Stripping Joe Lieberman

I've been a harsh critic of Senator Lieberman and consider his independent run a betrayal of the Democratic Party he claims to love. But I've been hesitant to join in the calls of some for him to be stripped of his committee assignments. That just seemed like turning the screw unnecessarily. While I believe firmly that Lieberman will screw the Dems in order to win this Fall. I don't believe in screwing him over before the fact (i.e., I don't believe in pre-emptive screwing.)

However, there is a new idea floating out that may have some merit: strip Joe of his seniority. He would continue to hold seats on various committees, but he would no longer be the ranking Democrat on several of the more important ones. This would be especially important if the Democrats gain the majority and Lieberman wins re-election. The last thing we need is an apologist for the Bush administration taking the lead role in the committee that handles oversight on Homeland Security!

Now I'm not sure whether this should be done before or after the election. Doing it before might again be a case of pre-emptive screwing. But doing it after (and promising to do so beforehand) would be logical. After all, if Lieberman wins re-election on the "Lieberman for Connecticut" party then he will no longer be the senior Democrat on the committee. So stripping him of his seniority would simply be an acknowledgement of a defacto reality.

It would certainly be a good stick to hold over his head if he should continue his "Vote for me because you can't trust the Democrats" narrative.