More Lieberman...
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Dookie The Webmaster
3:17 PM
Lieberman Resists Giving Up Homeland Panel as GOP Recruits Him
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman wants to stay in the Democratic caucus, but not give up his plum chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee as some Democrats want, an aide said Friday.
In a closed-door meeting Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., asked the Democrat-turned-Independent to give up his gavel for "a lesser committee," according to a Lieberman aide.
Democratic leaders have been mulling a way to punish Lieberman for campaigning against President-elect Barack Obama on the campaign trail. Lieberman stumped for Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona instead.
Republicans meanwhile have publicly encouraged Lieberman to join their caucus, but it's unclear whether they have anything to offer that he might want.
Give 'em hell, Harry!
From Steve Benen of The Washington Monthly:
Let's cut the nonsense. Reid offered Lieberman a chance to stay in the Democratic caucus, keep his seniority, and become the chairman of some other committee. Lieberman thinks that's "unacceptable" and reportedly "begged" to stay on as chairman of Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Bayh thinks this is about "revenge or retribution." It's not. For that matter, it's only partly about holding Lieberman accountable for his betrayals. This is actually about a specific power Lieberman is intent on keeping for a specific reason.
This seems to be routinely overlooked, but take a moment to consider what the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs actually does: it's the committee principally responsible for oversight of the executive branch. It's an accountability committee, charged with investigating the conduct of the White House and the president's administration.
As chairman of this committee for the last two years, Lieberman decided not to pursue any accusations of wrongdoing against the Bush administration. Lieberman's House counterpart -- Rep. Henry Waxman's Oversight Committee -- was a vigilant watchdog, holding hearings, issuing subpoenas, and launching multiple investigations. Lieberman preferred to let his committee do no real work at all. It was arguably the most pathetic display of this Congress.
And yet, now Lieberman acts as if keeping this chairmanship is the single most important part of his public life. Why would he be so desperate to keep the gavel of a committee he hasn't used? I'll let you in on a secret: he wants to start using the power of this committee against Obama.
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