Originally Posted By alexbook Suppose for the sake of argument that Webb wins in Virginia. Assume Sanders votes with the Dems as he has in the House. If Lieberman votes with the Dems, they have a margin of 51-49. If Lieberman abstains, the Dems have a margin of 50-49. If Lieberman votes with the Reps, there's a 50-50 tie, with Cheney casting the tie-breaking vote in favor of the Reps. I know Lieberman's said he would vote with the Dems, but a lot of Democratic leaders have had some nasty things to say about him in recent months. I really don't know that much about Joe Lieberman. Is he somebody who holds a grudge?
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Well, his family members have said he won't vote Republican. But, the Democrats left him out in the cold. He might be the biggest winner to come out of yesterday.
Originally Posted By DlandJB Veery interesting thought. Lieberman will need to be courted though. They kind of owe him one...or two...
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom This is a very intresting topic. Sean Hannity interviewed Lieberman today. Lieberman said that his relationship has changed with some Democrats. Lieberman also said how many Republican "friends" ( and he named them on the show ) helped with his successful campaign as an Independent. So who knows. The Democrats certainly didn't help him get reelected. He won't find too many friend in those ranks.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Lieberman should continue to be his own man and not be a rubber stamp for any party - that helped him get back into office after his own party stuck it to him. He is a democrat on most social issues and no one should be surprised to see him vote with them the majority of the time....but when he disagrees, vote his conscious - and if that ticks off a few of the good ol boys who tried to screw him over..too bad
Originally Posted By DlandJB Well, it sounds like the Democrats have the Senate without him, and yet they can probably count on him voting along their party lines too...so they probably won't come courting anytime soon.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 question being, all of the frosh moderate dems ( pro life / pro guns/ etc) that won yesterday, are they going to vote party line on everything ? I am hoping Rob Emmmanuel got more moderate main stream dems to run in some of those races for the long run, not just to get back the seats short term. Again we'll see, but hopefully yesterday may be the start of less partisan politics across the board...many ( not all ) of the GOP that lost were straight party people...
Originally Posted By mrichmondj If Senator Lieberman wants to have any leadership position in the new Senate, he'll cozy up with the Dems pretty darn fast and let bygones be bygones. As an independent, he will have no inherent right to chair any committees unless the Dems invite him to do so.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 lots of those ' leadership' roles are already spoken for. In Chicago - we already had Jesse Jackson Jr and Luis Gutierrez announce they will not challenge Mayor Daley next year because they are in line for 'big jobs' with the new ruling party. With Rob Emmanuel from here as well as Obama, plenty already promised and we are one state. I do not believe Lieberman will be offered any important leadership role..
Originally Posted By mrichmondj Lieberman is already the ranking member of a number of committees in the Senate. If he plays nicely with the Dems, he will be offered a chairmanship on one of them.
Originally Posted By JohnS1 I would love to see independently minded dems and republicans join together and form a third independent party, something I think a lot of Americans would welcome. Nobody who I know, really loves either major party, but feels their votes are wasted on third party candidates. If a number of well-known and respected individuals such as Lieberman came together, a third party might finally stand a chance. My dream ticket for the 2008 race would be McCain and Lieberman - and I wouldn't care who was Pres and who was VP.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom I don't think he should switch partys. I don't expect him to get any chairmanships or "crumbs" from the Democrats. Publically Leiberman is going to appear nicey nicey to the Democrats. But quite frankly the Democrats burned that bridge all too throughly. They are definately NOT his friends or allys.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper If Lieberman wants to make one more run for the Whitehouse it might be in his best interest to flaunt his independence...and not run from it.
Originally Posted By jonvn "are they going to vote party line on everything" That is not what is important. What is important are the committee chairmanships and the ability to control what comes to the house floor. "If Lieberman wants to make one more run for the Whitehouse" He would never win. He's a Jew.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Hmm...dare I respond to that. Ok, I'll dare. There was a time in our history when folks said a Catholic would not be President...enter JFK. Oh, and we had a Jehovah's Witness President too, don't ya know? Dwight D Eisenhower
Originally Posted By jonvn There are a lot more Catholics than Jews, and Catholics at least are Christians. So are Jehovah's Witnesses, although I'd never vote for someone in a whacko cult. People hate Jews. They are too many who feel that way to ever get someone elected President.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper So, you are saying religion and faith are important in American politics?
Originally Posted By jonvn No. Bigotry is. Take one look at what Mel Gibson had to say about Jews when he had a couple of drinks in him. That's how people feel. They're not going to vote for a Jew.
Originally Posted By jonvn How A LOT of people feel, rather. Not everyone feels that way. Enough though.
