Bernie gets the star for this:

“I very much hope that Senator Lieberman stays in the Democratic caucus and is successful in regaining the confidence of those whom he has disappointed.

Keep it up Jane! I still can’t believe that my politically active best friend in CT (she worked for HillTop Brigade) told me that the Lamont race was just a distraction. Haha.

sanders and feingold and my two favorite senators. the opposite of lieberman.

Leahy, Sanders, ok who’s next?

p.s. what’s the source of the info that Obama won’t take Lieberman’s calls?

Good for Bernie.

And, I’m very disappointed in Dodd.

The time for Lieberman to stand up and apologize, and see the error of his ways for supporting McCain and the GOP, was about two years ago. What does this say about an elected official like Evan Bayh that he believes he and his fellow legislators can do whatever the hell they want, whatever transgression, and just an apology will do when they are called out on it?

yes. wonder what the back story is on that. but even more, would love to have a chance to ask him about the bail out rip off.

hi everyone -

just now missed Senator Stabenow on Tweety - what, if anything, did she say about Lieberweasel ??

fyi for some - she is Chair of the Steering and Outreach Comm

Lieberman won’t ever apologize to anyone, although he’ll allow Senate Democrats to say he apologized to them in private. But then he’ll undermine them by casting doubt on the apology. It’s how Joe rolls.

Is Bernie Sanders gonna stop caucusing with Democrats in order to put their Magic 60 on the line?

Sanders would be a VERY good choice for the chairmanship that HoJo now holds. Can you imagine the noise from the republican howler-monkey brigades over putting Sanders in that job?

Pass the freaking popcorn!

Ho Ho, Joe must go!

HEY! MODerators!–

was catching up on reading posts–a’new post’ just went up three minutes after this one…is that a mistake?

bbl

bernie sanders’ statement on the wall street bail out and his proposed amendments was, imo, one of the great moments on the senate floor of the 110th congress. (cspan video archive)

Finally seeing evidence of spines from the Dem Caucus. Good for Leahy and Sanders.

Naw, I could be wrong but I think a Senator has to caucus with one side or the other and Bernie is going to go Republican on us like that other independent in the Senate has in all but name.

Great news!

Keep it coming!

digg

Joe Must Go!

Lieberman made a conscience decision to support McCain and bash Obama during the campaign. Why should he apologize and make himself look weak as a stand up for what you believe in independant? These demo-rats are just suggesting Liberman apologize to let themselves off the hook and pander his vote. That is yella in my book.

VT solidarity.

Me, too. . . but guess I should have had an inkling when Dodd did NOT filibuster on retroactive immunity, as promised.

[dugg]

If JoeLie is so principled, why does he want to caucus with the Democrats?

What kind of message does it send if Obama lets Lieberman get away with what he’s said about him. He shouldn’t let anyone treat him that way. It makes him look weak.

I seriously doubt they think he owes those “millions of Americans” that Sanders is talking about anything at all.

I got the email from joe personally;

I’m Joe Lieberman and I apologize for calling Barack Obama a Marxist, I apologize for saying palin has more executive experience, I apologize for saying Areys was an issue of concern, I apologize for saying he wanted us to be defeated in Iraq, I apologize for lying about Barack voting to eliminate funds from our troops

I apologize for allowing alto a seat on the supreme court

I apologize for lying to get elected, I apologize about not running if I did not win the democratic primary

I apologize for saying I wanted to investigate Katrina when I did not

and there are a bunch of other things I apologize for which I will enumerate later”

I contacted my senator’s office yesterday (Salazar) and told the guy I talked to that the senator could support Leiberman or he could support the tens of thousands who worked for the dems but he couldn’t do both.

Booyah for Vermont! I already called Leahy’s office to thank him, call Bernie next.

Because the democrats won the election and he wants to hold on to what power he has left as a committee chair. Otherwise Lieberman would be looking forward to an important cabinet post in the McCain administration. The news would be talking about him being SOS instead of Hillary right now.

huh? you are predicting that Sanders will caucus with the repugs? That makes no sense to me, based all I know about Sanders.

I just got off the phone with Bernie’s office. They appreciated the call and I certainly wasn’t the first.

Because the democrats won the election and he wants to hold on to what power he has left as a committee chair

Well said.

Now explain how that’s “principled”

i have always liked bernie! who’s next before monday?

if you think about it that is the perfect place to keep an eye on the thugs.

Ha ha ha ha.

Ned +25 in today’s poll.

That’s some distraction.

oh snap, when did youtube add that little menu bar at the bottom of the page?

I hope Dodd notices. It would really be nice if he were next to speak out.

agreed

I would sure like to see a recorded vote next week.

from what i saw yesterday dodd is pissed. maybe he has had enough.

Has anyone heard from Russ Feingold?

Barack Obama will record the weekly Democratic radio address today, but this time, he’ll also offer a video version that will be posted on YouTube — a first for the medium.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.c.....015671.php

Just Say No to Joe.

D.A.R.E. to keep Dems off thugs.

A buddy of mine from a local Democratic group says:

This isn’t some Saturday afternoon coffee klatsch where people are free to drop in or drop out as they please. Our party is supposed to be a serious organization dedicated to doing the nation’s business and effectively promoting our values and objectives.

I agree with this. Back when I was in the Navy, there was a time when I was ineligible for promotion as I was out of body-fat standards. At that time, my department asked the Captain to promote one of our people from Seaman to my rank of Petty Officer Third Class. This guy did not deserve that stripe on his arm! He was rude, careless and arrogant and not very competent. Yeah, he had a kid he had to take care of, but so frackin’ what? People should be promoted on merit, not because of their personal circumstances!

Situation with Lieberman? Same damn thing! He does not deserve that “D” after his name! Yeah, yeah, yeah, he’s not actually getting a “D,” but the functional equivalent thereof. Same diff.

Just say No to Joe!

re-posting my fax to Babs:

November 11, 2008 FAX: 202-228-2382

The Honorable Barbara Boxer
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Boxer:

I am a constituent who has always proudly voted for you. In the past I wrote to encourage you to support Ned Lamont, the duly elected winner of the 2006 Democratic Senate primary election in Connecticut.

The Joe Lieberman problem persists. Not only did the vanquished former Democrat subvert the party process by then running (and winning, alas) as an independent, but he has since gone on to undermine party interests every step of the way. The most egregious example of this is his role in the 2008 presidential campaign. His support for John McCain was bad enough, but his blatant attacks on the character of our next president, Senator Barack Obama, were completely inexcusable.

Additionally, Senator Lieberman has been utterly ineffective as chairperson of his Senate committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. His performance has done nothing to merit his furthered chairmanship. There is an additional risk that he will use this position to launch investigations of the Obama administration – something he never deigned to do in the face of the obvious incompetence and corruption of the Bush administration.

Senator Boxer, I urge you, in the strongest terms possible, to do the right thing and vote to remove Senator Lieberman from this position. Anything less would be a slap in the face of true Democrats and to the coalition of voters who resoundingly elected Barack Obama as our next president.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

punaise
Berkeley, CA

I called his office this afternoon. They said he won’t announce anything until after the Steering Committee votes.

Very very funny. David Gregory just finished interviewing Krugman and it’s pretty clear that Gregory doesn’t know anything about economics. Krugman, however, wasn’t being helpful. I’m sure he recognized the difficulty Gregory was having (underpinning financial markets vs. helping real (nonfinancial) economy), but didn’t go out of his way to explain.

I really like Krugman, but it would be nice if he wouldn’t smile as he says the economy is headed south.

Why would a socialist caucus with the Rs?

Sorry for the OT, but thought some would be interested in this:

…Charlie Brown has cut Tom McClintock’s lead from 1,248 to 533 votes:

a source of the info that Obama won’t take Lieberman’s calls

Maybe to make the rethug bases heads collectively and simultaneously explode.

To bad the Senate doesn’t have about 59 other democratic socialists. That’s real change we can believe in, unless of course you are a fat cat aristocrat or a celebrity corporate media pundit.

What are you smoking?

Threaten the Dem Party that we will change our registration.

A secret vote if hundreds and thousands sign a pledge to change registration to a Third Party, and in future elections pledging to vote for at least one non-Democrat, by secret ballot the Democrats keep Leiberman on a foreign policy committee

Sanders should change from Independent to Green.

I had expanded the above comment to a diary. But it disappeared because maybe a previous story when trying again to update it with clickable links, instead I accidently left out the introduction, see what I am talking about in blog 2419.

Someone should post such a petition campaign as a story, whether I am allowed to do so.

http://capitolhillblue.com/cont/blog/2419
RichardKanePA

Thank you Senators Leahy and Sanders. All the real Democrats that worked endlessly for Senator Obama as well as their State lawmakers see Lieberman as a Judas to our efforts. Let us not forget that Lieberman did everything in his power for McCain and down ticket Republicans and hurled some very nasty accusations at Obama. The guy is a creep of the first order. I, frankly, don’t care what he does as long as he isn’t Chair of Homeland Security. He is not trust worthy. He only has his own self interest in mind at all times. Even if extreme luck would make him the 60th Senator, he cannot be counted on when the Democrats need him.

Thank you. We’re hoping.

Obama has resigned from the Senate effective Sunday but Biden hasn’t I wonder what he is going to do or if he is going to participate. Has anyone contacted his office and gotten a feel for his position?

Has anyone heard from Russ Feingold?

russ is up to something even more important:

nov 11 wsj: Intelligence Policy to Stay Largely Intact

President-elect Barack Obama is unlikely to radically overhaul controversial Bush administration intelligence policies, advisers say, an approach that is almost certain to create tension within the Democratic Party.

Civil-liberties groups were among those outraged that the White House sanctioned the use of harsh intelligence techniques — which some consider torture — by the Central Intelligence Agency, and expanded domestic spy powers. These groups are demanding quick action to reverse these policies.

Mr. Obama is being advised largely by a group of intelligence professionals, including some who have supported Republicans, and centrist former officials in the Clinton administration. They say he is likely to fill key intelligence posts with pragmatists.

As a candidate, Mr. Obama said the CIA’s interrogation program should adhere to the same rules that apply to the military, which would prohibit the use of techniques such as waterboarding. He has also said the program should be investigated.

Yet he more recently voted for a White House-backed law to expand eavesdropping powers for the National Security Agency. Mr. Obama said he opposed providing legal immunity to telecommunications companies that aided warrantless surveillance, but ultimately voted for the bill, which included an immunity provision.

The new president could take a similar approach to revising the rules for CIA interrogations, said one current government official familiar with the transition. Upon review, Mr. Obama may decide he wants to keep the road open in certain cases for the CIA to use techniques not approved by the military, but with much greater oversight.

yesterday at huffpo: Feingold Nudges Obama To Select “New Leadership” For Intelligence Agencies

In a gentle yet clear nudge to President-elect Barack Obama, Sen. Russ Feingold released a statement on Thursday calling for “new leadership” in the nation’s various intelligence services.

Feingold — perhaps the Senate’s most indefatigable civil libertarian — has been a stalwart opponent of the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, as well as extensive searches of Americans’ laptops and other property at airports by the TSA. It would be practically impossible to read his statement as anything but a reaction to a Wall Street Journal report earlier this week that claimed Obama is “unlikely to radically overhaul controversial Bush administration intelligence policies.”

today’s nyt: Democratic Pressure on Obama to Restore the Rule of Law

Before the election, Mr. Feingold argued that whoever won should make a priority of rolling back Bush administration policies that eroded constitutional rights and disrupted the careful system of checks and balances. Now that Mr. Obama — a onetime constitutional law professor who made this issue a cause early in the campaign — has won the election, there is both reason for optimism and increased pressure on the president-elect to keep his promises.

Mr. Feingold has been compiling a list of areas for the next president to focus on, which he intends to present to Mr. Obama. It includes amending the Patriot Act, giving detainees greater legal protections and banning torture, cruelty and degrading treatment. He wants to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to restore limits on domestic spying. And he wants to roll back the Bush administration’s dedication to classifying government documents.

Thanks, Punaise. And, thanks for the vid link earlier! A hoot! Gotta keep sane.

Right ON Russ!

1,826 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…

Citizen Hamsher and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:

It seems to me that Obama is playin this entire political calculus like a polymath at a kindergarden counting contest. He is playin’ the senior Blue Dogs against one another in the Lieberman fiasco so as to get folks like Reid to take the fall if they can’t get Ol’ Joe into line. At the same time he’s pullin’ Senators who were in competition with him in the primaries and senior to ‘im on the Senate floor into positions in the administration…see Mrs. Clinton and Joe Biden. All this is goin on while he makes quiet phone calls to Republican “moderates” from north a the Mason Dixon Line (Richard Lugar)and sets up meetings with the fascists’ sacrificial lamb (McCain)to create an alternative Republican Northwestern alliance against the Southern Axis of Evil in the Senate.

How am I doin’ so far? In my way of thinkin’ we are seein’ a real political genius at work here, and the only way he ken be stopped is by an organized opposition inside his own party that is willin to aliegn themselves with what is left of the Republican Party in the South. When the appointment process is done and the new congressional leadership is seated after January, it will be too late for opposition within the Democratic Party and everyone in leadership will be invested in the Obama administration.

We are watchin’ a political Shakespear write a new history of American democracy.

KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION BUT DON’T FIRE UNTIL YOU ARE GIVEN THE ORDER!!

Threaten the Dem Party that we will change our registration.

Primary them! Now that’s change they can understand.

Yeah, most of them would be happy to have us out of the Democratic party; it makes a primary less likely for them. I’m withholding my Jim Martin money ($100) in case Lieberman gets his gavel. If he does, then the Senate Democrats have proven they don’t care about getting to 60, since they reward the worst kind of disloyalty. They’ll never be able to keep the caucus in line if they give Lieberman a gavel; why should I reward them with another Senator?

an apology from hojo would mean NOTHING NADA ATOLL to me, out or in a closet!
he needs to GO!
end of story!

knew you’d like it!

If the anti-Lieberman forces can get enough other senators to join with them, they could threaten to leave the Democratic caucus if it votes to allow Joe to keep his chairmanship. That should doom Joe.

It shouldn’t make any difference who Joe caucuses with (as long as he’s not the 51st vote). Since he’s a man of unrivaled integrity*, he will vote the same way no matter which party he caucuses with. Joe is of no use as the filibuster-busting 60th vote. He would be totally unreliable and there are enough other suspect Democratic votes to effectively keep the Democrats from ever reaching 60.

First Joe. Then (surprise) Harry. It is time to strengthen the Democratic Party.

*According to Joe Lieberman.

Teddy, have you read howie? like minds…

http://downwithtyranny.blogspo.....er_14.html

I posted a comment- I’d be a skunk at the party if I posted it here ;)

Well he did make some big contributions but
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LoYM5OWIqI

The secret Democratic vote over Leiberman keeping his chair.

When is it going to be?

RichardKanePA

Tuesday

Jane got a nice mention on TPM Election Central for this:

Late Update: A good point from Jane Hamsher: These calls from Lieberman supporters like Evan Bayh for him to “apologize” in exchange for keeping his post — would the “apology” happen in the closed-door Dem caucus, and what good would that be?

You Georgians deserve a better Senator than Odious Saxby. But I’m not sure Senate Democrats deserve another vote. In any case, let them work to get it.

Exactly!

Say what? Bernie caucus with the rethugs? Not likely.

That is great news Jane….Ned to the rescue! Was talking to
Ct. Bob the other day about the election and he is thrilled and
very mad at JoeLiar! Who isn’t!

Thanks for the update!

Maureen