Joe Lieberman has left the Democratic party but he's still a "Democrat" in the Senate and has committee assignments from the Democratic party. He's counting on running as an "independent Democrat" by maintaining his link to the party in the Senate. This is his only shot at winning, and it must be taken away. Harry Reid must immediately strip Joe Lieberman of all his committee assignments, therby forcing him to become a Republican.
Let me put this simply: there is no downside to stripping Lieberman of his committee assignments. Lieberman has promised to remain a Democrat in the Senate if he wins, but why should anyone trust him? He's already left the party once, so why should we believe him when he says he won't leave the party again. A senator without committee assignments is useless. They can still vote in floor votes, but they cannot influence the debate at all. They would be unable to do anything for their state without sitting on any committees. In that form, Lieberman could never hope to be re-elected. The only option left to him would be to become a Republican to get back on committees. Once Lieberman became a Republican, he'd be toast back in Connecticut. As a pro-war, right wing Republican, he would have no hope of victory in his liberal home state.
Here's what will happen if Lieberman is not stripped of his committee assignments: it will show that while the party officially "has" to support Lamont, they wouldn't really mind Lieberman winning since he's still a Democrat in the Senate. If Lieberman wins, it will be with solid Republican and independent support, but also with significant Democratic support. So if his base is right wing, why should he remain in a party so hostile to him? Imagine this....
Democrats win a 51-49 Senate majority, but Lieberman wins as an independent. Harry Reid is getting ready to assume the position of Majority Leader when...Lieberman defects, keeping Republicans in charge. After the election, if Lieberman wins, Mitch McConnell will offer Lieberman the chairmanship of any committee he wants and also tell him that he has to keep the Democrats from gaining control because they've been "hijacked by left wing wackos" who are going to impeach Bush and surrender in Iraq and that Lieberman must keep them from getting power. Do you think Lieberman could say no to an argument like that? No, I don't either. Since he'd have defied the party once and survived, why not do it again.
If that happens, Harry Reid would look like a complete fool for giving Lieberman political cover to run as an independent by letting him keep his committee assignments. Now I'm sure Reid is worried that if he does this, Lieberman might win and stay Republican, and that could be the margin of control. But let me put it this way: if a pro-war Republican wins in Connecticut, we aren't going to win anywhere. There are no downsides to stripping Lieberman of his committee assignments, none at all. The balance of power will be 56-44, but only for 3 months until the election, after which Congress does nothing. We need to push Harry Reid to do this. This must be the next step.