Dem aides upset Lieberman hired former GOP spokesman (traitor joe does it again)

[grizmaster]

and the proof that traitor joe has already betrayed us and has no place in our party continues to mount.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Dem_aides_upset_Lieberman_hired_former_1127.html


Democratic aides are upset that Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, who won reelection as an Independent, has hired a former GOP spokesman who has also worked for the Christian Coalition and other conservative organizations, according to a Capitol Hill newspaper.

"Senate Democratic aides are a tad nervous about Sen. Joe Lieberman (Whatever-Conn.) hiring a former GOP spokesman to be his new communications director," Mary Ann Akers writes for Roll Call. "Especially those working for potential 2008 Democratic presidential contenders."

snip

Yet another Senate Democratic communications director, one whose boss looks a lot like a presidential candidate, said, “What’s more dangerous than a Republican-turned-Democrat-turned-Independent sitting in our strategy sessions? One who is a prodigious leaker. ... I think our ability to speak our minds and get something done in our meetings just plummeted.”

edit added to add last paragraph

[stepnw1f]

1. Lieberman is Compromising the Democratic Party

He really needs to stripped of power and forced out of the party for his behaviour. The Dems need to this, and do it wisely.... Joe is a real snake in the grass.

[Boston Critic]

8. Can't

If they kick him out, they lose the Senate majority.

On the other hand, they should treat him as if he's a speaker phone connected to Karl Rove's office.

I wouldn't trust him with anything.

[stepnw1f]

9. That's What I Mean...

Keep him on a very short leash, and quietly try to rid him.

[grizmaster]

12. they should treat him like a diseased corpse

full quarintine from any knowledge of or participation in leadership issues.

And then look for the first opportunity to bury his festering corpse before he stinks up the whole joint

[Boston Critic]

23. Do you want a Republican Senate?

I can't stand Lieberman and I wish we could kick him out. If he goes, though, it's like when Jeffords left the Republicans in 2001, only in reverse. It hands the Senate to the GOP.

I'd rather hold my nose and deal with the creep (not trusting him in the slightest) and keep the Senate. I want to make sure, at the very least, that no rightwing Bush appointees get on the Supreme Court or the lower courts in his remaining two years in office.

[grizmaster]

28. do you really think Lieberman WON'T support

even the most right-wing SCOTUS appointees bush might offer?


I agree the SCOTUS appointments are the most dangerous aspect of the situation, but I also believe it is the area Lieberman is most likely to betray the dems on.

[Boston Critic]

31. Lieberman can vote as he will...

... but the Majority Leader gets to call the shots. If Lieberman becomes a Republican, that will be Mitch McConnell, not Harry Reid.

[grizmaster]

36. not enough lipstick in the world to dress up that pig

Lieberman is a republican of the worst sort and isn't even a dem in name. Sorry, but as you pointed out the SCTOUS nominations are where the worst consequence of Lieberman will surface and it doesn't matter who "calls the shots" if they're just kissing Lieberman's ass and showing no leadership at all.

[Boston Critic]

46. Yes, it will

Look at how much damage Bill Frist has been able to do.

[GOTV]

37. So we only have to be nice until the majority speaker is decided?

Is that how it works? Once they vote in a ML are we set for 2 years?

[Boston Critic]

47. No

The Majority LEADER (the Speaker is a post in the House) is selected by the *majority*. If the majority changes -- as it would if Lieberman left the Democrats for the Republicans -- then he becomes the MINORITY leader, with greatly reduced power.

[GOTV]

62. OK, I see. Thanks!

[Joe Bacon]

57. I still expect LIEberman to jump to the GOP.

LIEberman is NO Democrat.

[neoblues]

2. Some Surprise...

Remember how he ran his campaign--and which party actually elected him... alas.

[lapfog_1]

3. We'll see come January. I have expect him to pull a fast one

and throw the leadership and majority to the repukes. And then again, I think he won't... but who the hell knows? And I'm guessing thats exactly what he wants right now.

[grizmaster]

5. I think he'll wait till after the first wave of legislation

and sometime in March or April try yanking the leash he has on the Senate dems with a threat to jump. Probably privately at first and then threatening more openly.

joe made it clear what party he is beholden to, and the full betrayal is all but inevitable

[GOTV]

38. What happens if he jumps in the middle of his term?

[grizmaster]

44. then all the ass-kissing will have been in vain

and I'll be surprised if a year goes by before he bails.

Picking the McCain flunky makes me think he's probably trying to position himself for a cabinet job with McCain. If that's true, then he has no reason to worry about bailing on the dems next year.

[IndianaGreen]

51. What happens if Lieberman were to die?

Who will get to appoint a successor, and how soon after that do they need an election?

[xchrom]

4. quelle surprise.

may lieberman choke on his ambitions -- whatever they are.

[grizmaster]

6. Breakfast at Tiffany's- one of my faves

LIEberman gives me a case of the mean reds

[xchrom]

11. lol -- the mean reds is right!

[KoKo]

7. Maybe Reid should threaten to strip Joe of his Commitee Chair and

memberships. If he threatens to bolt and go Repug...I wonder which Chair the Repugs would give him for the treasonous deed? And, wouldn't there be a rebellion if the new "minority party" had to give a Committee Chair to a crossover Dem.

Reid needs to go after Lieberman and put a leash on him. It's tricky but Lieberman being in the minority party is something to hold over his head. :shrug:

[Boston Critic]

10. They're stuck

Lieberman is the one vote margin.

They've got to suck it up and take it for the next two years. And then when they increase their majority in 2008, kick him out the door.

[oasis]

13. Marshall Whittman. He'll be John McCain's pointman inside the Dem party.

Joe's preparing for a 2008 cabinet post with the McCain administration.

[neoblues]

14. An Un-Enviable Task...

Poor Democratic Leaders face un-enviable task to maintain the Democratic majority in the Senate... Kissing Lieberman's Arse.

Actually, that would be equivalent of kissing his face--which resembles more than anything else, an aged, wrinkled, shriveled, fuzzy/hairy old anus ("The Lieberman Pucker") with moles on top. Sorry for the graphic...

Pucker up? Anybody?

There are so many potential follow-ons to that analogy. Let's hope he has good grooming habits, drinks from his bidet and wipes regularly. In any case, I don't think lipstick's going to make it any more appealing (though Cherry flavored might help with the smell). Please Joe, please! Don't breath while we're in the room. Alas.

[aquart]

17. A seasoned pol can do that in his sleep.

I have no problem, personally, with lying to Lieberman's face and sticking a Kick Me sign on his back.

[Cass]

15. Oh my. This part concerns me greatly.

Yet another Senate Democratic communications director, one whose boss looks a lot like a presidential candidate, said, “What’s more dangerous than a Republican-turned-Democrat-turned-Independent sitting in our strategy sessions? One who is a prodigious leaker. ... I think our ability to speak our minds and get something done in our meetings just plummeted.”

Lieberman talks up a storm about how important it is to be "bipartisan" and makes a show of reaching out to republicans to prove his point. BUT has he reached out to democrats in his "bipartisan" frenzy? I haven't seen anything from him post-election that indicates any support whatsoever for the democrats. He sure is quick to badmouth democrats though. This guy is making me very nervous; I don't trust him as far as I can throw him.

[grizmaster]

19. and now that joe has revealed his true stripes

it makes me wonder if Lieberman has been spying for the repubs for years himself besides his new McCain flunky being a danger going forward.

[Cass]

22. Good point, Grizmaster. I wouldn't doubt it at this point.

I just hope he doesn't pull a fast one and jump ship.

[grizmaster]

26. I think he already jumped for most practical purposes

now we just have to wonder how many holes he put in the ship before he jumped

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

43. Lieberman's idea of "bipartisanship" is the same as the GOP's version:

Do what the GOP tells you to do.

He'll switch in 2-3 months, probably when the Democrats hold up some of Bush's legislation, and gloat about it the entire time.

(Edited for spelling)

[elocs]

16. If Lieberman doesn't intend to switch on his own,

there is no point in driving him to the Republicans. Democrats need to be pragmatic about this. You keep your friends close and your enemies closer. In 2008 Democrats will have an opportunity to increase their lead in the Senate which will make Lieberman a moot point.

[grizmaster]

20. driving him to the republicans? that's a damn short ride

he already is a republican. He's just playing the dems and the repubs to squeeze them both for as much power as he can get.

[elocs]

39. It may be a short ride, but he ain't there yet.

As long as he is with us he counts toward our 51 total and that makes keeping him important. So we just have to deal with it for the next 2 years the best we can.

[grizmaster]

40. well he's certainly a long ride from being a dem

or "independent dem" as he calls his abandonment of principle and party.

I'm with you on using the traitor up as long as he it's feasible without betraying our dem values. And I can't wait till we dump the sack-o-waste overboard at the first opportunity.

[Boston Critic]

25. Grazi, Don Elocs

Your quotation of Vito Corleone is right to the point.

[MrCoffee]

18. i'm shocked to find gambling going on in this establishment.

:banghead:

are we still surprised at this turd?

[loyalsister]

21. But, but.....

his voting record is so liberal.....

How did this happen?

:shrug:

[SaveElmer]

24. Democrats took a gamble and lost...

Lieberman could not be knocked off and now we have to put up with nearly everything he does to keep our majority...too bad...but it'a the lay of the land...

Fact is Lieberman is far more powerful now than he was before, or he would have been had he been the Democratic nominee!


He has us by the short hairs!

[Boston Critic]

27. For no more than two years...

... and then he will discover that revenge is a dish best served cold.

[SaveElmer]

29. I hope you are right...

And I expect you are...

I think our chances in 2008 of increasing our majority in the Senate are very good...

Until then...we are just gonna have to grin and bear it!

[Boston Critic]

33. Indeed, and the Republicans have more at stake...

...in 2008 in the Senate than the Democrats do. The pendulum is swinging back -- IF we don't blow it.

[geek tragedy]

35. However, we should remember that the Republicans

were saying the same thing about 2006.

[madfloridian]

41. If the congressional Dem leaders had supported Lamont as they should have...

This situation would not have come up.

They either openly supported Joe, or covertly supported him. They did not stand with Lamont as they should have.

[grizmaster]

42. I'm with you on that one

It was a disgrace the way the party abandoned him, and I won't soon forget the dems who failed to endorse Lamont.

[geek tragedy]

30. That quoted communications director--who

works for a Senator who "looks a lot like a presidential candidate"--that can be only one of 2-4 people, right?

[grizmaster]

45. does that mean you have a guess who it is?

or do you just mean it's a short list?

[geek tragedy]

60. In order of probability:

1. HRC
2. Obama
3. Kerry
4. Bayh
5. Biden

[quiet.american]

32. Since Joe is an Independent now, should he be in on Dem strategy sessions?

Obvious question, I know, but why should he be sitting there in Democratic strategy sessions making everyone bite their tongue?

[Boston Critic]

34. If I was a Democratic Senator...

...I would assume anything Lieberman hears is going right to the White House, and act accordingly.

[Pyrzqxgl]

48. Why would you assume that?

this guy has had a fairly long career as a Conservative middle-of-the road Democrat. He's very pro Israel, Anti-Arab and he supports the war. On social issues he leans more toward our side of things. I don't know what the hell he's going to do but it seems to me that given his background he's got more friends who are Democrats than Republicans and their are more issues he stands with Democrats on than issues where he sides with Republicans. All this ranting on Joe by you heavy hitters out there isn't going to change things. We've got to get along with the guy for now and hope he doesn't pull a Wayne Morse on us. Cooling down on this issue is needed.

[Boston Critic]

49. Joe is not a Republican...

...but he IS uncomfortably close to Bush and Rove, and they certainly returned the favor by sabotaging the Republican candidate in Connecticut.

When the Democrats were trying to make a statement about Bush's mess in Iraq, it was Lieberman who was out there undercutting the effort and supporting Bush.

He's done this too many times. He is not to be trusted.

He votes okay on some issues? Great. So did Lincoln Chafee. That's not a reason to wish Chafee had been re-elected, and it's not a reason to whitewash Lieberman's close ties to Bush.

[IndianaGreen]

50. Judas Joe is a Republican mole in Democratic clothes

As you pointed out, Boston Critic, Judas Joe is not to be trusted.

[Boston Critic]

52. He's not to be trusted...

...but don't pretend he doesn't vote Democratic on many issues.

[grizmaster]

63. you got that right, can't wait for Sheldon to take Chafee's seat

It's gonna be nice to NOT be represented by a toady wearing bush knee-pads like Chafee did.

[geek tragedy]

61. He's no longer a Democrat. He's an independent

who happens to caucus with the Democrats. He's made a point to emphasize his independence.

Treat the Bull Moose as if it were John McCain sitting there.

[Q]

53. You can bet...

...that he's doing this in the name of the DLC. He's positioning himself to give the DLC more power.

[grizmaster]

54. he's doing it for his own self interest

he's already proven he has zero loyalty to the Democratic cause.

I think he's trying to set himself up for a job in a McCain administration.

[Norquist Nemesis]

64. So that he can play 2nd chair fiddle to Hillary?

Somehow, that doesn't seem like Joe. :shrug:

I still half expect him to jump into the Pres '08 race and run as an "Independent Democrat" or some crap label like that if he doesn't get enough camera time allotted to him.

[Freddie Stubbs]

55. There will already be a former Republican sitting in on caucus meetings

James Webb

[Name removed]

56. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bearfan454]

58. He's always been a puke.

He has.

[Supersedeas]

59. Should internal party memos be shared with this weenie??