About all that Lieberman talk...

When I brought up Joe Lieberman's Backstab o' the Day earlier today, it generated all the usual questions: Why can't we just kick Lieberman out of the Democratic Caucus, and/or strip him of his committee chairmanship?

And the usual questions garnered the usual responses: That Lieberman would switch parties, and that would make Harry Reid the Minority Leader, handing control of the chamber over to the Republicans.

But because this comes up so often, I thought it'd be worth pointing out that the way the Senate organizes itself isn't quite so simple as all that. This subject first came up when Tim Johnson first fell ill, and the answer in that case applies here as well. The Senate, at the start of a new Congress, adopts "organizing resolutions" which are pretty much just what they sound like. They set partisan ratios on the committees, assign chairmanships, etc. And in some rare cases (as when the Senate is evenly divided or anticipates possible changes in control), these resolutions can provide for an orderly transfer of control in the event of a change in the partisan composition of the Senate.

That was the case in the 107th Congress (2001-02), so that when then-Republican Jim Jeffords of Vermont left the GOP, the Senate became evenly divided, and a provision incorporated into the organizing resolution for the 107th kicked in, requiring a power sharing arrangement.

No such clauses exist in the organizing resolutions for the 110th (current) Congress. For that reason, it would be no simple matter for Republicans to take control of the chamber if Lieberman were to officially become a Republican, since the organizing resolutions would still be in effect. In order to change the way the Senate was organized, they'd have to pass a new resolution to supersede the old one, and while they'd have a numerical majority with Lieberman on their side, remember what we're constantly being told: it takes 60 votes to do anything in the Senate.

Yes, the organizing resolutions can be filibustered. Which is why there was so much concern around the time of Senator Johnson's illness. The worry was that the Republicans could filibuster the 110th Congress' organizing resolution, and that because the Senate is a "continuing body" (renewing only 1/3 of the chamber with each election, unlike the House, which renews itself entirely every two years), the organizing resolution of the 109th Congress would presumably still be effective.

Why that didn't happen is a subject unto itself (you can read about it here), but for today's purposes, what matters is that it didn't, and a new set of organizing resolutions were adopted on January 12th: S. Res. 27 and S. Res. 28.

A quick look at the language will show you what the problem is with stripping Lieberman of his chairmanship:

110th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. RES. 27

To constitute the majority party's membership on certain committees for the One Hundred Tenth Congress, or until their successors are chosen.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

January 12, 2007

Mr. REID submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

RESOLUTION

To constitute the majority party's membership on certain committees for the One Hundred Tenth Congress, or until their successors are chosen.

Resolved, That the following shall constitute the majority party's membership on the following committees for the One Hundred Tenth Congress, or until their successors are chosen:

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY: Mr. Harkin (Chairman), Mr. Leahy, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Baucus, Mrs. Lincoln, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Nelson (Nebraska), Mr. Salazar, Mr. Brown, Mr. Casey, and Ms. Klobuchar.

[...]

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS: Mr. Lieberman (Chairman), Mr. Levin, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Carper, Mr. Pryor, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Obama, Mrs. McCaskill, and Mr. Tester.

You see it? Lieberman is the Chairman of the Homeland Security committee nominally because of the agreement of the Senate Democratic Caucus to put him there. But officially, he's the Chairman because Senate Resolution 27 says he is.

Try and repeal and replace that resolution in the middle of a fight in which Lieberman threatens to switch parties, and you see where this ends up going. It's filibustered, and now we're stuck with an even more hostile Lieberman.

Just a little something to keep in mind next time the subject comes up. Like tomorrow.