If anyone wants to know about Joe Lieberman, they ought to ask Arthur Levitt, former SEC head during the Clinton administration
In his book, Take on the Street, published in 2002 by Pantheon, former SEC head Arthur Levitt discusses the difficulties of seeking reforms that might have headed off some of the financial disasters that disgraced Wall Street and robbed small investors and retirees of their money. Think back: Enron. WorldCom. Tyco. Dot-bombs.
In it, he of course identifies Republicans who stood in the way of rulemaking efforts aimed at enforcing auditor independence. But, in Levitt's words:
"...none was a more formidable foe than Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut."
Regarding the Financial Accounting Standards Board's proposed stock-option rule, Levitt goes on to describe Lieberman's ability "...to clip the FASB's wings if it pursued the rule" after sponsoring a 1994 Senate resolution that, while non-binding, was extraordinarily effective in urging the withdrawal of the rule.
Levitt goes on to describe later efforts, as late as 2001, spearheaded by (then) Sen. Spencer Abraham and Lieberman, opposing another rule aimed at abuses involving corporate mergers and acquisitions.
You can read more about Levitt's take on Lieberman here.
or here:
Looking back, moving forward.(Arthur Levitt, Jr.)
This is what people need to understand about Joe Lieberman, particularly anyone who lost money due to these scandals. I wish I were more knowledgeable on the intricacies of things like accounting standards and the like, but the message from Levitt is clear: Lieberman is a Republican at heart, always has been, and all one need do is learn about his record to realize it.