Over the weekend I called Obama a hypocrite for preaching “unity” and “bipartisanship” even as he stood by and watched Senator Joe Lieberman, who exercised a bit of bipartisanship when he sided with Republicans on Iraq, be stripped of his chairmanships. Today, however, Obama stepped in and told his fellow Democrats that he wants Lieberman in the Democrat caucus.
Of course, this is a bit of a flip-flop from his earlier position where he said that the business of the Senate wasn’t his business, but I’m willing to give him credit for doing the right thing anyway.
President-elect Barack Obama has informed party officials that he wants Joe Lieberman to continue caucusing with the Democrats in the 111th Congress, Senate aides tell the Huffington Post.
Obama’s decision could tie the hands of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has been negotiating to remove Lieberman as chair of the Homeland Security and Government Reform committee while keeping him within the caucus. Lieberman has insisted that he will split from the Democrats if his homeland security position is stripped.
Aides to the president-elect did not return requests for comment. Senate officials were unclear whether Obama would be comfortable with Lieberman maintaining his current committee post.
Lieberman will leave the Democrat caucus (and presumably join the Republican caucus) if he loses his Homeland Security chair. Obama says Lieberman stays in the caucus. Presumably, that means Reid has to leave him alone.
Which is a good thing, because I don’t think politicians who work with their party’s opposition when they think that opposition is right should be punished by the party. Of course, being a conservative, I think that anyone who goes along with a liberal agenda should be unelected, but that’s up to the voters. In Congress, and in politics in general, politicians should be more loyal to their ideology and guiding philosophy than political party anyway.
And besides, as noble as Lieberman’s staunch support of Iraq has been, he’s still a liberal.