President Elect Obama Did the Right Thing

Even If Just For Show

Hey folks,

First, to answer an Email publicly, No. I was not in the OPNTalk office all that long yesterday. No I did not post anything on Veterans Day. I did however spend most of this past Weekend and some of Yesterday, actually shaking their hands and thanking them personally for their service to our GREAT country. For those of you who think I missed something, just because I did not post it here, let me just say this. For all the Veterans out there, I only have two words for you. THANK YOU! Anything other than that, would be me attempting to make something about me, or using you as a pawn in a political discussion. No words that I could ever use could come close to the sacrifices you have made. So simply, THANK YOU!

Now for President Elect Obama. Keeping with my promise to give him a chance, and for being true to who I am and what I'm about, giving credit where due, and calling out those that do wrong, Obama did the right thing.

According to the AP- Obama wants Lieberman to stay with Senate Dems

WASHINGTON – President-elect Obama has told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid he's not interested in seeing Democrats oust Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman from their ranks over his endorsement of Republican John McCain.

That is most definitely the right thing to do. Like it or not, Lieberman is a Democrat. Always has been, always will be. He has been true to the Democratic party like 90 percent of the time. Traitor Reid's attempt to throw him out like yesterdays trash is just completely wrong. But then again, they eat their own. So I congratulate Obama on doing the right thing here. Even if it is just for show.

Obama told Reid in a phone conversation last week that expelling Lieberman from the Democratic caucus would hurt the message of bipartisanship and unity that he wants for his new administration, a Senate Democratic aide said Tuesday. This aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were confidential.

The caucus is the meeting of all Senate Democrats and at the beginning of each Congress it chooses the body's leaders. Lieberman, a longtime Democrat most recently re-elected as an independent, has continued to join the Democratic caucus.

In the last Congress his presence was essential to the Democrats' control of the Senate because he gave them a 51-49 edge over Republicans. But Democrats expanded their majority last Tuesday and no longer need Lieberman to control the chamber, though his vote still could be crucial in votes to end filibusters.

However, he made it clear that he wouldn't mind if they Punish Lieberman. {Laughing}

Obama says he won't get involved in the fight on Capitol Hill over whether Democrats should take away Lieberman's chairmanship of a key committee to punish him for backing his close friend McCain for president.

"We aren't going to referee decisions about who should or should not be a committee chair," Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said in a statement Tuesday. "President-elect Obama looks forward to working with anyone to move the country forward. We'd be happy to have Sen. Lieberman caucus with the Democrats. We don't hold any grudges."

So by all means punish him, but do not throw him out of the Party, that will hurt my image. {Smile}

Lieberman angered many Democrats by criticizing Obama during the presidential race. Lieberman spoke at the Republican National Convention and accompanied McCain on the presidential campaign trail.

Lieberman has met with Reid, but there has been no word on whether Reid intends to try to oust Lieberman as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois said the caucus should be "gracious in victory" toward Lieberman.

"Despite what Sen. Lieberman did in campaigning for Sen. McCain, speaking at the Republican convention, he has voted with the Democrats an overwhelming percentage of the time," Durbin said after a Veteran's Day event in Illinois.

Four Senate Democrats have been asked to review the situation and recommend possible actions against Lieberman, Durbin said. He would not identify the four.

Last week, Lieberman pledged to put partisan considerations aside and work with Obama. Lieberman, who was Democrat Al Gore's running mate in 2000, was re-elected to the Senate from Connecticut in 2006 as an independent after losing his state's Democratic primary. He remains a registered Democrat and aligns himself with Senate Democrats.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky spoke to Lieberman last week about the possibility of Lieberman's joining the GOP caucus.

So this was nice of President Elect Obama. It really was. He did the right thing here, and he deserves credit for it.
Peter

Sources:
AP - Obama wants Lieberman to stay with Senate Dems