A google search for Joe Lieberman showing results from the last week shows little interest in the precarious position of Connecticut's recalcitrant Dem turned Independent. With his poll numbers dropping and Democratic and Republican fury coming to a head in his home state, Lieberman has seen a reversal of fortune from a year ago when his popularity among his pro-Obama constituency confounded observers. For the past year, Lieberman has basked in the limelight provided to him by Democratic leadership eager to appear open to working with all willing participants. Can Joe survive the recent change in the political environment?
Lieberman no longer holds the precarious 60th vote for the Democrats. Will he feel increased pressure to toe the Democratic line, or (as expected) interpret the results of the Massachusetts special election as a repudiation of all Democratic ideas?
Lieberman's chokehold over the caucus has obviously been loosened because of Brown's election, but the real unknown is whether the Democrats will acknowledge that. For years Democrats have said that they absolutely needed Lieberman's vote; for 51 from '06-08 and 60 presently. Lieberman's vote is no longer necessary for any threshold, and no one believes that he is with Democrats on everything but foreign policy. Will congressional Democrats finally have the spine to punish Lieberman the next time he tries to play kingmaker?