Wasn't it bizarre?

Yes, it was.

Definitely not the best way to come clean or handle an interview.

Well Joe Lieberman walked away with a itty bitty slap on the wrist. He gets to keep his most important position, the chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee, even after he pissed on the Democrats' heads repeatedly.

It’s Official: Lieberman Won
By: Jane Hamsher Tuesday November 18, 2008 8:56 am


Reid, backed in solidarity by members of the Democratic Senate Caucus including Boxer, Schumer, Patty Murray and others just held a press conference:

We had a historic caucus in the old senate chamber. We had a very nice discussion. And it's very clear that the vast majority of the Democratic caucus wants to keep Sen Lieberman as chairman of this comittee, member of the Armed Services committee and that was done, it's all over with.

Joe Lieberman is a Democrat, he's part of this caucus.



We accepted the statement made by one of the more senior member of the senate that this is not a time for retribution, it's a time for moving forward on the problems of this country.The great depresion may be in the history anals a worse time economically in the history of our country but we don't know yet. We have all kinds of problems we need to move forward on. We need to be unified. We need to be unified as Democrats, we need to be unified as a Senate, and that's what this meeting which we just completed is all about, moving forward and handling the problems of this country to the best of our ability. And that's what we're going to do.

Harry wouldn't let Lieberman step forward and talk.

It's high irony for Reid to talk about being "unified as Democrats." He just told the people who worked hard for Obama's election, who still want to see some oversight on Katrina, to go Cheney themselves.

I'm not feeling too welcome at the moment.

How about you?

Update: Lieberman stepped up and spoke -- he said there was a "resolution of reconciliation and not of retribution" in the caucus. He cites Obama's support of him as critical.

Where is the promise that Evan Bayh and Amy Klobuchar said that he owed everyone? He thanks the "gang of four" -- Dodd, Ken Salazar, Bill Nelson and Tom Carper -- for saving him.

Update II: Lieberman says the resolution was an expression of disapproval for some of the things that he said, and "some of the things people said that I said about Obama that simply aren't true." He won't say what those things are, but also excuses himself on the basis of "heat of the campaign moment," and appreciates his colleagues' support of his "independence of mind."

He says Reid asked him to relinquish his seat of the environment committee. He agreed, to "make room for freshmen Senators."

If you want to know how I'll be spending my time, I'll be working even harder on the Primary Recruitment Project.


http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/18/its-offi...-lieberman-won/

Darn, I was hoping they'd drive him to the other side. Chances are this is as close as they get to 60.

I was hoping he'd leave.

I just called 3 different offices for Dick Durbin to see how he voted on the Lieberman deal. No one could, or would tell me.

He can always drive himself to the other side and work his 'magic' on the Republican Party. Maybe support Democratic Party nominees or candidates for House and Senate in the next election. And criticize Republican candidates while he's at it.

Sure he will.

The s.o.b. is not up for re-election in what, 4 years? If Dems can't unseat this farker this time around, then they're useless.

2012. I tell you what, Reid is the worse Democratic leader I can remember. Pelosi is about as bad.

They are useless. They NEED Joe, more than he needs them.

Obama is getting McCain. He'll have 60 votes in the Senate at least once or twice.

Don't hate the playa... hate the game...

Oh, they got Snowe and Collins... they gots a working 60...

Secret ballot... must have ran out of check cards...

Could be the D vice presidential candidate in 2016...

The honeymoon is over...

I've never cared for either one.

That doesn't bother me. The point of politics is to get people to your side to vote. I'm not averse to Reps getting Dems to their side to vote either. Driving away votes is stupid, and some hardline Reps are trying to do that right now. They CANNOT win with the 80s model.

Their best news is Obama is already arrogant and overstepping.

Arrogant? He's the one who wanted Lieberman left alone. He's the one who wants to talk to those across the aisle. We'll see. There will be brick walls but at least he's willing to talk.

I am looking forward to the the major party in charge not having procedural excuses for what they do or don't do for the next couple of years...

What is all that supposed to prove or how is it supposed to be in response to what I said?

Seriously . . . there's a pecular streak in you, I don't quite know how to characterize it. It would certainly be extremely annoying in real life.

He's already arrogant and over-reaching. He has done fark all officially as President, since he's not even officially President-Elect, but he, supposedly is already 'over-reaching' and he is already arrogant.

Talk about projection.

Heck yeah. The sheer joy of Sucksby being defeated would make it worthy, though.

It looks like the Alaska election is effectively over. Saves Republican U.S. Senators a 'headache'.

I don't rate Franken that highly. Coleman is not bad, for a former Democrat, turned Repulican run-of-the-mill douchebag.

ROTMDB

Nobody does.

Obama could re-brand America, experts say

President-elect Barack Obama could restore the United States' image in the international community, experts say. Obama represents a "clean break" from the past, and his election is the first big step toward change...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/19/oba...mage/index.html

Would be nice if they could stop trying to kill republicans and think about what is good for the nation. Lots of haters in the democrat socialists groups; the NE libs, Black Caucus, West Coast deviates and the beat go on.

I don't know... winners posts in 2008 looks a lot like winners posts in 2000 to me...

For 1992, 2004, and 2008 there is a 1994, 2006, and 2010...

drums keep pounding a rhythm to my brain, la di da di dee, la di da di dum

CNN is using Obama's own campaign slogan in their reporting. I think there needs to be a little time between the election and his first actions for things to settle down and a real picture to emerge. So far everyone is just in talk mode.

I really wanted to see the Reps have to vote ol' Ted off the island while debating the meaning of 'felony conviction'.





Why is it always our turn to ignore the war crimes, high crimes and misdemeanors of your folks and then when prosecutionitis gets back in the air you get to destroy the Presidency over the meaning of 'is' Re: BJ's ?

Why was that responsibility but determining the constitutional powers of the Presidency is no big deal in the face of a good deal of abuse ? Bet you'd feel a lot differently about those powers if Hillary had 'em, or you believed Obama was a Muslim plant.

When do Dems ever ignore anything?

If the Dems were what they pretend to be they'd have voted impeachment after Kucinich read out the charges.

Aye...

Neither party is what it pretends to be. Whether this last election will make any real difference is yet to be seen.

It's kinda hard to stick 300 million pegs into two holes. The election that will make the most difference will be the last one. Up until then there will always be another one down the road.

Bite them, LP.

And, by the way, "kill".

What is good for the nation is for a shitload of Republicans to be voted out of office in 2010. That would be good for the nation. And for Newt Gingrich to decide it's FINALLY time to spend some more time with his family.

amen. I went through the whole "what if Atlanta is vaporized by a nuke" argument with a rightwing DH who was defending Bush's torture policies in my local paper. It is so maddening to have to refute the same bs Limbaugh lines again and again. The best thing for our country would be for every Republican to be voted out. They are brainwashed extremists of the worse kind.

Lieberman: Obama 'about perfect' in Cabinet picks
By PAT EATON-ROBB, Associated Press Writer Pat Eaton-robb, Associated Press Writer 12 mins ago

HARTFORD, Conn. – Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman took another step Tuesday toward mending his relationship with Democrats, saying that Barack Obama's actions since winning the presidency have been "just about perfect."

"Everything that President-elect Obama has done since election night has been just about perfect, both in terms of a tone and also in terms of the strength of the names that have either been announced or are being discussed to fill his administration," Lieberman said during a visit to Hartford.

Lieberman, the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2000, was re-elected to the Senate in 2006 as an independent but continues to caucus with Democrats. He supported Republican John McCain's presidential campaign, going as far as to criticize Obama and make a speech at the Republican National Convention.

Democrats threatened to strip him of his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee but instead removed him as head of a smaller environmental subcommittee.

Connecticut Democrats meet Dec. 17 and are still considering a possible censure of Lieberman for his actions during the presidential campaign.

"I will ask them to judge me by my record," Lieberman said. "Generally speaking, I've had a record, a voting record, which is really ultimately what it's about, not unlike most Democrats."

Lieberman said he believes the rift between himself and the party stemmed mainly from his support of President Bush's policy in Iraq and will close as that becomes less of an issue.

"It appears to me that the war in Iraq is coming to a successful — I don't want to say conclusion yet, but it's moving in a way that it will not be a divisive issue either in the Democratic Party or between Democrats and Republicans in the time ahead," Lieberman said. "And therefore, I think we'll return to more normal times, which I welcome."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081125/ap_on_...man_connecticut

Harlem Rep. Charlie Rangel paid Bill Clinton lawyer Lanny Davis six figures*

New York Daily News, by James Gordon Meek

11/26/2008 4:52:49 AM

WASHINGTON - Embattled Rep. Charlie Rangel paid $121,000 last month to Bill Clinton's former Mr. Fix-It for help in navigating a House ethics probe, the Daily News has learned. Rangel cut the check to Lanny Davis, an ex-White House lawyer for Bubba during several scandal probes, and his law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe on Oct. 1. He was hired as Rangel's lawyer and spokesman last summer, but was quietly replaced recently

bushie's lawyers showed him how to ignore the Constitution

Lieberman Contributed to GOP Senate, House Candidates



Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-Conn.) support of John McCain's presidential campaign was well known. His contribution to Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) was not. (By Melina Mara -- The Washington Post Photo)

By Paul Kane

Here's a story of the Thanksgiving spirit, forgiving and forgetting senatorial style.

When Democrats gathered last week to decide the fate of Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), a pair of senators-elect, Tom Udall of New Mexico and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, stepped up to offer symbolically important speeches.

Having ridden the wave of support for President-elect Barack Obama, Udall and Merkley spoke out in favor of the spirit of reconciliation and moving on from the campaign, in which Lieberman was one of the highest profile supporters of the Republican presidential ticket.

But no one in the room knew, as Merkley spoke, that Lieberman had supported Merkley's opponent, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.). Lieberman, through his Reuniting Our Country PAC, gave Smith's reelection bid $5,000 on Oct. 10, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Lieberman's support of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for the presidency was well known, punctuated by his nationally televised speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul criticizing Obama as not prepared to be president. His endorsement of Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who has served as the top Republican beside him at the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, also was well known in Democratic circles.

But not even Merkley knew of Lieberman's backing of Smith in their critical Senate race, until Capitol Briefing alerted his staff today.

"We were surprised to hear this news, but it's time to put the election behind us. Jeff Merkley is looking forward to working with all his new colleagues on an agenda that will put our nation back on track," said Julie Edwards, spokeswoman for Merkley.

Lieberman's support of Smith came the same weekend he wrote an op-ed in the St. Paul Pioneer Press defending Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) for his work as chairman of an investigative subcommittee on Lieberman's homeland security committee. The same day he wrote a check to Smith, Lieberman's ROC PAC gave $5,000 to Rep. Peter King, the Long Island Republican. In radio and TV appearances the final days of the campaign, Lieberman also frequently said that a Democratic majority of 60 votes, a filibuster-proof level, would be a bad thing.

Lieberman's $5,000 check was clearly not a difference maker for Smith, as Merkley still won by more than 50,000 votes. And Coleman is clinging to a razor-thin lead during a recount of his race against Democrat Al Franken.

But the internal Democratic caucus debate over Lieberman's fate almost always focused on Lieberman's criticism of Obama, not on his support of Republicans in Senate races. Edwards, Merkley's spokeswoman, has said that Merkley also expressed how much Lieberman's actions in the presidential race angered him. He did not encourage other Democrats to vote one way or the other, but did talk about moving on from the bitter fights of the campaign.

Then, on a 42-13 vote, Democrats supported keeping Lieberman as chairman of the committee with broad oversight of the Obama administration and removing him from the Environment and Public Works Committee.

Lieberman's office acknowledged his donation to Smith, but noted that he worked hard for other Democrats as well. "While the Senator's political action committee donated to a very few Republicans, the Senator's pacs donated and raised over a half million dollars for wide range of Democratic candidates and organizations in this past election cycle," Marshall Wittmann, his spokesman, said.



http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitol-b...=news-col-blogs

Shady Island 'House' Party

New York Post, by Ginger Adams Otis & Isabel Vincent

11/30/2008 5:25:43 AM


High-ranking members of Congress were flown to a lush Caribbean resort this month for a three-day conference planned and paid for by several of the country's most powerful corporations - a violation of federal ethics rules, critics say. Six members of the Congressional Black Caucus attended the 13th annual Caribbean Multi-National Business Conference in sun-drenched St. Maarten, including embattled Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel and New Jersey Rep. Donald Payne.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11302008/news/...arty_141513.htm

Sounds shady to me.

I had to post this article in this topic as the authors of the article forgot to mention his political affiliation...



Reuters

Hmmmmm Reuters, what could be be?

Larry Paul Langford is the Democratic mayor of the city of Birmingham, Alabama