faux News to bash Dems,

he'll be an independent. Makes me sad.

And now he can't spy on democrats by being in their caucuses. Aw.

:cry:

[Nederland]

29. This reminds me

of the story that Lieberman was going to run as a Republican. The source was some "unnamed" person in the Lieberman campaign and never checked out. If the AP releases it, then obviously there is some truth to it. Until then, it's just another unconfirmed story released by a blogger desperate to get ahead of the story.

[Botany]

30. Call Harry Reid and ask that he gets booted from committees too.

Washington
528 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: [phone] / Fax: [phone]

Ask to speak to a staff member and tell them if Joe is running as a dem,
talking w/ Rove on the phone, and helping republicans .... Joe can get
his ass the hell of any committees as a dem.

[Pierogi_Pincher]

33. Just made a call...

Staff said Sen. Reid will make decision re: Dem caucus issue after the GE. Can't do anything before.
Told me many are vocal re: what LIEberman is doing.

P_P :dem:

[n2doc]

32. What does it take? What does it Freakin' TAKE?!?!

Sometimes it is really, really hard to support the Democratic Leadership in this country. Does ANYONE believe that a Republican Senator could get away with this and still maintain his senority and comittee seats? Maybe they will still offer them to him when he officially accepts a position in the Republican party, as well!!!

[FighttheFuture]

49. Getting rid of assholes who don't act as Dems, like CT did to Joey!!

[longship]

34. The AP Wire Story.

Here's AP's story on this. Clearly, they are playing down the memo. Mention doesn't occur until the middle of the article. The title says nothing about it.

AP: Lieberman, Lamont Head to Washington

[SteppingRazor]

35. I agree he's in it for himself -- which is why he'll caucus with Dems...

to do otherwise would be political suicide, and Lieberman isn't planning on retireing in 2012, I imagine

[FighttheFuture]

45. That presupposes that the Dems would actually win....

for Joe does what is only good for Joe. He'll caucus whichever way the wind is blowing, but his inclination is Rethuglican so expect some caucusing there at first, regardless of how things look for them.

[onenote]

36. over the top mischaracterization of the memo

Frankly, I hope (and believe) that this will be moot because Lamont will win the election in November. But the alleged smoking gun memo does not indicate that Lieberman will not caucus with the Democrats if he is re-elected. It raises the question of whether he should be attending caucus events during the remainder of the congressional session. Again, I hope it doesn't come to this, but should Lieberman get re-elected, I think you can count on him caucusing with the Democrats, not the repubs. If I'm wrong, I'll kick in $15 to DU.

[FighttheFuture]

46. You would be foolish to "count on him" for anything!

Get your $15 ready.

Sure, Joey "its all mine" Lieberman will caucus with the Dem's on a few things, and the Presstitutes will play it up big on how he's still a dem, so you can all go back to sleep now. Yet, I am 100% sure that when it comes to something critical, like it was with Alito, or Bankruptcy, or CAFTA, Joey's nose and tongue will be deep up Bush and the Rethuglican's assholes! He is, after all, nothing but a fundi whore.

[mkb]

38. Containing Recklessness Or Concerning Obedient Dog

     I think my friends should learn what I think are the
fundamentals here.  That probably is not to put too much faith
in politicians, even though they are the ones that make the
ultimate decisions over societal functions.
     We are reminded about "driving drunk", and
therefore should be careful when attending to those
"societal functions".
     I will not expect too much from Lieberman in this regard,
and on the good side, people all over are learning from his
actions.
     I expect things to go back and forth, and hopefully my
friends, wherever they may be, will not get too excited about
sudden improvement.  Hope for the best, but don't ruin
stability by expecting too much.  I think I'm on the right
track here.  New discoveries about Pluto, I hope are good.

[Canuckistanian]

40. NOW can he be stripped of committee memberships?

Or are still some lingering hallucinations that Joe will ever come back to the party?

[KitSileya]

43. Unfortunately, committee memberships are handed out in a joint

agreement with the Repukes - apparently they make a resolution that is ok'ed unanimously. This means that for Reid to strip Lieberman of committee memberships *now*, he'd have to get the Repukes to agree to it - not very likely. It'll soonest happen in January, but hopefully it'll be a moot point, as Connecticut won't send him back to the Senate for a new term.

I'm no fan of the DLC, but in this instance, let's not berate Reid for not doing something he simply has no way of doing.

[FighttheFuture]

47. I believe Reid can strip him, that's for approvals, not for removals,

which are party controlled. If I'm wrong, please prove it!

[murpheeslaw]

41. Slightly off topic and very shallow . . .

Does anyone else think he looks like Emperor Palpatine? (Star Wars geekyness REALLY hanging out.)

[FighttheFuture]

48. I've thought this for years. Also, the Dad from Alf. Nothing shallow

about identifying evil via iconic images. Quite appropriate, really.

[UTUSN]

42. This needs a K n/t