Lieberman congratulates Obama

Posted: Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:26 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: White House, Congress

From NBC's Mark Murray
Earlier this morning, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-D) -- who vigorously campaigned for McCain and sometimes criticized Obama during the general election -- released a statement congratulating the new president-elect.

"I sincerely congratulate President-elect Obama for his historic and impressive victory. America remains a nation of extraordinary opportunity and the American people are a people of extraordinary fairness. Now that the election is over, it is time to put partisan considerations aside and come together as a nation to solve the difficult challenges we face and make our blessed land stronger and safer. I pledge to work with President-elect Obama and his incoming Administration in their efforts to reinvigorate our economy and keep our nation secure and free."

One of the more interesting stories to follow over the next few weeks will be whether Lieberman continues to caucus with the Democrats and whether he retains his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

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Comments

A little too late, KICK LIEBERMAN OUT!!! ... I know President-Elect Obama wants unity but he helped Lieberman win re-election in 2006 and Lieberman was vicious against Obama in the general election

NO SURPISE (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:33 PM)

No grudges, but let him sit and think about the campaign of negativity that he was more than just a part of.

Aaron, Grand Rapids, MI (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:34 PM)

Democrats should kick Lieberman out of caucus and should remove him from chairmanship of the Senate committe. This guy is a betrayer and does not deserve to sit with democrats anymore.

Baltimore (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:36 PM)

buh-bye, Joe. Time for you to formally join the republican party and stop pretending you're something else.

I am _so_ excited about the prospect of Joe losing his chairmanships!

Twiddly (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:36 PM)

no way, Joe. We won't forget what you said about Barrack.

lisa (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:37 PM)

that snake has no place in the democratic party.

emma - california (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:38 PM)

Kick him out

kmnecole, st louis, mo (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:38 PM)

Joe's "all-in" with McCain and Democratic seat gains in the senate have greatly lessened his importance. Politics is unfortunately understandable, but Lieberman seems to have a hidden agenda that is troubling. Is he working for his constituents, or going with the person who he perceived as being more staunchly for Israel? The Democrats would be well served to let "Joe the Senator" slide into irrelevance along with "Joe the Plumber".

James (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:38 PM)

This is a non-story, as far as I see it. Who cares what Lieberman thinks?

Erik, Mechanicsburg, PA (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:39 PM)

"Traitor" Joe Lie-berman comes slinking back with his tail between his legs to beg for forgiveness and his good committee postings. Just Say No to Traitor Joe and let him suffer for his petty self serving false attempts at bipartisanship.

Yes We Did!

Eric, Salinas, CA (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:39 PM)

You cannot play both sides against the middle on this Joe. Make a choic and live with it.

Chuck Crogha, Greensboro, NC (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:39 PM)

crow taste better when I fully cooked....traitor

midwest voter (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:40 PM)

I guess he wants a job, eh?

Wanda Kurtcu, Union City, CA (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:40 PM)

Dems should strip his Chairmanship

Umdensto, Tulsa, OK (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:40 PM)

We want him out of the party, Reed should strip him of his Chairmanship.

Christopher Edmonds (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:41 PM)

Please kick the back-stabber out. The Dems don't need him there slowing down progress. Congratulations Mr. President-elect Obama.

Angie, Pine Bluff, Arkansas (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:41 PM)

That snake, Lieberman, can now crawl back into his hole. He's lost all credibility from the Dems and I hope to God that they kick him out of the Dem caucus. As for the Repubs, they can't trust him so he'll be treading water for the next two years. He deserves his entry into anonymous hell.

Dana-Indiana for Obama! (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:42 PM)

No Sen. Liberman made his choice and the Demos should not let him keep any chair positions but let him caucus with Demos. Healing sure but ther are others who should have Chairmanship's

Dennis, Holualoa, Hi. (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:43 PM)

Liberman is scrambling for relevance!!! With a solid majority in the Senate Liberman is all but irrelevant to the Democrats. His only hope of having a meaningful role and/or leadership position was a McCain victory. It didn't happen. Now he wants to 'come together'---after all of the crap he shoveled over the past couple of months---go fly a kite!!!

CAH Louisville, kY (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:43 PM)

His is very shifty, not only in the suspicious sense but the way he shifts from one party to the next.

vicky san jose ca (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:43 PM)

Hopefully they'll just kick Joe to the curb. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to run for the Republican nominee in 2012.

Brian Daly, Enfield, CT (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:44 PM)

Im sure that Obama will reach across the aisle to Lieberman, yet t may prove to be much harder for him in the Senate, perhaps he should maitain his independent status as how can one go from being a VP candidate in 2000 to supporting the Republicans. I sense he is an opportunist at anyones expense and am not certain he will be respected as he once was.

Suz, western NY

Suz, western NY (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:44 PM)

First order of business in the senate is to dump Lieberman from the Democratic caucus. He made his bed; let him lie in it. He is no longer needed to maintain the Democratic majority.

Ted, Oregon (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:44 PM)

Throw the bum Lieberman out of his committee...there is a consequence to elections...and to picking to support the loser

Rick, NC (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:44 PM)

Don't believe it! He is simply trying to cover his ass. Allowed to remain in the senate, he will be nothing more than a thorn in the president's side!

Debbi2 (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:45 PM)

This guy needs to go. He's all over the map - whatever he thinks will advance his agenda that's where he is.

It didn't work this time. He needs to go. Who knows what he stands for anymore??

Di/Allentown, PA (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:46 PM)

It's pay back time.
Please get rid of this scum bag.
This guy put a knife in the whole parties back.

steve conyer (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:47 PM)

i hope he is removed as a traitor to the democrat cause

david (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:47 PM)

The silver lining in not reaching the magic 60 Democratic Senators (including Sanders and Lieberman) is the Democrats no longer have to cozy up to Lieberman. His vote doesn't matter. Take any Chairmanships away that he was given to keep him in your ranks. Treat him with civility (more than he deserves!), as you should GOP Senators, but he isn't a Democrat, and has shown no loyalty. He had every right to support his friend McCain, and I don't care about his boring convention speech, but his attacks against Obama, and his willingness to repeat the GOP talking points were beyond the pale!

Sara, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:49 PM)

Clara, Kansas City, MO

Try not to be too disheartened by your state not carrying President-elect Obama. Take a look at the entire map. We made huge gains. But as you know, we can't accomplish this overnite. We as a country have come a long long way since 2000.

I'm glad to see that you, like me, are from a large dsyfunctional family. When together with my 8 siblings & dozens of cousins were kicked out of the house to "go out and play" while visiting our relatives in the Back Bay when we were just kids, we would come home at nite and tell our parents that we spent the day climbing fire escapes up to the roofs trying to find the Boston Strangler (at the time he had strangled someone across the street from one of my cousin's house).

The response from our supposedly adult parents and aunts and uncles? Did you find him?

Now that's dsyfunctional. But I wouldn't change any of those memories for anything in the world. Father Knows Best we definitely were not. lol.

But now it is 2008 & Barack Obama has won. That's all that matters now. And we're about to go on a completely different journey than the one the right wing envisioned.

We all as a nation succeeded.

Pat, Boston, MA (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:49 PM)

McLieberman;

Washed up go away go far away hide! It's in your best intrest that I tell you this Joe "the turncoat" because the party you abandoned is not going to welcome you back just like nothing happened. So just be quite and a good little Sen and SHUT UP!

Finally buying in Las Vegas,NV (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:49 PM)

Practical consideratins will probably dictate his retention in the caucus.

But if one harkens back to 2000, his less-than -complete commitment to the Democratic ticket and his simpering -non-debate of a debate - discussion of the issues with his Republican opponent for the Vice Presidency; his less-than-complete participation as a member of the "loyal opposition," his saber-rattling, enthusiastic support for the folly of Iraq, one can only hope that as soon as practical, that this miserable little man who relished aiming the gratuitous personal insults he aimed at Presidennt-elect Obama during his speech at the Republican Convention be separated from the Democratic Caucus.

Mark Tourin (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:50 PM)

I am first and foremost a pragmatist. If Franken prevails and if Begich can somehow find 4000 votes in three precincts and a recount, that would give the Dems 58 Senators, and they need to cut a deal with the two "Independents" to get a filibuster proof majority.

On the other hand, such a scenario is highly unlikely. In that case, we need for Harry Reid to borrow some of President-Elect Obama's "spine of steel" and enforce discipline within the caucus. Senator Leiberman is not a "Democrat In Name Only", he is a Republican masquerading as an Independent. I would hope he has defied the party and caucus leadership for the last time. With 56-57 Dems, there are other highly qualified Senators to take those Chairs of Committees.

Relegate Joe Leiberman to where he belongs - the back bench. Or, as Speaker Pelosi is fond of saying: "Elections have consequences."

David Buchanan, Los Angeles, CA (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:50 PM)

The Democrats need to get rid of Lieberman, he should nto hold any position under the democratic umbrella. ohis loyalty lies with no one. He is a man with only his own interest as a priority....

Juanita Stone (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:50 PM)

I hope he does retain chairmanship and caucus

Bill, West Hartofrd,Ct (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:52 PM)

This guy remind anyone else of Grima Wormtongue?

DV, CA (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:55 PM)

I believe the sooner the Senate leadership puts the muzzle on "Traitor Joe" Lieberman the better. He's a political scumbag...a true turd in the toilet....and he should not chair any committee in the new Senate. He can, of course, cast his Senate votes anyway he pleases; but his back stabbing in this election has been way beyond the pale; unacceptable; and I think, like me, most Democrats curse the day they ever voted for this sorry SOB. Who can forget his speech at the Repuke convention and his adoring smiles and affirming nods, winks, smirks as he stood feeling of Lindsey Graham's butt in 100's of the McStink/Failin photos....i.e. when he could be caught with his nose up McStink's ass?

I say he sold his soul for a mess of potage and now deserves nothing from his former Democratic colleagues. Let him twist in the proverbial GOP wind! Wind, in my opinion, is about all they have left to offer anyway.

an84u (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:55 PM)

Let Joe the Traitor slither now to the Repugs he so loves. I wouldn't trust him further than I could spit. If I had a say, I would strip him of any leadership role in anything, publicly if I could, and let him finish his useless career out in obscurity. There's a price to be paid in life for selling out your lifelong principles, or at best simply changing your mind. There are still consequences. Let him live with them now. I hope the people of his state come to their senses and toss him out of public service.

Dale S., Parker, CO (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:56 PM)

As a Connecticut resident, I think Joe Lieberman should be booted out of the Democratic Party. He has done NOTHING for our state since his re-election, worries about his own agenda and is a traitor to his party.I always voted for him in the past and had immense respect for him. All I feel now is disappointment and disgust. I think our state should censure him and get rid of him. He has completely forgotten about the people who put him in office.

Maria Wiegel,Middletown,Ct. (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:57 PM)

Translation: "Please don't give me the office next to the boiler room."

Man Size Safe, Portland, Texas (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:58 PM)

If Lieberman knows what's good for him, he'll come crawling back begging the Democrats' forgiveness. I'm sure he will being the political opportunist that he is.

Blake Seitz, Eau Claire Wisconsin (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:58 PM)

the Dems need to drop his A$$ like a bad habit.

just the facts (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 1:00 PM)

"[I]t is time to put partisan considerations aside"...? Is Senator Lieberman trying to signal something here? Is he saying he's going to caucus with the Republicans? Or that 'for the election' he was a Republican?

Mark, Alexandria, Virginia (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 1:00 PM)

Lieberman is a piece of crap. He'll say and do anything to advance his own personal ambition. Forget about Senate head counts - he should be booted out of the Democratic caucus altogether. With "friends" like him you really don't need enemies

Edosan, Palm Springs (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 1:01 PM)

Three words KICK HIM OUT!

Anonymous (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 1:02 PM)

Mr Lieberman had been a political opportunist ,Let we start a new phase in the american history by not retaining his chairmanship or his support. YES WE CAN.

MIKE PETROS WASHINGTON DC (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 1:03 PM)

sen. lieberman, is only about sen. lieberman and i do think he can be trusted as homeland sec. chairman. i come to this conclusion due to his track record of thumbing his nose at anyone who disagrees with his approach to solving the country's problems ie iraq, patriot act, wireless surveilance etc

berwyn, il (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 1:12 PM)

Joe, your nothing more than a turncoat who should be ashamed of yourself. Your scare tactics, especially with the older jewish population in south florida didn't work. Go to the gop--you are a perfect fit!

fred fishbein parkland fl. (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 1:13 PM)

Joe the Lieberman: unconscientious person witout a party.

Kamran, Chicago, Illinois (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 1:13 PM)

Kick out the traitor! Since he likes to cozy up to Republicans so much, why not give him his wish?

Terry Sprague (Sent Wednesday, November 05, 2008 1:14 PM)

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