(From the diaries. Assuming this is confirmed, Leahy would be the first Senate Democrat to publicly announce his opposition to Lieberman's retention of his committee chairmanship -- kos)
Senator Patrick Leahy has just finished (12.45 EST) a call in show ('Vermont Edition") on Vermont Public Radio. (Diary now updated with transcribed quotes.)
In response to a caller ("Bill from Ripton") who raised the question of Joe Lieberman's status, Senator Leahy clearly stated his opposition to Lieberman retaining his chairmanship.
Money quote #1: "I’m one who does not feel somebody should be rewarded with a major chairmanship after doing what he did.."
Money quote #2: But I felt that some of the attacks that he was involved in against Senator Obama .... I thought they went way beyond the pale, that they were not fair, that they were not legitimate, that they perpetuated some of these horrible myths that were run about Senator Obama
Money quote #3: I would feel that had I done something similar that I would not be Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in the next Congress
Leahy's comments where emphatically clear that Lieberman's behaviour during the campaign were unacceptable, that there must be consequences for his actions, and that he should be removed from the chairmanship.
Senator Leahy answered the caller's question by describing the process in the Democratic caucus for choosing committee and subcommittee chairs, went into quite a bit of detail in discussing why Lieberman's campaign comments went beyond acceptable limits, and noted that "If I had done something like that, I wouldn't expect to be re-elected to my position on the Judiciary Committee or any major committee chairmanship like that" (approximate quote... sorry for any paraphrasing).
While I've assumed that Leahy would come down on this side of the issue, I hadn't heard a public statement from him (or other Senator) quite so clear on the matter.
The audio archive of the program will is now available on the VPR website:
Vermont Public Radio "Vermont Edition" Leahy
In addition to the comments on Lieberman, Leahy also weighed in on issues about the Bush administration's abuse of power, enforcement of subpoenas, environmental issues, Gitmo, the Obama presidency, and a variety of other national and Vermont issues. It will be worth a listen when it is available on-line.
Once more, Vermonters have a reason to be proud that Leahy is our Senator.