Is Joe Lieberman a democrat? I believe yes. Here are my two points. 1) Just by sheer voting record, one could conclude that Joe is a dem., citing this sample voting record: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/l000304/votes/
Of the 98 eligible voting issues, Lieberman went against the Democrats 6 times, or roughly 6%. 2) According to the readings, pg 184, Aldrich makes the point that certain policies within a party can be appealing to some, but less to others within the mainframe of the party scheme. Aldrich brings up the case of the "McGovern Democrats", who were less liberal towards the civil rights movement then their activist counterparts. Lieberman could be fashioning his own brand of this type of attitude, considering he is not as liberal toward foregin policy, ie the direction and purpose of the Iraq war. I think the correct moniker would be "Lieberman Democrats".
I believe the Senate democrats have done enough. Why make an example out of a man who may prove to be vital in a few years, especially when the Democrats have a realistic shot at 60% control? They stripped him of one subcommittee and left him on as the head of the more important Homeland Security Committee. The democrats know that they have more pressing issues at hand, and one slap on the wrist will send both a message and keep the party moving towards their goals. As one Senator put it: But senators pointed to statements by the Obama campaign in support of Mr. Lieberman as justification for their decision. “The Senate Democratic Caucus has decided that if President-elect Barack Obama can forgive, so can we,” said Senator Thomas R. Carper, Democrat of Delaware.
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2 comments:
I think that the punishment of Lieberman was not necessary and it didn't mean anything to the American public. It was petty and unneeded while the country struggles to reconnect after an election. With the 24 hour news stream on cable television the American people are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of coverage of this story. It would have been better for the Democrats to say yeah he voted for McCain, but he's an independent and thats what they do.
I thought the punishment didn't quite go far enough, but I liked that you pointed out the 'forgiveness' statement. You can tell that comes directly top-down from the new leader of the Party, President-elect Obama, who has a long history of welcoming challenging voices within his power circle.
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