Joe Lieberman were selected as VP?
I got thinking about this as a result of Sara's diary at The Last Hurrah:
Frankly, I am not interested in pre 2009 impeachment. I would like to see this country go through the legitimate process and elect a President by a reasonable margin, and have it held as legit. If Cheney has to go,(and I think he should resign given this verdict) the Democrats should insist on a time-server who is not running in the future. (and the Democrats can determine a replacement VP). Bob Dole maybe, someone like that. No one with political future. Another candidate would be John Warner -- which would add a Dem to the Senate. Warner is really of retirement age and minus two years as VP would be a nice swan song. Forcing Cheney out is the first matter, and it may require congress, lots of advocacy, of course the press -- but it has to be our sole and first priority --please no list of 60 things we need to do -- let's begin with the most obvious, and the one where Fitz may well have the goods.
OK this is wildly hypothetical--but bear with me. It is possible that enough Cheney slime will come to the surface, making his impeachment inevitable. In such a case, Joe Lieberman could line up enough support for the VP role, such as by switching parties to the G.O.P. He'd certainly wear the Cheney mantle well and would be all too adept at continuing Cheney-style manipulation to maintain the expanded powers of the VP office.
In this scenario, wouldn't Cheney's resignation be a clever strategy from the Republican standpoint? It could enable them to
- maintain control of the Executive branch
- maintain the expanded powers of the OVP
- avoid the embarrassment of Cheney's impeachment
- possibly regain GOP control of Senate
Would the CT governor Jodi Rell appoint a Republican replacement? Presumably she wouldn't appoint someone from Lieberman's pseudo-party?!
What are the possible Dem strategies to avoid such an outcome? I'd be delighted to have Cheney gone, but we have to play chess here. . . What are the implications, and how could we best position ourselves to avoid surprises?