I supported Lamont for Senate once when he won, and once when he didn't.
But I must say, if every Democrat fought as hard as Joe Lieberman, we'd never lose another seat. He deserves our admiration and respect for his long career, which, almost by sheer will-power, he extended another six years.
Yes, he took Republican money. but, more important, he took Republican votes. We need Democratic candidates who can do that, and we need them in the Democratic caucus.
It was a tough fight, and we got our licks in, but now it's past time to shake hands and move on.
Every Democrat has the party-switching nuclear option available to him. And if Lieberman should use it--which he won't--every Republican would have then this option as well.
This is why Susan Collins said, enviously, that Joe Lieberman is "in the catbird seat."
Lieberman promised Connecticut voters that he would not flip, and there is less reason to doubt his word than that of most members. Kos and others have said they would not be surprised if Lieberman switched parties; for my part, I would be dumbfounded.
Before the election, I said repeatedly that Ned Lamont would make a better senator than Joe Lieberman. Ned Lamont's views are much closer to my own. And a 100% Netroots victor on the floor of the Senate would have been a powerful symbol of progressivism expressed through the Internet.
Nevertheless, it is instructive to think about what the Democrats would lose if Joe Lieberman were to be replaced by a Republican or more conservative Democrat. Forget the majority, for I truly do not believe that is in any jeopardy, but think only of the good things--we have spoken enough of the bad--that Lieberman brings to the Senate.
1. Lieberman's National Journal liberalism rating is higher than Murtha's, slightly lower than Hoyer's. The Democrat's one-vote majority depends upon many other senators who have voted with George Bush much more often than Lieberman.
2. He is strongly pro-choice. While I am not a single-issue voter, I believe that a pro-choice position is as close as a litmus test of liberalism as there is. The idea that a 14-year-old victim of statutory rape must not be allowed to terminate a pregnancy is disgusting. Lieberman supports free choice whereas nearly every Republican and some Democrats oppose it.
3. Lieberman has been consistently pro-Labor and pro-Civil Rights, earning rankings of 85% or more from the AFL-CIO, NAACP, and Human Rights Campaign during 2005 and 2006. This means that only about 15 Democrats scored higher than Lieberman and many others scored lower on these issues.
4. He is one of the Senate's best "policy wonks," which is probably why Al Gore was comfortable enough with him to choose him as his running mate.
5. His strong military stance, while very wrongheaded with respect to Iraq, in my view, is nevertheless helpful because he is a bridge to armed services, which otherwise are very suspicious of the Democratic Party. Like Murtha, he is respected and listened to in the Pentagon. Moreover, there are times when he is undoubtedly correct. In 1999, for example, he joined Paul Wellstone and others in support of Bill Clinton's military plans in Serbia; Feingold, by the way, did not.
Any senator, if sufficiently provoked, might change his party. Jeffords, for example, left the Republicans when he became certain that they weren't listening to a word he said. Lieberman is a thoughtful man, and our party should take his ideas seriously although we will often enough not agree with them.
I don't believe any senator can step forward and say that Lieberman has ever lied to him, nor do I think he would eagerly violate any of the Ten Commandments. So there is little chance he will break his vow.
Is he getting a little of his own back by tormenting the leadership--and no matter how much bravado we muster, Democrats everywhere--with the possibility of becoming a Republican? Of course he is. He has been through two brutal and bruising campaigns--as have we all--and no doubt takes some pleasure in returning some of the pain. I think almost anyone would seek some small revenge under the same circumstances.
Lieberman is one of fifty-one Democrats and by no means the most conservative. I'm glad he's on our side, and with the election behind us, I'm glad to be on his.
When Senator Lieberman says that he will stay in the Democratic caucus I take him at his word:
Joltin' Joe's not left nor gone away.