Lieberman Will Not Switch
Posted by
Kevin
Joe Lieberman will not switch parties, not now, and not until such a switch can benefit him enormously. As hilzoy demonstrates, the Senate Organizing Resolution gives the Dems control of the Senate — regardless of numbers — until th 11th Congress. That is, until 2008. So Lieberman switching would not hand control of the Senate to Republicans. All it would do is make Lieberman unimportant. right now, Lieberman gets his fac eon TV and his name written about reverently by the Broders of the world because he is a Republican who calls himself a Democrat. Under such circumstances, and considering the almost alerguc reaction to common sense and logic our national punditry seems to display on this issue, Lieberman’s support of Republican positions on all the important questiosn of the day makes him, not a Republican, but “bipartisan”. And that makes him “important” to the punditry. If Lieberman were to become a Republican in name as well as in fact, then he would just be another neo-conservative and the print accolades and TV invitations would come to an end.
Lieberman will not switch because switching means and end to the DC punditry treating him as if he was special.
Umm, the 11th congress ended in 1811.
Seriously, though, I’m not sure it’s quite fair to classify Lieberman as “a Republican.” I think Greenwald’s classification is more apt: he’s a neoconservative Democrat. He does, however, align with the Republicans on the war, which is by far the most important issue of the day, and dwarfs all the other issues where he still leans Democratic.
Comment 2/23/2007