Joe Lieberman for Homeland Security!
He has credibility, and I think he'd do a good job.
Plus it would be very interesting to see how the dems would react. Would they welcome a sign of inclusiveness from the White House, or would they call it a cheap ploy and attack Lieberman if he goes along with it?
And would they be right?
Forget for a moment Lieberman's qualifications for the job; consider that he is a Democratic Senator in a state with a Republican Governor. I don't know how they play in Connecticut, but if they're like Tennessee, if Lieberman left the Senate to take the Cabinet post, the governor would get to appoint a replacement to serve the rest of his term, and would undoubtedly pick a Republican, increasing their hold on the Senate. This of course would be bad for the democrats, particularly in light of the upcoming, and sure to be contentious, Supreme Court confirmations.
More stategery from the White House, no doubt.
So, now let's remember that Lieberman is a qualified candidate in his own right, and that it would be a good bi-partisan gesture for President Bush to nominate a Democrat to his Cabinet. Given the aforementioned drawbacks for the Democrats, it'll never happen.
Unless...
Just for the sake of supposing, totally hypothetical and all, what if the President urged Gov. Rell to appoint a qualified Democrat to serve the remainder of Lieberman's term, and the governor agreed? President Bush would get a well qualified candidate as well as a solid gesture of reconciliation and bipartisanship at a net cost of zero.
But it's just a fantasy; there are no politicians on either side who are capable of that kind of leadership.
Posted by Rich at December 11, 2004 8:55 PM | TrackBackSeems like win-win to me... Even for Lieberman, who can now speak his heart (as a Republican, which is more consistent with his views anyway), this would be a great move. He has a high profile, bipartisan legitimacy, he's an ex-attorney general so he'd be good at the law enforcement angle...
But you are probably right: one less vote for that fillibuster against the "pro-life" Supreme Court nominee is all that matters... Turf is all this is about (both parties are guilty on that).
Posted by: the talking dog on December 12, 2004 11:10 AMCongressional balance is never a zero-sum game for Democrats or Republicans. If your side has 52 Senators, you're still at -48 no matter what, and if an opposite party member leaves and another opposite party member is put in his place, you're still at -48. It would never happen, regardless if Bush wanted to.
Well, it could if the White House ignored party leadership----Ha!! I can't believe I said that. Silly me.
Posted by: Barry on December 15, 2004 1:14 PM