It's bye bye bye, gone gone gone

The internets and talking heads are abuzz right now about the fate of Joe Lieberman, whether he should be booted from the Democratic caucus in the Senate, and whether, if he remains in the caucus, he should be stripped of his chairmanship of (of all things of which he clearly should not be the leader) the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Cmmittee.

It's no surprise to anyone that I would be happy to see Lieberman completely gone, unwelcome to caucus with the Democrats that he gleefully betrayed. Aot this point, given the tenor of the transition and the mood of the Senate, I don't think that's feasible, and don't believe that the Democrats necessarily need to appear to be punitive, despite Lieberman's duplicity. On the other hand, Lieberman cannot be allowed to blackmail the party that he stabbed in the back, and does not deserve to keep any leadership position. Aside from good will, Lieberman holds no cards. And Lieberman and his allies deserve no good will. Moreover, there need to be consequences for bad behavior. Even if Joe Lieberman swore on the Torah that he would from now on always vote the party line and would shine President Obama's shoes each morning, he should not get a pass on what he has done. His threat to bolt the party if he is stripped of his Chairmanship should be ignored, if not ridiculed. Not to overstate this, but the dignity of the Democratic party and its principles depends on that. They have a choice - to stick by principle and honor, or to be cuckolds.

But Harry Reid has an obligation to put this whole fiasco in the best light. So here's how I think this should all go down.

If Joe Lieberman continues to make threats of switching sides (as if he hasn't already) and officially joining the Republican caucus, Harry Reid needs to, first, pressure the weak-kneed caucus to make sure they understand the stakes and the consequences and the absolute necessity to not roll over on behalf of Joe Lieberman, and, second, make a public statement acknowledging that he knows Joe Lieberman is a man that will always vote his conscience - while refusing to back down from stripping Lieberman of his Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chairmanship. Accordingly, the Democratic leadership will accept and respect whatever decision Joe Lieberman makes that satisfies his conscience, secure in the knowledge that Lieberman will always vote his conscience on the critical issues confronting the American people regardless of which side of the aisle he chooses to sit. His choice to caucus with Democrats in the past has not impacted his capacity to side with Republicans on the issues that mattered to him in the past, and we know that a choice by Senator Lieberman to caucus with Republicans in the future, if he makes that choice, will not impact his capacity to side with Democrats in the future in accordance with the dictates of his conscience. What's matters is that the Senate acts in accordance with the needs of the country. The Democratic caucus will strive to always make decisions based on advancing that goal. As a man of conscience, we know that Joe Lieberman will do the same, regardless of where he chooses to caucus.

In other words, Joe, we accept your explanation and we respect that explanation. And that's specifically why it doesn't matter to us if you caucus with us.

Go. Or stay. But do it because it is what you wish to do.

(Appropriate portion starts at 0:45)


It's your choice, Joe. As it always is.

On the other hand, Reid could just say, "Take your punishment like a man."

UPDATE: Harry Reid is no James Kirk.