New Dem Senator Merkley "Profoundly Hurt" By Lieberman

Aides to Senator-elect Jeff Merkley said the newly elected Oregonian Democrat was "profoundly hurt" by Joe Lieberman's conduct during the 2008 presidential campaign and added that being a committee chair was an honor that came with certain responsibilities.

Nevertheless, they added, the Senator-elect would respect the secrecy of the Tuesday vote that kept Lieberman in his post as Homeland Security chair.

"He did speak at the meeting," said Julie Edwards, Merkley's communications director. "He is someone who cheered for Joe Lieberman in 2000 and Lieberman's words and actions this year were profoundly hurtful to him... The committee chairmanship is a privilege and not a entitlement and Senator-elect Merkley believes that being a member of the leadership comes with certain responsibilities. But at this point he does look forward to putting this behind us."

Sources familiar with today's meeting say that Merkley was one of the few Senators to speak out critically about Lieberman's campaign antics. Both Senators from Vermont -- Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders -- also expressed criticism of the Connecticut independent

"I spoke against the Lieberman motion and voted against it," read a statement from Sanders. "For me, the bottom line is that millions of Americans, with unprecedented energy, worked day and night to get Barack Obama elected and to move our country in a very new direction. I think it's a slap in the face to these activists that someone who opposed those efforts in a very prominent way is awarded with a major committee. Having said that, there is an enormous amount of work that is facing the Senate and we all have to move on and work together to address these issues."

Ultimately, however, Lieberman's fate as a caucusing Democrat was secured as the majority of his colleagues voted to keep him atop the homeland security committee. The resolution agreed upon - which stripped the Senator of his position on an environmental and public works subcommittee - was passed by a 42-13 margin. Addressing reporters after the vote, Majority Leader Harry Reid said of Lieberman: "He's part of this caucus... We are not looking back. We are looking forward."

Senator Dianne Feinstein, meanwhile said her "hope" for Lieberman was "that he becomes a Democrat again."

Comments

[pir anha]

"We are not looking back. We are looking forward."

i have an aphorism for you, mr. reid: those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

[MsLiz]

What makes you think that Obama and his team or forgetting anything?

[MrsPeel]

MsLiz, pir_anha is quoting Harry Reid, who also said today, "I'm not apologizing to anybody" with respect to his apologia for Lieberman.

I've officially had it with Harry. Whatever Barack's plans -- and I trust him -- I'm over Harry.

[wmw9967]

Here we go again. The Democrats are showing that they do not have a back bone. Lieberman should have been gone!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!1

[brynn6]

The Republicans decided to do nothing about Stevens as well.

[MrsPeel]

No, the Repubs just waited until Stevens lost, which he did. Begich was just officially called the winner.

[MrsPeel]

Oh, it's you I responded to. Didn't even realize it, Tex. We meet again.

[huffy2001]

It was the smart political move. As LBJ so famously said, I'd rather have him inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in. It's politics, folks, not the senior prom. Get over it.

[NWBrunette]

You sure don't know politics. Just because someone said something doesn't mean it applies to everything. In order to move our agenda forward we need team players in key leadership positions. Today's choice effectively did the opposite. A dumb move.

[huffy2001]

Actually, I do understand politics, as well as human dynamics. The dems just stripped lieberman of any reason to go against them in important votes. They can always strip him of his position later...at any time...for any reason. He now owes his political life to the caucus. He will either toe the line, or he will be ousted later. His political capital and clout has diminished significantly. He is Reid's boy now.

[bygollymissmolly]

Joe LIEberman blackmailed the Senate and they went along with it.

How sad.

Merkley comes from my home state of Oregon. I'm thinking we are going to see good things come from him.

[brynn6]

Oregon is my home state as well. Now, here in TX, I have two Republican senators both reliable Bush yes-men. I am even more homesick than ever now.

[brynn6]

Off Topic but Wonderful! Begich up by 2,374 votes! Bye, bye Teddie-boy! (Nate Silver of 538.com told Arianna last night that he thought Begich would win by around 3,000. Looks like he's going to be bang-on as usual.)

[Crozier]

NAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH Senator Lieberman loved GOP Senator Smith, your opponent whom you defeated and whom Senator Lieberman supported. You must love Senator Lieberman. You must forgive him. Only good Democrats love and forgive Senator Lieberman. All bad Democrats do not.

[brynn6]

I'm a very bad Democrat.

[eden4barack08]

I'm even badder!

[Whinger]

I'm an ex Democrat, I don't like being ignored or getting my face slapped for Joe's sake!

[MontereyJack]

LIE..berma­n remains a s.c.um.bag

[stevi]

Has this dreadful LIErman apologized for anything during his traitorous summer vacation in McCainville? He gets rewarded by his fellow Senators for disgusting behavior. What if we raised our children by these standards? Why not just everyone lie and betray our (alleged) friends all the time and we can have a game show to see who does it best. Let's call that show "Lying With The High Ranking Government Officials" I am disappointed with our elected officials. What's new? I am trying so hard to understand what is good about this. Is it "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer"? NOT

[MsLiz]

I think the reference to how we raise our children is spurious. It was used during the Clinton scandals, as in "what will I tell my children the president did." We are talking high level politics here, and the public is not privy to all the negotiations. Raise children with high ideals, but don't deny the reality that it is a complex and dirty world. If we live by childish standards, we all view the world through Jimmy Carter's eyes.

[nathananderson]

Oh jeez Merkley already making waves. You know, Smith wasn't that bad of a Republican­.... the seat I REALLY want to see flipped is the Chambliss seat.

[Crozier]

Of course, DLC Democrats LOVE moderate Republican senators. Much better than a real Democrat, right !!!!

[nathananderson]

Everything in moderation, my friend.

[bygollymissmolly]

You didn't know Gordon Smith if you thought that he wasn't that bad of a Republican. He voted 90% of the time with Bush and the other Republicans. Every time it got close to a new election, he would start to sound kind of moderate, but once he was re-elected, he was right back to being the old right wing Gordo. We in Oregon we on to him this time and gave him his walking papers.

I'm going to be very happy if Merkley makes waves. The Senate needs some shaking up.

[NWBrunette]

Thanks Molly. There's plenty of straightening out to do on these pages. Keep up the great work.

[nathananderson]

The election is over, so we can stop with the voting record rhetoric. Voting record isn't nearly as important as legislation, anyway.

[peaceplumber]

Jeff's got a backbone

[gisellestwocents]

Thank you Senators Sanders, Merkley and Leahy. At least we disappointed voters and contributors can take solace in the fact that you did articulate our concerns and vote as we had wished.

[TheIndependenceParty]

Thank you to the three! 3 of 13 spoke. 42 affirmed Lieberman. How different this election was than that to elect our new president and Congress. What a pathetic bunch of fools this next Congress appear to be. Reid was so angry, ... that he apparently voted with the tide. Thanks, Harry. Brave stand against the renegade from CT. Should we make him Majority Chief?

[dyspeptic]

Loaded Orygun says Merkley's public words were about how Lieberman's campaign rhetoric "hurt" , but behind the closed doors, he both spoke in favor of keeping Lieberman, and voted to keep him. Does somebody here KNOW that he was among the 13?

[fan4truth]

If the man that Lieberman insulted has turned the other cheek, and said I still want him, I can forgive him, then why can't everyone else?

We all pulled, rooted, campaigned, and worked hard to get Sen. Obama into the oval office. We succeeded. We also have upset most of the country and returned it to a center - left country. We have a new democratic senator in Oregon, and three more closely held elections in Alaska, Minnesota and Georgia. The first two look promising for the democratic party, the third one will look better now that Sen. McCain was down there.

We've won people. We've won and we've got a long hard road ahead of us. President-Elect Obama took the teeth out of the dog (Lieberman) by giving him a pass when he could have done the easy thing, and let his ego override his rationale.

He didn't. We need to look at this from a proactive manner, and not let the divisive tactics of the Bush administration interfere with the work that we must do as a collective and cohesive unit.

Lieberman was wrong during the election. He has been given a chance to do right. Let's be the people that President-Elect Obama called us to be - better than we can be for the common good.

[franklin opt]

Thank you. Well said.

[brynn6]

I know, I know...but I'm just not as good of a person as that. I despise that putz and would love to personally kick his butt, tie him to a dog sled, drive him all the way to Alaska and off the edge of a glacier into the ocean in the middle of January! Then I might do something REALLY drastic.

[11907281]

The chair they left him with is the one he has done nothing for, he should have been kicked not for revenge but for neglecting his responsibilities.

[bygollymissmolly]

Obama only said that he wanted LIEberman to caucus with the Democrats. HE DID NOT say that he wanted him to keep his Chairmanship. I have no problem with allowing him to caucus with the Democrats, but I do have a problem allowing him to keep a Chairmanship he used to protect the Bush Crime Family. LIEberman blackmailed the Democrats by threatening to take his toys and move to the Republicans. They caved and he suffered no repercussions for his bad behavior.

Today the Republicans declined to censure Ted Stevens and the Democrats declined to censure Joe LIEberman. That makes the Democrats no better than the Republicans when it comes to accountability.

[bygollymissmolly]

Lieberman was wrong during the election. He has been given a chance to do right. Let's be the people that President-Elect Obama called us to be - better than we can be for the common good.
----------­----------­-----
And how do we know that he is going to do right? How do we know that the only reason why he wants to stay with the Democrats is so he can report all the Democrat's moves to the Republicans? How can we trust someone who has turned on the people of Connecticut and on the Democrats?

[southernfried]

you know lieberman did fundraised money for house democrats

[franklin opt]

He done did that huh?

[bygollymissmolly]

Not that I know of. Can you prove that statement?

And even if he did, does that excuse the names he called Obama and other Democrats?

[super]

And Exxon contributed to both republicans and democrats too... (just in case)

[bujeeboo]

This is what I was hoping for. A new crop of young Senators who aren't beholden to the DLC.

[franklin opt]

Folks, this is the ugly side of politics. You can take solace in the fact that Barack is building his 'team of rivals.' He kept the seat on the Dem side and Lieberman is now where the PE and SML can see him -- in front of the teacher's desk.

[bygollymissmolly]

And when he isn't in school, how do we know that he isn't taking the Democrat's game plan to the Republicans?