Decision ‘08

‘Neutered Lieberman’ Holds Court, Gets Standing ‘O’

One of the more laughable post-election assertions by either side came from our good buddy Kos:

Lieberman has been neutered. If he leaves the caucus for short-term gain, he loses all leverage and power and harms his long-term interests. Yet he doesn’t stay in the caucus as a Democrat, but as an independent. And in that capacity he can criticize the Democratic Party all he wants without it being a story of “Democrats versus Democrats”. He can flirt with Bush without it being a case of “bipartisanship”.

That’s aburd on the face of it…in fact, Lieberman is the single most powerful senator now. Why? Because if he chooses to throw his lot in with the Republicans, the Senate is at 50-50, with Cheney being the tie.

The Democrats in Washington are a hell of a lot smarter than Kos at realizing this basic fact:

Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, who bolted the Democratic party after losing a primary election this year to run as an independent, won a standing ovation at a closed meeting of all Senate Democrats Tuesday.

Lieberman was introduced by Democratic Leader Harry Reid who, according to Lieberman, told his colleagues that, “families go through crisis but we survived and I just want to welcome back Joe Lieberman.”

“It’s been a helluva year,” Lieberman told the group before imploring them to heed the lessons of the midterm election and “be willing to compromise” with Republicans.

Does that sounds like a neutered man, or a triumphant one?…

3 Responses to “‘Neutered Lieberman’ Holds Court, Gets Standing ‘O’”

1 Jo Says:
November 14th, 2006 at 7:47 pm
If he’s not smiling to himself in the mirror in the morning, he should be. The man has a big stick he can use at any time. Me thinks he has a long memory too.
2 Dennis Says:
November 15th, 2006 at 10:10 am
And in that capacity he can criticize the Democratic Party all he wants without it being a story of “Democrats versus Democrats”.

Does Kos really, in his heart of hearts, believe this? Will everyone in Washingtion forget he used to have a “D” after his name? Seems to me anytimes he comes up in the news, it’s not just a mild reminder of dissent within Democratic ranks, but a blazing recollection of the vitriol that blew up in the faces of the Kossacks.
3 Decision ‘08 » Blog Archive » Lieberman Bombshell? Says:
February 22nd, 2007 at 4:12 pm
[…] What this renewed focus on Lieberman and Iraq does show, however, is that the ridiculous assertions of Kos post-election (you can read here about how this self-styled ‘guru’ held that Lieberman had been ‘neutered’ (!) by the election) are stupider now than they were then (and they were pretty stupid then). The most powerful man in the Senate is Joe Lieberman, not Harry Reid, and we can thank our progressive friends and the Lamont campaign for that. […]