http://kos.dailykos.com/
Lieberman's a democrat and Hillary may be Sec. of State. I understand their current contempt, especially with the Lieberman deal. The left fought and fought hard for this victory. This is a victory they were told they were apart of and they own a piece of it. Lieberman more than anyone spit in their face all the way along. They despise this guy, even more than McCain whose motives were understandable if not appreciated.
The current wrath is being aimed at the "spineless democratic caucus". That is easy everyone hates congress just not their congress person. I am guessing that a big piece of the "blame" falls upon Pres. elect Obama's shoulders. While he is fairly moderate in nature he is going to address the nations ills with bold moves. It is not his intent to address all the issues that face us with half steps and measured enthusiasm. It is not in his interest to barely squeak bills through. It is not his intent to simply lead by simply keeping the Democratic caucus in lock step through coercion and persuasion. He is after broader support which is going to require moderate Dems and Repubs alike.
He has worked in the Senate long enough to know not every Dem or Repub is going to agree on every issues. As a result you are going to lose support of some Dems on certain issues say immigration reform, or climate control. You will need to pick up that support of those Repubs that happen to be moderate on such issues. In a way it harkens back to the regionalism of the maps we were discussing yesterday. There are probably some dem senators in the south east that have much more conservative view on immigration than a number of Rep senators from the southwest. He might find some help from the few remaining Northeast Repubs on issues as judicial appointments.
Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and John Kerry, D-Mass., were among those speaking in his favor, according to a Democratic aide requiring anonymity to discuss a private meeting.
Updated: Dick Durbin goes to the heart of the point. There is no one that Obama owes more for his political life than Senator Durbin. Couple this with the fact that as Whip it is Durbin's job to round up votes for the Democratic caucus speak to point made in this post.
Pres. Elect Obama has a wide number of issues he wants to address and will need the broadest pool of support possible to draw from. Therefore, I believe the Lieberman vote was a result of signals sent from Obama's team. It was not about keeping that one vote in the Democratic fold. It was about sending signals to a broad spectrum of moderates in the Senate. The message is that there are going to be times that you may have to disagree with me for personal or political reasons. That's okay. We are going to need you and your leadership on the areas that we do agree on. It signals to Republicans that tend to agree with him on certain issues that they will not be used as a political pawns.
It is not his intent to govern as Bush has for the past 8 years. Get in line or else. This administration will not be solely about loyalty and discipline. It will be about coalion building and governing. That is change the left should be able to get behind.
Although I still don't like Lieberman and we'll be keeping an eye on him.
P.S. I think after the last few days of media coverage on the Hillary for S of S. it is pretty clear why Obama did not pick her for VP.
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