Here is a letter I just sent to Harry Reid through his website...
I am dismayed to learn that you did not lead on removing Joe Lieberman's chairmanship of the governmental affairs committee. In addition to Lieberman's proving entirely ineffective in that role, unlike his House counterpart, Henry Waxman, and lambasting our current president-elect, you have, in essence, rewarded bad behavior.
I am not certain, Senator Reid, how without any actual consequences to such bad behavior you will be able to prevent future Zel Miller episodes from Senator Lieberman, or Senator Lieberman from perhaps overinvestigating, as Republicans did during the Clinton years, the new president.
I understand the politics of keeping a potential 60th vote if all senatorial races are won. If so, kudos to you. But, if not, you have made a dreadful error, unworthy of your office. It would have been better to await the Minnesota recount and the Martin-Chambliss election before rewarding such irresponsibility. And even with those victories, you'd have to carefully consider the merits of the chairmanship for this "independent."
Finally, I must ask: what would you have done had John McCain won instead of our president-elect? Would you still have rewarded Sentator Lieberman with his chairmanship? I'm not entirely sure what you will gain from this other than his one vote, which has far less sway than it did.
Need I add that should you reach the magic "60," how certain are you that Lieberman's vote will still come through on certain critical issues? He's hardly beloved by Connecticut, so he does not have to think much of his constituents--which he hasn't. If anything, it seems he has demonstrated that he can ask much more of you than you can of him.
Time will tell and we'll see, won't we? But I'm betting against the wisdom of this decision. Now, if I could only find a Democratic taker for the other side of that bet.