That's Not Change We Can Believe In

Barack Obama is telling the Democratic leadership in the Senate that they should keep Joe Lieberman in the caucus. President Clinton is apparently making calls on Lieberman's behalf as well.

The only positive thing about this is that the Senate Democrats are off the hook for the decision. Obama takes the heat all for himself.

But heat he should take, without question. First of all, he inserted himself in the middle of a negotiation.

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.

There doesn't seem to be a way he can lose his Homeland Security spot now, so any subpoenas issued by Lieberman against an Obama administration, any fishing expeditions, they're on his head. He invited them. Lieberman may have eaten his gavel during the Bush years, but he'll find it anew. Enjoy that, Barack.

Then there's the matter of Lieberman consistently attacking Obama negatively throughout the general election. I guess Obama considers that this makes him the bigger man. But I'm with Digby. This is one enemy you ought not keep closer.

It's a huge mistake to keep him in the caucus where he will have knowledge of their strategy and legislative tactics. He will be the first one called upon to "speak for" Democrats who are unhappy with Obama's inevitable "overreaching." He is a mole for the Republican party.

This also comes at a time when progressives were ramping up efforts to push activism on behalf of jettisoning Lieberman. Firedoglake has a Just Say No To Joe tool that will call your Senators for you and let you deliver a message that he should not keep his committee assignments.



And Bold Progressives had set up events at Senate offices in three states. That activism can continue, as the Senate decides its own committee assignments, but clearly Obama is going to have a lot of pull here.

So the shitting on the base begins. This is a relatively benign shit, since the only person who's going to end up harmed is Obama himself - it's a self-inflicted wound. But it's definitely shitting. And if the 50-state strategy is truly dead, about which there are conflicting reports (Howard Dean is definitely stepping down as DNC chair), that one is much more malevolent. There's simply no reason to stop organizing at this point, and put into storage the program that benefited state parties so much over the last two campaign cycles.

And to think I was in a good mood...