As for that film ... such Islam-Will-Conquer-the-World panty piddling paranoia is to be expected from the blogosphere, but not from a Senator in Lieberman's position.

Get real. Senate Dems care more about being liked and "getting along" than anything else.

Hilzoy,

Amen. The debate about Lieberman has been carried out on the wrong turf. His disloyalty to the Democratic Party is an issue-- but the bigger consideration is the fact that we ought to have the best and the brightest and the most effective people we can get in leadership positions. Lieberman is a mediocre Senator at best. Let's put somebody really good in charge of Homeland Security.

Not to worry - any committee chaired by Senator Lieberman will be as aggressive in investigating the Obama administration as it was lax in investigating the Bush League.

The idea that the only Orthodox Jew in the entire Sentate doesn't want to look too closely at the conduct of a war is enough to make me puke my guts out. It should also be enough to make any sane person realize that Joe Lieberman is nothing but a complete and total sellout.

I see him running as Ralph's VP in 2012.

Very cogent arguments. Retaining Lieberman is retaining the incompetence prized by the Bush administration.

Lieberman's an Indie; there's no legitimacy in rewarding him with any committee assignments whatsoever. Simply tell him that all his assignments have been redirected to Democrats.

Let Lieberman make the next move. He can be a good little caucus-ee for the next two years, or he can leave in a snit and go play in the GOPer sandbox. Even if he joins his 'Thug buds, it won't affect the balance of power in the Senate. There won't be any "tie votes" that allow Cheney to inflict damage, and I imagine Harry will go with the pro-forma sessions over the break, just to keep Bush from lobbing any last-minute monkeywrenches into the Obamachinery.

Boy, are you folks going to be disappointed come next summer.

The opposite of a Mensch is an Unmensch...

Lieberman, whose committee is responsible for investigating government, declined to hold hearings on the response to Katrina, saying he didn't want to "play gotcha".

Sarah is looking for Veep...
And the Democrats should be looking for someone of integrity to head the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Enough already with Joey...

Lieberman is no more qualified to chair an oversight committee than Joe the Plumber is licensed as a plumber.

The Homeland Security committee is an important, broad-reaching one. As its Chair, it should have someone with gravitas, and someone whose work-ethic matches the incoming administration's.

Lieberman has shown himself to be a chairman who would rather avoid examining the tough questions that must be asked, such as: 'Have we done everything we could to help one of our cities recover from a catastrophe'? or, 'Is our administration participating in actions that have been deemed illegal by international courts'? A skilled chairman would have understood that although these are unsavory topics, they must be addressed publicly. Or at least they should have been, but Lieberman decided to dismiss his responsibility.

I, personally, am one to think that Lieiberman wants to maintain his chairmanship of HS to do what he can to spin evidence away from Bush criminality, and maybe even Lieberman's own complicity of such activity.

My own suspicions aside, the committee needs someone who will not shirk from duty to examine events that shape our national concerns and help define our priorities.

We need someone in that chair who is willing to do the hard work. Lieberman has proven over the last few years that he is simply not that person.

Muy interesante...

jcricket:

I, personally, am one to think that Lieiberman wants to maintain his chairmanship of HS to do what he can to spin evidence away from Bush criminality, and maybe even Lieberman's own complicity of such activity.

Hmm, I agree with some of your concerns, but to flat out assert that Lieberman is incapable of telling the difference between a Muslim and a Terrorist based on the examples you gave here is a stretch in it's own right. A big stretch. You don't have a crystal ball. And there's enough reason to throw Lieberman under the bus that you don't need to start inventing new absolute convinctions of this magnitude.

Yes, he is extreme when it comes to these things, but that doesn't mean he's completely incapable of discerning the difference.

No, Hilzoy...I wouldn't go down that road...No need really.

Much more accurate to say he is biased to the point where he might be very inclined to not acknowledge the difference. That's dangerous enough.

Non-performance was good enough for me when I wrote about him.

Jeez, hilzoy aren't you saying "yes if he's a competent asshole then we should definitely keep him".

He's an asshole, and the Senate Democrats could prove to the country that they are not spineless jellyfish by throwing droopy dog out on his ass.

I'm betting they pick the jelly fish route.

Just to clarify: I do agree however that Lieberman is bigoted and views the entire Mid-East problem in a dangerously distorted fashion, as do most fundamental Jews and Christians-- as does much of the country.

So maybe I'm just splitting hairs, but rather than declare he's 'incapable' of discerning the difference between a Muslim and a Terrorist, I'd be more inclined to say he clearly has shown that he is un-willing to see or act on any real differences due to his propensity to view the conflict in such a black and white, extremist and even paranoid fashion. And indeed, he's acted on his paranoid stance.

And he's just so obstinant. That lack of humility is what scares me most, that combination of needing to be right no matter what along with the blatant stereotyping (arrogance and ignorance) is a real bad combo.

Another reason for keeping Lieberman away from any position of power-- The voters who swept Obama and many other Democrats into office are expecting real, significant change. If we get stuck with too many of the same old stale and ineffective players, the steam is going to come out of the movement and we'll be vulnerable in 2012. IMHO, it's absolutely critical that Obama and the leaders in Congress show us some evidence that they have a fresh and smarter team coming in, our voter confidence will be lost.

I couldn't agree with you more, and it raises questions about Obama's motives for wanting Lieberman to remain in the Democratic caucus.

The GOP has had a mole in the Democratic caucus for at least eight years. Why the Democratic caucus apparently has no problem with this passes my understanding. Why they are so supine in the face of Joe Lieberman's very evident malfeasance is inexplicable.

Perhaps the answer is that they see themselves as above the rules of normal human behavior, and so what is unacceptable to mere mortals does not disturb their ultra-privilged Senatorial country-club bubble. It's just Joe being Joe.

À la lanterne, les aristos!

Bye bye Joey! And good ridance. The Dems do not need him and his lax of leadership. He fell down on the job for 2 years and what is needed now is strong, unbiased and fair leadeship of these committees. There are tons of smart Senators that could replace him and do a good job. Joey should be ousted from the chairmanship and possibly the caucus but that is really for him to decide what wind he wants to follow.

Lieberman, whose committee is responsible for investigating government, declined to hold hearings on the response to Katrina, saying he didn't want to "play gotcha".

In other words, Lieberman tacitly admitted he refused to hold oversight hearings because he knew the Bush Administration would look bad.

Throw the bum out!

How about a little context here? This is a Senate committee we're talking about, not a one-man show. HS&GA has 17 members, 9 in the majority (Democrats, including the one independent, Lieberman)& 8 in the minority (Republicans). Only one of the Democrats will be gone in the next Congress; in fact he -- Barack Obama -- is already gone. Of the 8 Republicans, 3 definititely will not be returning (Domenici, J Warner, & Sununu), one almost certainly will not (Stevens), & one possibly will not (Coleman). With a increased Senate Democratic majority, the ratio of Democrats to Republicans on HS&GA will likely be increasing. With some more gumption on the part of committee Democrats, backed by some tweaking of the rules HS&GA operates under in the 111th Congress, Lieberman's actual influence on the direction the committee takes could be effectively marginalized.