Two of the day’s three Senate storylines have already found their resolution: Joe Lieberman retained the chairmanship of the Homeland Security chairmanship and Minnesota’s canvassing board certified the state count over the (mostly for show) objections of the Franken campaign.
After news broke last night that the Senate leadership was looking to cut a deal that would leave Lieberman with the chairmanship of the Homeland Security committee, we came to expect the Connecticut Senator to retain his high-profile position - but the ease with which he did so was more surprising. 42 Democratic Senators and Senator-elects voted against stripping Lieberman of his chairmanship, while 13 voted in favor of that punishment.
Lieberman was, however, stripped of his chairmanship of the lower-profile Environment and Public Works Committee, which deals with issues on which Lieberman is in agreement with Democrats. Yet, Democrats are leaving a powerful chairmanship that deals with topics on which Lieberman has supported President Bush in the hands of a man who accused Obama of endangering the U.S. and who said that he feared America would not survive if Democrats secured a filibuster-proof Senate majority.
Since the vote was conducted via secret balloting, the exact breakdown is not public though we do know that John Kerry, Ben Cardin, Harry Reid, Tom Udall, Chris Dodd, Hillary Clinton, Ken Salazar, Tom Carper, Bill Nelson belonged to the majority (the first four reportedly spoke up at the closed-door meeting); we also know that Pat Leahy and Bernie Sanders spoke up against Lieberman. The identity of the 9 other Lieberman opponents is still unknown.
Barack Obama did not take part in the meeting - he resigned from his seat on Sunday - but his influence was clearly felt in the process ever since he hinted last week that he opposed stripping Lieberman of the chairmanship. Lieberman himself credited “the appeal by President Obama himself” for his survival, and Howard Dean told TPM that he was fine with the decision because it corresponded to Obama’s.
That Democrats are choosing to seek reconciliation also complicates the picture of the 2012 Senate race. If he chooses to run for re-election, will Lieberman do so as a Democrat (in which case he would undoubtedly face a primary challenge) or as an independent? How will this affect the likelihood that he could win a Democratic nomination? How does it affect how his state’s independents, Democrats and even Republicans (who were crucial to his 2006 general election victory) come to view him?
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Meanwhile in Minnesota, the state’s canvassing board certified the results in the closest Senate race in the country, with 1,211,590 for Coleman and 1,211,375 for Franken. As I noted, that’s a margin of 215 votes, up from the 206 lead Coleman had enjoyed for the past week. The board took this despite Al Franken’s request that certification be delayed due to some counties having unfinished business and to unduly rejected absentee ballots. As expected, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie reiterated that the recount would start tomorrow.
We now await news from Alaska’s Division of Elections, as Democrats are hoping to go to bed tonight having secured a 58th Senate seat. Democrats also continue to entertain hope in CA-04, where Democratic nominee Charlie Brown has closed the margin to 562 votes with more than 20,000 left to be counted. Interestingly, far more ballots were cast for Brown and McClintock than for Stevens and Begich in the far higher-profile Alaska Senate race, once again underscoring the disadvantage larger states have found themselves in.
November 18, 2008 at 6:39 pm
I can’t believe Democrats kept Lieberman, it’s unbelievable. He didn’t just support a friend, he trashed Obama and Democrats and their national security credentials. he was a Republican hack.
November 19, 2008 at 12:02 am
If a serious democrat runs in 2012 (I don’t mean Ned Lamont), he or she will kick benedict lieberman’s ass in the primary and then in the general.
November 19, 2008 at 9:00 am
Lieberman is on notice - if he misbehaves any more in the next four years he will lose his chairmanship. Better to keep him in the caucus on a tight lease.
Also in 2012 Lieberman will run as an Independant and since it is a Presidental year and Obama will win CT handily the Dem candidate will win. Especially if Chris Shays runs as the GOP candidate - therefore doing better than the 8% the GOP candidate got in 2006.