Even after the grassroots booted Lieberman out of the Democratic Party in 2006, the Democratic Leadership still stood with Lieberman by withholding their support from the Democratic nominee, Ned Lamont:
The Lieberman people took delight early last week in telling a story of John Kerry’s rebuff by Senate Democratic leaders when he lobbied them to lend some aid to Democrat aristocrat Ned Lamont’s flagging campaign.
After [the 2006 election], the [Lieberman] retribution tour expects to move to the tony precincts of Capitol Hill. They’ll spend December checking their [revenge] list more than twice.
Two years later, the Lieberman Retribution Tour went into high gear during Obama's 2008 campaign:
Lieberman said progressive economic plans would bring about a depression: "Lieberman compared Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama’s economic plan to former president Herbert Hoover’s approach, which he said ‘turned a recession into a depression.’" [...]
Lieberman suggested that Obama could be a Marxist: When asked if Obama is "a Marxist as Bill Kristol says might be the case," Lieberman replied, "Well, you know, I must say that’s a good question." [...]
Well, that's what Obama gets for screwing Lieberman in 2006....except that Obama actually joined with the Democratic Leadership in supporting Lieberman's 2006 Senate bid against Lamont.
When the new Congress convened in 2009, the Democratic Leadership decided to ignore Lieberman's spiteful betrayal of their Party's Presidential nominee; they let Lieberman retain his gavel as the Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. After all, Chairman Joe had been doing a heck of a job:
Probe of White House response to Katrina dropped ([Chairman] Lieberman doesn't want 'a witch hunt')
Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman blasted the Bush administration last spring for failing to cooperate in the Senate's investigation of Hurricane Katrina. But now that he is in a key position to press the investigation, he is refusing to do so.
Spokeswoman Leslie Philips said Friday that Lieberman, the new chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, wouldn't issue subpoenas to the White House as he called for less than a year ago.
But now that Bush is no longer in the White House, Chairman Joe has changed his tune and
he has subpoenaed the Obama administration in the Fort Hood probe:
Two U.S. lawmakers subpoenaed the Obama administration on Monday for information sought in a congressional probe of last year's shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, that left 13 soldiers dead and an Army psychiatrist charged with murder.
Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, an independent, and Susan Collins, the panel's top Republican, took the action after the departments of Justice and Defense failed to provide the materials by Monday's deadline.
Hmmmm....I think the Reuters' correspondent is a little confused about who is really the panel's "top Republican". But I can't say I blame him for his confusion. After all: Harry Reid and Barack Obama have been completely clueless about Chairman Joe's thirst for revenge.
Isn't it ironic? Back in 2006, Barack Obama turned his back on the Democratic Party's nominee for the Senate. In return: Joe Lieberman has turned his back on the Democratic Party's nominee for the White House. Barack Obama and the Democratic Leadership have been reaping huge "dividends" for their embrace of someone they insist: "supports us on virtually everything except the war."
I just want to be clear: I think the Senate should use its Constitutionally mandated prerogative to act as a check against Executive. I just don't believe that is Chairman Joe's motivation for issuing these subpoenas.