Joe Lieberman has not ruled out switching from "I" caucusing with the Democrat's to an "R". "What issue could possibly prompt this?" I can hear you asking yourself. Well, none other than the war in Iraq, of course. You see, Joe is fully committed to supporting the troop surge and is concerned that the Democrats might not fully fund the war effort.
The bright side for Democrats is that he doesn't want to switch, or is at least saying as much. With the Democratic majority already on shaky ground with the Tim Johnson situation, Lieberman has become a player, dare I say the median voter, at least on Iraq. Sadly, the Democrats need him more than he needs the Democrats. Joe knows that as much as Harry Reid. My prognostication: Joe continues to caucus with the Democrats, at least through 2008. The Democrats will do enough to appease him and the Republicans won't offer him enough to switch. Not to mention the potential problem Lieberman faces in the 33% of Democrats in CT that voted for him in the general. Interesting, if not tricky and kind of scary situation.
This is a class blog for the students of POLSCI 426: Congressional Politics at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
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2 comments:
The tag line “Senate majority in Jeopardy?” gets attention, but it is misleading. Knowing that the title of the article is “Lieberman Says War Vote Could Prompt Party Switch,” the article does not extrapolate a possible Lieberman partisan change to any broad effects within the Senate. A recollection of the Senate composition reveals why:
69 Democrats
29 Republicans
2 Independents
Therefore, Lieberman would make a only small dent in the Democratic voting block if he were to become Republican. Even then, the one-seat increase in the Republican ranks would be at the expense of the Independents, leaving the Democrats with the same 69 Senate seats. The resultant 30 Republican votes would be unable to stop a unified Democratic vote, which at best would garner nine more votes than necessary to override a veto despite a unified Republican vote to sustain the veto.
Consequently, Lieberman is neither the median vote nor a veto pivot.
Before we read too much into titles I beleive this is an important article to be aware of. Liberman seems to be one of the few politicians, good or bad, that act on his own beleifs and morals, thoughts and personal platforms, before deciding what the part wants him to do. I think it is brave of him to run as an independent after losing the democratic primary and he is a prime example that candidates with strong convictions...who stick to their word, will prosper in the end.
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