Watching the news since the election, the theme of Joe Lieberman's betrayal is everywhere. Certainly "he must be punished" is a common theme. There's also talk of what that would mean strategically (Not tactically, John) for the Democrats.
One complaint I've seen is that punishing Lieberman would be bad for the Democrats because we'd be punishing one of our own for not "walking the party line".
Wait a second here! I disagree! You can't not walk the party line of a party that you're not a part of...
I am a Connecticut Democrat. I helped oust Joe Lieberman from our party in 2006. Supporting Ned Lamont is something I am very proud of.
As a CT Democrat, I have to take issue with the idea that Lieberman is still part of the Democratic party... part of the caucus in the Senate, perhaps...
...but we, the people of Connecticut, did not choose Joe Lieberman as our Democratic Senator. The Democrats of CT roundly rejected Joe Lieberman in the Democratic primary... and Joe chose to run as a non-Democrat.
So this isn't about party loyalty... a man without a party can't be punished for not walking in line with it.
No, what we're talking about is removing the free candy from the hand of a spoiled child. Joe Lieberman must be punished not because he didn't walk in lockstep with the party... he must be "punished" because he doesn't deserve the free power we're giving him.
As a CT Democrat, my rallying cry is Traitor Joe's Gotta Go. He is an embarrassment to my state... and we'll deal with him in time (as soon as we can, really)... but Traitor Joe is no Democrat.