Lieberman is so flirting with jumping parties

[Rose Siding]

There's a revealing article about Joe in the New Yorker. He really has us where he wants us-

“A lot of Democrats are essentially pacifists and somewhat isolationist,” he told me. He had particular problems with Senator Edward Kennedy’s proposal to deny the President funding for a troop surge, and with an idea recently raised by the senior senator from Connecticut, Christopher Dodd, to cap the number of American soldiers in Iraq. Lieberman was not willing to say whether he would remain a Democrat if the Party cut off funding for the war. “That would be stunning to me,” he said. “And very hurtful. And I’d be deeply affected by it. Let’s put it that way.”

Yeah, let's put it that way. And we ALL know what little Joe does when he gets hurt. It's a big FU to dems. If Democrats in the Senate ever fight the way we want them to, Joe's gonna bolt. I think they have to figure him into every move they make.

And boy howdy, does Joe ever love him some Commander Codpiece. He told this reporter...

“I’ve had a lot of disappointments along the way here,” Lieberman said. “So why do I trust President Bush in spite of the mistakes that were made, consequential mistakes? Because having watched him, having talked to him, I believe that he understands the life-and-death struggle we are in with the most deadly and unconventional enemy, Islamic extremism. And that he has shown himself, notwithstanding all these mistakes, willing to go forward with what he believes is right for the security of the country, regardless of what it has done to his popularity.”

Joe's version of "I've looked into his soul". Here's a spooky part-

“Lieberman likes expressions of American power. A few years ago, I was in a movie theatre in Washington when I noticed Lieberman and his wife, Hadassah, a few seats down. The film was “Behind Enemy Lines,” in which Owen Wilson plays a U.S. pilot shot down in Bosnia. Whenever the American military scored an onscreen hit, Lieberman pumped his fist and said, “Yeah!” and “All right!”

Spooky in a "gee, the junior senator from CT sure is a little bloodthirsty" kind of way. Whether he's in the security of a dark theater or the well of the Senate, Lieberman's far removed from the battles he cheers. He's just another old man sending others to their deaths. SOS.

Bonus fun:
Joe: “I have so many good friends in the Senate. John McCain is a very good friend.” McCain, his very good friend, the article goes on to report, suggested "one explanation for Lieberman’s obdurate support for the President was politics. Lieberman, he implied, had invested too much in his advocacy of the war to back away now." So, according to his "friend" Joe's only in it to save face. BFF!

[kentuck]

1. The longer he puts it off, the better...

I'm betting the Democrats have a huge majority after the 2008 elections and Joe would be in a minority for the rest of his political life.

[Rose Siding]

3. Still, it looks like he's paralyzing them on Iraq.

It's just so wrong that this one man can hold so much power in a party in which he clearly doesn't belong. Very depressing.

[MattSh]

2. But if Joe jumps.....

Only the Repubs will be kissing his ass. He seems to like getting it from both sides.

The sad thing is, the Dems seem to like kissing it as much as the Repubs do.

[Rose Siding]

4. What can they do?

from the piece:

"Lieberman’s Democratic colleagues know that if he switched parties they would lose their majority, and so they tend to indulge him, unless they are speaking to reporters off the record."

That means they'd no longer control the agenda. Frist would lead again with votes on the same crappy stuff we saw last session, AND more rubber stamping for anything bush can concoct.

[jobycom]

19. There's an art to it.

Politics is all about strategy and manipulation. The trick is to give Lieberman just enough that he is better off staying without giving up what you want to keep. If the Dems cut off funding, that hurts Lieberman personally and politically. It undercuts his power. But if he jumps, he no longer has any power over the Dems, and not much with the Repubs. So Reid has to give him just enough power to make him have to stay. Especially since the Repubs will be offering him the world to jump. Lieberman is crafty and shrewd, he knows where his power lies. He won't jump if he can stay, but if staying means the Dems don't listen to him, he has no reason to stay. Reid has to give him a reason.

And when he does, everyone will accuse Reid of kissing his ass and lacking a spine or balls or whatever other phrase they want, rather than congratulating him as the mastermind who saved our government. Democracy is a horrible system--you have to mesh unyielding idealists with pragmatic politicians to get anything done. It's fun to watch, though, except when the stakes are this dramatic.

[fooj]

21. WE held the majority yesterday...

it didn't make a difference, did it?

The entire fiasco annoys the hell out of me. Ugh....

I say cut the rat bastard loose. Let them OWN this lock, stock and barrel. Time to give Judas Joe his scarlet "R" and send him on his miserable way.

Who "controlled" the agenda yesterday? THEY did. I say kick the little weasel to the curb. I know that's not "politically" savvy...but I'm sick to death of his bullshit. IMO, he has the power because we ALLOW it. Just my 2 cents.

[jobycom]

12. Very true. If he jumps he loses all power. It's a complex game

He can only jump once, he can't jump back if he does. He aligns with the Dems on more issues than with the Repubs, so with the Repubs he would always be an outsider who rarely got what he wanted.

It's a nuclear suicide option, is what it is. If he jumps, he destroys the Dems' control of Congress, and he destroys his power and career at the same time. He would still be a Senator at odds with his own party, only over different issues. So he really doesn't want to do it. But he has to be willing to, or the Dems won't believe he will, and then they aren't afraid of him.

If Reid is good, he can handle this. Offer Lieberman just enough to make him stay. Let him attack the Dems fiercely, turn on them just enough to keep his conservative voters happy, but in the end leave him enough power to make it worth his while to stay in the Senate. Whatever he does will make us all scream at him, so the compromise comes with a political cost for Reid. But not as high a cost as losing the Senate or breaking the trust the voters have placed in him.

Tricky stuff. If I wasn't so emotionally involved in this, I'd love to watch it unfold.

[Rose Siding]

13. !

"If I wasn't so emotionally involved in this, I'd love to watch it unfold."

I know! :(

[LiberalFighter]

17. That is the key...

Do the benefits outweigh the losses for Lieberman if he jumps?

He could jump and find out that he gained nothing and then return as an Independent as he is officially listed.

I think he has more leverage with the Democrats then with the Republicans.

[jobycom]

20. He doesn't have to declare himself a Republican to jump.

he can just announce that he will begin caucausing with the Republicans, and that will change the leadership.

The losses of jumping already outweigh the benefits, which is why Lieberman hasn't jumped. But the benefits are only that he can control the Dems when he wants. If they vote against him on this key issue, he no longer has that benefit, so he can jump or stay, it matters not to him. But unless he really believes he will jump, and really intends to jump, he has no leverage anyway, because the Dems will know he's bluffing.

He's a bankrobber holding a hostage. He doesn't want to shoot the hostage, because when he does, the cops have no more reason to listen to his demands, and it's over. But if no one believes he will shoot the hostage, the cops have no reason to listen to him in the first place. So he has to be willing to shoot the hostage, even if it kills him, because it's the only way he gets his demands listened to. There's always the chance he won't do it when he has to, but you can't count on that. You have to listen to his demands, or make counter demands that will give him a better incentive to death. That's what reid has to figure out. What does Joe want that makes it worth his while to surrender this hostage? Most likely, another hostage, but one you don't mind losing as much.

[wisteria]

5. Great, he hangs the threat of bolting over the Dem's head until we can gain

additional members in the senate. This will have an impact on what we may be able to accomplish regarding Iraq.

[RaleighNCDUer]

6. Flirting? Hell, Joe and the Republicans were married in a secret

ceremony, months ago. Only problem is, he didn't finalize his divorce from the Democrats, first, and now doesn't know how to break it to them.

[durrrty libby]

7. Does Joe have a degenerative spine, or any spine at all?

I just don't think he can make the actual leap

[HardWorkingDem]

8. What I'd love to see........

is a group of Dems go to Collins and Snowe and persuade them to switch parties. Yes, people are upset right now with Collins, but I'd love to see a Dem go to them and suggest now would be a great time for them to switch parties. That they both could do a switch, admit to their disappointment to Iraq and join what I think is going to be a Democratic majority for some time. It could also be a window to retain their seats in 2008.

Then the Dems could jettison Joe with some true Joementum.

[Rose Siding]

9. It's hard to imagine that that isn't already happening.

Regularly.

[Old and In the Way]

15. It might be Collin's only hope to survive....

She's already taken back her commitment to serve 2 terms. Allen will be formidable in York/Cumberland counties....if she wants to be a future player in Washington, jumping parties might be her only option. She could probably name her price, too. Love to see Harry Reid strip Lieberman of the DHS Chair and give it to Sue....that'd be fitting justice for this insufferable prig.

[NCarolinawoman]

27. Put him in a helicopter and drop him over Baghdad.

And I don't mean the Green Zone. This guy loves war wayyyy too much.
:nuke:

[The Wizard]

10. If the Democratic leadership could

find a way to deliver a boatload of money to a Republican moderate to crossover from the dark side Holy Joe's extortion becomes moot. If they weren't so prone to taking bribes we'd have transparent government.
Or we could just hope Zeus strikes down the forked tongue weasel named Lieberman and the governor of Connecticut fearing the backlash appoints a Democrat to replace him.

[iconoclastic cat]

11. He won't do it. He'd lose his leverage. nt

[Nite Owl]

14. He jumps now

then come next election and we consolidate our gains (which is likely right now since so many more repukes are up in unsafe seats), then he is the minority again with no power. We need to put up with his shit for the time being then when we don't need him he should be thrown out of the caucus.

[LiberalFighter]

18. Here is my research link for list of Senators up for reelection 2008

Research: Senate Elections

[Nite Owl]

25. Thanks, I bookmarked it

for future reference.

Allard, CO isn't running right? That will be an open seat and it seems like CO is trying to rid itself of the GOP. Sununu the same, though it is likely he never won in the first place after the illegalites that occured with the phone jamming. Collins should just switch and get on with it, Coleman is a jerk who never should have won, we could take that seat too.

[LiberalFighter]

28. It only lists the seats that will be up for election.

This list is from the Senate's website and has the seats divided into 3 classes per the Constitution.

[LiberalFighter]

16. Send him out of the country and place him in isolation

[Marrah_G]

22. I feel this way

Lieberman is a Racist. He hates Islam and Islamic people. His hatred for those people has over-taken all other things of importance. He will side with whichever party is the party who wants to wipe Muslims off the map, no other issues matter to him anymore. America no longer matters to him.

That's how I see it.

A very obsessed Racist...the "only good muslim is a dead Muslim" type.

[ShortnFiery]

23. Hey, let the republicans have him if push comes to shove.

If so, the American People will be so thoroughly disgusted with Dear Leader and Republican led Senate, that Democrats will make a clean sweep of both The Executive Branch and Congress. :shrug:

[Marrah_G]

24. No doubt

He will never get re-elected after the crap he is pulling now.

[Dinger]

26. If He Jumps, I Predict Some Anti-War repugs Will Too

hagel? warner? Someone? Who'd I miss?