LIEBERMAN’S ‘UNACCEPTABLE’ BEHAVIOR…. Sens. Pat Leahy and Bernie Sanders, both of Vermont, announced the other day that they oppose Joe Lieberman keeping his committee chairmanship. Today, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) came close.
Ali Frick noted Dorgan’s appearance on Fox News this morning, where Dorgan responded to questions about what the Democratic caucus is prepared to do. While Dorgan was reluctant to say how he would vote on Tuesday, he said, “As a chairman of one of our significant committees in the Senate, not just going off and supporting a presidential candidate of the other side but also criticizing the candidate on our side, and also involving himself in a couple of Senate races on the other side. The question is, is that acceptable? And the answer is no.”
He added, however, that he doesn’t want to “pre-judge what might or might not happen,” and concluded that the notion of voting Lieberman out of the caucus altogether is “not on the table.”
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), meanwhile, said on the same program that Republicans would welcome Lieberman into their caucus “with open arms.”
Stay tuned.
Update: I should note, by the way, that the vote on Lieberman’s fate will be by secret-ballot. Democrats, in other words, will be free to go with their conscience. Unless it’s a unanimous vote, which is extremely unlikely, caucus members need not fear reprisals.
