The question...
I've been asked this question many times over the past month. What happens if US Sen. Joseph Lieberman wins re-election as an independent candidate? Does he retain his seniority or does he lose it?
There is no straightforward answer. Lieberman has repeatedly said he intends to continue to caucus with the Democrats. A decision on committee assignments, and potential chairmanships, is that of the party leadership and whether Lieberman would benefit from his long standing relationship with the leadership in the Senate is something that only time will tell.
However...this little item appeared in The Hill magazine , one of the Capitol's better journals of what's going inside the beltway. It seems some Democratic senators are not happy with the senator's initial forray into the independent candidacy - questioning his seniority status if he should win in November.
The Hill cites aides to senators saying that Lieberman could be stripped of his seniority, and expressing "shock" that he suggested those calling for a reduction in troops in Iraq are bolsterring terrorists groups. It stops short of saying how strong or widespread those feelings are.
The seniority issue is significant because if Democrats were to take control of the Senate following the 2006 election, Lieberman - if he were to win re-election - would likely be in line to be the next chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
And for what it's worth, the current Republican Committee Chairwoman Olympia Snowe of Maine has endorsed Lieberman's re-election bid.
No doubt this will result in lots of speculation over the coming weeks. What it all means, however, won't reallyu be known until the dust settles after November.
There is no straightforward answer. Lieberman has repeatedly said he intends to continue to caucus with the Democrats. A decision on committee assignments, and potential chairmanships, is that of the party leadership and whether Lieberman would benefit from his long standing relationship with the leadership in the Senate is something that only time will tell.
However...this little item appeared in The Hill magazine , one of the Capitol's better journals of what's going inside the beltway. It seems some Democratic senators are not happy with the senator's initial forray into the independent candidacy - questioning his seniority status if he should win in November.
The Hill cites aides to senators saying that Lieberman could be stripped of his seniority, and expressing "shock" that he suggested those calling for a reduction in troops in Iraq are bolsterring terrorists groups. It stops short of saying how strong or widespread those feelings are.
The seniority issue is significant because if Democrats were to take control of the Senate following the 2006 election, Lieberman - if he were to win re-election - would likely be in line to be the next chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
And for what it's worth, the current Republican Committee Chairwoman Olympia Snowe of Maine has endorsed Lieberman's re-election bid.
No doubt this will result in lots of speculation over the coming weeks. What it all means, however, won't reallyu be known until the dust settles after November.
posted by Ray Hackett at 2:06 PM
4 Comments:
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If Lieberman wins as a PETITIONING CANDIDATE (the proper term is petitioning candidate, not "Independent") he should lose his senority and most likely will since he would not have not been elected as a Democrat.
Lieberman's "senority" won't mean much anyway since the Republicans will still be in control of the US Senate after this November's election.
I would guess that the Senate Democratic leadership is NOT at all happy with Lieberman running as a petitioning candidate because all it does is give Schlessinger a chance to put the seat in Republican hands. Schlessinger would undoubtedly lose in a two way race with Lamont but while most everyone refuses to admit it at this point, Schlessinger or ANY Republican is "in" this race with Lieberman AND Lamont appearing on the ballot.
-- Speaking as a Schlessinger man, I have to say that Lieberman was just stating a fact when he said that Lamont and Company are Al Queda sympathizers.
When was the last time you heard one of these dirtbags say something unkind about the terrorits?
These are the same people that were upset with the wire taps on terrorists phones. Just whose side are these people on?
I think that is a fair question.
But is the country better off if we cut and run?
I think we have a right to expect leadership from leaders. There is more than just their jobs at stake here.
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