Merkley didn't oppose Lieberman after all

It was a mistake.

This version CORRECTS by DELETING Merkley from lawmakers who opposed Lieberman; Merkley did NOT oppose Lieberman.

Oh well.

Update: And now we hear that the correction was false.

Merkley declined to say how he voted, but in comments after the meeting it was clear he was conflicted.

"I will say that now that the outcome is clear we'll move forward together. We have a lot of work to do to tackle the issues ahead of us,'' he said, echoing comments of Majority Leader Harry Reid who said, "This was not a time for retribution."

At the same time, Merkley said he told his colleagues of how hard he worked in 2000 for the Gore/Lieberman ticket and how Lieberman's behavior this year left some rank and file Demcrats feeling betrayed.

"I expressed these sentiments because I felt that citizens who work in a grassroots capacity should share their voice and my voice on this," he said.

Merkley stopped just short of saying Lieberman should be stripped of his committee chairmanship. But he suggested that chairmen are party of a party's leadership and should be held to higher standards.

"Folks who are priviledged to serve as a chair are part of the leadership of this team and much is expected of them," he said.