To my surprise, the Democrats in the U.S. Senate have had a sudden outbreak of rationalism and have decided not to seriously punish Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut (elected originally as a Democrat, defeated for renomination as the Democratic Senate candidate in 2006 and then re-elected as an Independent, but still caucusing with the Democrats in the Senate) for his apostasy in supporting the Republican candidate John McCain in the Late Unpleasantness which culminated on November 4th.
By a more than three to one margin (42-13) the Senate Democrats voted to allow Lieberman to remain as chair of both the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and his chair of the Armed Services committee subcommittee on air and land power issues. The only real loss the Nutmeg Senator suffered was to lose his seat on the Environment and Public Works Committee and his subcommittee chairmanship there.
Nor to get this deal was Joe required to greatly abase himself to his colleagues for his heresy in supporting the Republican candidate for President and for committing truth when he stated during the campaign that Wonder Boy was not prepared to be President. True, Lieberman did say that there were some remarks he had made during the campaign “that I wish I had never made at all” but what politician can’t say that about some remarks he makes in the course of a long election battle?
By not punishing Lieberman more severely, the Senate Democrats show that (at least in this case) they have learned a lesson that experience taught me long ago. Namely, that when you have already won a battle, there is no need to rub it in to the losers.
After all, what was Lieberman’s crime (from the Democrat’s point of view, anyway?) That he broke ranks to support the Republican candidate for President. But McCain lost anyway. So what would have been the point, except for sheer spite, to expel Lieberman from the Democratic caucus or strip him of all of his committee chairmanship? It might well have been counter-productive, causing the Connecticut Senator to abandon the party altogether and caucus with the Republicans, something the Democrats could ill afford when they hope for a filibuster-majority of 60 votes.
After all, it would have made equally as much sense to punish Lieberman after the 2006 election, when his independent bid for re-election deprived the Democrats of Senator Joe Lamont. But to expel him then would have cost the Stupid Party their newly won majority in the Senate. They were right not to punish Lieberman then and then were eminently sensible not to do so now. I hate to admit it, but this time the Democrats got it right.
