In a functional political party, Joe Lieberman's newest threat -- that he's considering joining the Republican Party when he runs for re-election in 2012 -- would be grounds for automatically revoking his committee chairmanship and nixing any political deals made with him. Instead, Senate Democrats will probably take this latest kick in the groin with nothing but smiles and thank yous:
BASH: Any chance Joe Lieberman would run as a Republican?
LIEBERMAN: I don't know what I'll run as. I like being an independent, so that's definitely a possibility, but I'd say that all options are open.
BASH: Really?
LIEBERMAN: Yeah. It's unlikely that I would run as a Republican, but I wouldn't foreclose any possibility.
You really have to hand it to Joe Lieberman. He is singlehandedly humiliating the Democratic leadership in Washington, DC, making them look more foolish than Fox News could ever dream. They say he's on a political vendetta against activists who helped elect Ned Lamont in 2006, but the people paying the political price for Lieberman aren't progressive activists -- it's top Democratic leadership.
Maybe, just maybe, Lieberman isn't as motivated by revenge as the CW suggests. Maybe his real goal is to solidify his conservative support, support that he'll need to have any chance of winning re-election in 2012.
Whatever the case, every day that Joe Lieberman remains a member in good standing of the Democratic caucus is yet another day that Joe Lieberman makes Democrats look stupid.