"Say it ain’t so, Joe..."

UPDATED 6:00 PM 11/18/08

The news this morning says that the decision is in regarding Joe Lieberman, the former Democrat turned Independent who supported John McCain and campaigned against Barack Obama.

This sort of behavior was unlikely to be ignored by the Democrats...there was talk of booting Lieberman out of the Democratic caucus and stripping him of his chair of the Homeland Security committee. But today the word came down that the Democrats were going to be magnanimous and allow Lieberman to continue to caucus with them and to keep the chair of the Homeland Security committee, but he’ll lose his place on the Environment and Public Works committee.

Lieberman was able to achieve this only through the intervention of President-elect Obama, who surprisingly came out in support of Leiberman both staying with the party and staying at the helm of the Homeland Security committee. This soon after the election, Congress still has a sort of "Whatever Barack wants..." attitude, so his wishes were law with them.

(A thought that I didn't include in the original article, but should have: The Democrats are still imn persuit of that magic sixty seats. This would be impossible to acheive without Lieberman's seat on their side...and the Republicans have been openly courting him. As far as I know, he hasn't said that he'd definiterly bail on the party if he lost that chair, but it's certainly more likely. And notice that word "magic" ceaping into the article; what is this, Harry Potter and the Renegade Senator?)

It may seem like Lieberman has gotten away with a slap on the wrist...but think about it. The Homeland Security committee was important because of the emphasis George Bush put on homeland security, on using the very words "homeland security" to browbeat Congress and the public and bend them to his will. When the Democrats came into the majority in Congress a couple of years ago, the White House must have breathed a sigh of relief when Lieberman, who many considered Bush’s "tame Democrat," got that particular chair.

But even though we don’t actually live in a different world today, we look at it differently. In the incoming administration, the words "homeland security" aren’t likely to be uttered as some sort of magic phrase that will bring people to their knees in fright. The Homeland Security committee, while it will remain important, isn’t likely to be as important as it was under GWB.

The Environment and Public Works committee, now; that’s another kettle of mercury-tainted fish. The environment and the state of the nations' infrastructure were sadly ignored for most of the Bush administration as resources were sent to the Middle East. Under Barack Obama, these things are more likely to get the attention (and funding) they deserve.

It’s likely that in the new administration the Environment and Public Works committee will be as important as, if not more important than, the Homeland Security committee.

So Joe Lieberman has indeed been punished, and with public dissatisfaction regarding his performance on the rise back in his home state it’s unlikely that he’ll see reelection, with or without the Democratic party’s help. Which I doubt he’d get in any case. Lieberman was Al Gore’s vice-presidential candidate, and he still has a lot of friends in congress on both sides of the aisle, but I don’t think that all the king’s horses and all the king’s men can put his career back together again. I think this is just the beginning of Joe Lieberman’s marginalization.

The Blues Viking

The opinions here expressed are mine and if you don’t like them you can get your own damn blog.