Monday - November 13, 2006

Man In The Middle

Who will be the most powerful Senator after January? Why ... Joe Lieberman of course. He will be the proverbial Man In The Middle. The swing vote. The man who calls the shots. All he has to do is walk across the aisle and the Demoncrats’ dream of retaking the Senate go up in smoke.

If I were Joe, as soon as I got through pulling all the knives out of my back, I’d start passing out Chap-Stick™ to every one of the asshat jerks in the Democratic Party who were perfectly happy to stab Joe in the back and try to flush him down the drain in the recent election. After all, their lips might get a little dry from all the ass-kissing they’re going to have to do just to keep him from gettin’ a little payback.

All I have to say to Senator Joe is summed up in the immortal words of that great philosopher Theo Kojak, “Who luvs ya, baby? Want a lollipop?”

Lieberman Refuses To Close Door On Switching Parties
_{HARTFORD, Conn. (BOSTON GLOBE) - November 12, 2006}

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) on Sunday repeated his pledge to caucus with Senate Democrats when the 110th Congress convenes in January, but refused to slam the door on possibly moving to the Republican side of the aisle.

Asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” if he might follow the example of Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont, who left the Republicans in 2001 and became an independent, ending Republican control of the U.S. Senate, Lieberman refused to discount the possibility.

“I’m not ruling it out but I hope I don’t get to that point,” he said. “And I must say—and with all respect to the Republicans who supported me in Connecticut—nobody ever 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,’ and I appreciate that.”

A spokeswoman for Lieberman would not elaborate when contacted by The Associated Press. Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont defeated Lieberman in the Democratic primary in August. Lieberman was elected to a fourth term last Tuesday as an independent, and said Sunday his political affiliation will be as an “Independent Democrat.”

The Democrats won control of the Senate with 51 seats. Lieberman and newly elected Bernie Sanders of Vermont are the Senate’s only Independents. A switch to the Republicans would bring the Senate to a 50-50 division, giving Republican Vice President Dick Cheney opportunities to break tie votes.

Jeffords’ decision to quit the GOP and become an independent tipped the balance of an evenly divided Senate, handing control to the Democrats with a one-vote margin.

Apologetic Dems Need Lieberman’s Sway In Senate
_{WASHINGTON (NATIONAL POST) - Thursday, November 09, 2006}

Suddenly everybody is Joe Lieberman’s best friend. Thrown out of his party just three months ago, the Connecticut Senator and one-time Democratic vice-presidential candidate has emerged from Tuesday’s mid-term elections as one of the most powerful lawmakers in Washington.

Elected as an independent to a fourth term in office, Mr. Lieberman, 64, finds himself being courted by Republicans, suddenly lacking a Senate majority. He has also received conciliatory phone calls from Democrats, who had cast him as a turncoat for supporting the President on the war in Iraq. The reason is simple: Both parties need him.

With the Senate race in Virginia still disputed, Democrats remain at least one seat short of winning an outright majority and taking control of Congress. Even if Democrat James Webb ultimately defeats incumbent Republican Senator George Allen, Mr. Lieberman’s vote will be crucial to Democrats seeking to impose their legislative agenda on Washington in the next two years.

For Republicans, who now have just 49 Senate seats, Mr. Lieberman could be an important ally on thorny security issues like counterterrorism policy and border security. So, his detractors could forgive the Senator if he gloated a bit yesterday about the change in his fortunes.

At a news conference in Hartford, Conn., Mr. Lieberman said he planned to caucus with his old Democratic colleagues. But he hinted at his newfound clout, announcing he was “beholden to no one except the voters of Connecticut and my own conscience.” The election gave him a mandate to make a “declaration of independence from partisanship in Washington.”

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/13/2006 at 01:46 AM   
Filed Under: • Politics •  
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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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