Monday, November 13, 2006
Lieberman Won't Rule Out GOP Change
Democratic Senate leaders, set to take control of the chamber this January, got a gentle warning from "independent" Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman: you don't own me.
Appearing Sunday on "Meet the Press," Lieberman told moderator Tim Russert bluntly that he won't rule out caucusing with the GOP, if circumstances warranted the move.
Such a move, could throw control of the Senate to the Republicans. Democrats, with Lieberman voting with them, control the Senate 51-49. If Lieberman bolts, that divides the Senate 50-50, allowing Vice President Dick Cheney, as president of the Senate, to cast the deciding vote.
Lieberman made clear to Russert that he plans to stick with the Democrats
Russert asked: "If in fact they ask for discipline in the Democratic caucus and you start to feel uncomfortable with it, would you consider crossing across the aisle and joining the Republicans if they gave you the same chairmanship that you had in respect to your seniority?"
"That's a hypothetical I'm not going to deal with now," Lieberman responded. "I'm going to be an optimist and take some encouragement from the fact that this was an election in which in the House and Senate, Democrats came to the majority of both chambers by electing moderates mostly - this was an election that might be called the return of the center in American politics.
"I think that my colleagues and leaders in the Democratic caucus get that.
"This was not a major realignment election - this was the voters in Connecticut and elsewhere saying, 'We're disappointed with the Republicans - we want to give the Democrats a chance.'
"I believe the American people are considering both major political parties to be in a kind of probation because they're understandably angry that Washington is dominated too much by partisan political games and not enough by problem solving and patriotism, which means putting your country and your state first."
Russert pointed out that Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont crossed over and joined the Democrats and they gave him his committee chairmanship, saying, "You're not ruling that out in some future time."
Lieberman admitted, "I'm not ruling it out but I hope I don't get to that point."
He added that during the campaign [Connecticut Republicans] never said, "We're doing this because we want you to switch over. We want you to do what you think is right and good for our state and country."
Russert further pressed him on the question, asking, "Why not use as a condition for your vote for majority leader, for Sen. Harry Reid, that he support the Office of Public Integrity [which Lieberman supports] and lobbying reform? Would you consider that?"
Lieberman again sidestepped, saying: "I'm not going to start by threatening. I'm going to start by making clear what my priorities are, and I'm going to seek the support of my leadership and of members of both political parties."
Lieberman told Russert that he wants to "bring the [Democratic] party back to its historic traditions of strength on national security, foreign policy and innovation and progress in domestic policy like Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy Democrats that I was raised to be. But I'm going to be an independent because that is how and why I return to the Senate. I was elected as and independent, I was elected because I said to my constituents in Connecticut, 'I'm as fed up with the partisanship in Washington as you are, I promise you I will put progress and patriotism ahead of partisan ship and polarization,' so I am now an independent Democrat, capital I capital D."
Democratic Senate leaders, set to take control of the chamber this January, got a gentle warning from "independent" Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman: you don't own me.
Appearing Sunday on "Meet the Press," Lieberman told moderator Tim Russert bluntly that he won't rule out caucusing with the GOP, if circumstances warranted the move.
Such a move, could throw control of the Senate to the Republicans. Democrats, with Lieberman voting with them, control the Senate 51-49. If Lieberman bolts, that divides the Senate 50-50, allowing Vice President Dick Cheney, as president of the Senate, to cast the deciding vote.
Lieberman made clear to Russert that he plans to stick with the Democrats
Russert asked: "If in fact they ask for discipline in the Democratic caucus and you start to feel uncomfortable with it, would you consider crossing across the aisle and joining the Republicans if they gave you the same chairmanship that you had in respect to your seniority?"
"That's a hypothetical I'm not going to deal with now," Lieberman responded. "I'm going to be an optimist and take some encouragement from the fact that this was an election in which in the House and Senate, Democrats came to the majority of both chambers by electing moderates mostly - this was an election that might be called the return of the center in American politics.
"I think that my colleagues and leaders in the Democratic caucus get that.
"This was not a major realignment election - this was the voters in Connecticut and elsewhere saying, 'We're disappointed with the Republicans - we want to give the Democrats a chance.'
"I believe the American people are considering both major political parties to be in a kind of probation because they're understandably angry that Washington is dominated too much by partisan political games and not enough by problem solving and patriotism, which means putting your country and your state first."
Russert pointed out that Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont crossed over and joined the Democrats and they gave him his committee chairmanship, saying, "You're not ruling that out in some future time."
Lieberman admitted, "I'm not ruling it out but I hope I don't get to that point."
He added that during the campaign [Connecticut Republicans] never said, "We're doing this because we want you to switch over. We want you to do what you think is right and good for our state and country."
Russert further pressed him on the question, asking, "Why not use as a condition for your vote for majority leader, for Sen. Harry Reid, that he support the Office of Public Integrity [which Lieberman supports] and lobbying reform? Would you consider that?"
Lieberman again sidestepped, saying: "I'm not going to start by threatening. I'm going to start by making clear what my priorities are, and I'm going to seek the support of my leadership and of members of both political parties."
Lieberman told Russert that he wants to "bring the [Democratic] party back to its historic traditions of strength on national security, foreign policy and innovation and progress in domestic policy like Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy Democrats that I was raised to be. But I'm going to be an independent because that is how and why I return to the Senate. I was elected as and independent, I was elected because I said to my constituents in Connecticut, 'I'm as fed up with the partisanship in Washington as you are, I promise you I will put progress and patriotism ahead of partisan ship and polarization,' so I am now an independent Democrat, capital I capital D."
