Anger and revenge aside, is Lieberman really the best fit for chairing an anti-terrorism committee?

[Telly Savalas]

The guy has spent the last 7 years defending Bush's trainwreck of a foreign policy and anti-terrorism strategy.

I can appreciate the Senate Democratic caucus's desire to bury the hatchet and move forward, but couldn't they at least put the Joementum on a committee which oversees something he has rational opinions on?

[Donald Ian Rankin]

1. He's clearly not the best man for the job, but giving it to him was probably the right decision.

It's a quid pro quo, plain and simple: "vote for us consistently, or you lose this".

It would be nice if politics didn't work like that, but until it doesn't, acting as though it doesn't would be foolish.

[Telly Savalas]

4. A couple of issues with that:

-How many times will his vote really make the difference? Even if his membership in the caucus brings us to the Magic 60 number, on any given cloture vote there's going to be a number of Blue Dog Democrats who would consider siding with the GOP to appease their more conservative constituency. So it's not clear that the benefits of this decision would be enough to outweigh the costs.

-Given the fact that he still holds the committee chair despite repeated acts of disloyalty to the party, wouldn't he be prone to dismiss the message "vote for us, or else" as a bluff?

I don't want to seem combative, because I respect the fact that you're voicing an unpopular opinion around here.

[submerged99]

7. if he can be stripped at a moment's notice

If he can be stripped at any point, then I would tend to agree with your assessment.

[Lasher]

8. But he can't be stripped.

Committee chairs are carved in granite for two years.

[valerief]

2. I can't think of anyone who can BORE terrorists to death better than Lieberman.

I'll bet the new interrogation techniques, instead of Bushian torture, will be Lieberman asking the same questions over and over to the terrorists. They're bound to beg for mercy!

[Skittles]

3. hell fucking no

:puke:

[submerged99]

5. Can he be stripped at any point?

Can Lieberman be stripped at any point or is that position for a certain duration of time?

[Lasher]

9. No, he can't be stripped at any point.

It takes a Senate resolution to change a chairmanship, and that resolution could be subject to a filibuster.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/14/bayhs-defense-of-lieberma_n_143863.html

[EFerrari]

6. No, but stfu! You're distracting from the leftiest revenge meme!

[Solly Mack]

10. No.