red states rule
10-30-2008, 10:00 AM
Dems keep braging how they might have 60 seats in the Senate - but what fall one short?
After the way Dems have trashed Sen lieberman, would it not justice if he sided with Republicans and denied Dems their 60 seat majority?
One liberal on this board even said Lieberman would no longer be needed after this election, so toss him aside. Those libs may be eating those words, and begging Joe for help
Lieberman may still hold key to chamber
Through a quirk in the rules, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman may once again emerge as the Senate Democrats' indispensable man, despite his support of the Iraq war, his full-throated endorsement of Republican Sen. John McCain for president and his prime-time speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in September.
The Democrat-turned-independent, who provided the crucial 51st vote to give Democrats control of the Senate in 2006 could - a number of election forecasters project - provide the crucial 60th vote party strategists are lusting for to build a "filibuster-proof" Senate majority after Nov. 4.
Some scoff at the idea, amid reports that Senate Democratic leaders have already decided to strip Mr. Lieberman of his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in the new Congress, when the Democrats are almost universally expected to pad their majority. The skeptics say Mr. Lieberman burned too many bridges in the past year with his ties to Mr. McCain, who reportedly wanted to pick the Connecticut lawmaker as his vice-presidential running mate.
But others say the numbers will force Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, to think again.
Mr. Lieberman "has been all but written off as a political force, but he just might rise from the dead," said Kenneth Dautrich, who teaches public policy at the University of Connecticut and founded the university's Center for Survey Research and Analysis, in a phone interview.
"Depending on how the vote goes, he could be the most marginalized man in the Senate or once again one of its most important," Mr. Dautrich said.
Currently, there are 49 Democrats and 49 Republicans in the Senate, with Mr. Lieberman and fellow independent Vermont Sen. Bernard Sanders voting with the Democrats to give the party a 51-49 majority. Had Mr. Lieberman switched sides, Vice President Dick Cheney would have been summoned to break the 50-50 tie and Mr. Reid would have instantly become the Senate minority leader.
With Democrats surging in the polls, many see the party coming up just short of the 60-vote total - the number needed under Senate rules to close off debate and force votes on stalled legislation. If the Democrats get to 58 or 59 seats, Mr. Lieberman - at least in theory - holds the deciding vote once again.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/30/lieberman-may-still-hold-key-to-chamber/
After the way Dems have trashed Sen lieberman, would it not justice if he sided with Republicans and denied Dems their 60 seat majority?
One liberal on this board even said Lieberman would no longer be needed after this election, so toss him aside. Those libs may be eating those words, and begging Joe for help
Lieberman may still hold key to chamber
Through a quirk in the rules, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman may once again emerge as the Senate Democrats' indispensable man, despite his support of the Iraq war, his full-throated endorsement of Republican Sen. John McCain for president and his prime-time speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in September.
The Democrat-turned-independent, who provided the crucial 51st vote to give Democrats control of the Senate in 2006 could - a number of election forecasters project - provide the crucial 60th vote party strategists are lusting for to build a "filibuster-proof" Senate majority after Nov. 4.
Some scoff at the idea, amid reports that Senate Democratic leaders have already decided to strip Mr. Lieberman of his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in the new Congress, when the Democrats are almost universally expected to pad their majority. The skeptics say Mr. Lieberman burned too many bridges in the past year with his ties to Mr. McCain, who reportedly wanted to pick the Connecticut lawmaker as his vice-presidential running mate.
But others say the numbers will force Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, to think again.
Mr. Lieberman "has been all but written off as a political force, but he just might rise from the dead," said Kenneth Dautrich, who teaches public policy at the University of Connecticut and founded the university's Center for Survey Research and Analysis, in a phone interview.
"Depending on how the vote goes, he could be the most marginalized man in the Senate or once again one of its most important," Mr. Dautrich said.
Currently, there are 49 Democrats and 49 Republicans in the Senate, with Mr. Lieberman and fellow independent Vermont Sen. Bernard Sanders voting with the Democrats to give the party a 51-49 majority. Had Mr. Lieberman switched sides, Vice President Dick Cheney would have been summoned to break the 50-50 tie and Mr. Reid would have instantly become the Senate minority leader.
With Democrats surging in the polls, many see the party coming up just short of the 60-vote total - the number needed under Senate rules to close off debate and force votes on stalled legislation. If the Democrats get to 58 or 59 seats, Mr. Lieberman - at least in theory - holds the deciding vote once again.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/30/lieberman-may-still-hold-key-to-chamber/