As many of you might recall, after the 2006 and the noting that Lieberman held the balance of Senatorial power in his hands, I was of the opinion that Lieberman should maintain the Democratic majority in the Senate. I felt this for two reasons:

1. The Democrats won fair and square in the votes and thus deserved their Senate majority.

2. So bad was my Senatorial GOP that not only did we deserve to lose our Senate majority, but the GOP Senators should have been locked in a room and forced to watch Rosie O'Donnel strip tease to polka music as just punishment for their foolishness from 2004 until 2006.

I figured that some time out of Sentorial power would allow us to step back and re-think our views and tactics and come back all the stronger in 2008 forward - and, of course, with a large Senatorial minority, we were perfectly placed to stop pretty much anything we wanted while being entirely off the hook if Congress started to look like it was do-nothing (price of power, Democrats, as we GOPers learned to our sorrow - no matter how much you yammer on about "obstruction", it just doesn't resonate out there with the voters; they figure you're in charge and should figure out some way to make it work). But then Harry Reid started to become our Senator from San Francisco - or, more accurately, our Senator from Pelosi's lap - and having such a defeatist in charge of the Senate started to have a deletrious effect on our war making ability. Time for a change - and the man to make the change is Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT):

Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism in Iraq fits into a larger, dangerous pattern of behavior we see across the Middle East today. From Lebanon to Palestine to Afghanistan, the Iranian government is supporting the forces of Islamist radicalism. Despite a mounting economic crisis in its own country and growing international isolation, the regime in Teheran is sacrificing the blood and treasure of the Iranian people to fund terrorism against its neighbors.

The United States government has a responsibility to use all instruments at its disposal to stop these terrorist attacks against our soldiers and allies in Iraq—including keeping open the possibility of using military force against the terrorist infrastructure inside Iran.

Although no one desires a conflict with Iran, the fact is that the Iranian government by its actions has declared war on us. And while I sincerely hope that diplomacy alone can convince the Iranian government to stop these attacks, our diplomatic efforts are only likely to succeed if backed by a credible threat of force.

At the very least, I hope that these latest revelations about Iran’s terrorism in Iraq will prompt some of my colleagues in Congress to reconsider their demand that U.S. forces withdraw from Iraq.

That is part of a Lieberman statement quoted over at NRO's The Corner. As Senator Leiberman went on to note, the Iranian government is trying to push us out of Iraq so that they can move in - and then keep right on moving into the rest of the middle east. To withdraw from Iraq now - before the Iraqi army is fully capable of defending Iraq against enemies foreign and domestic - is to surrender Iraq to Iran; an Iran run by messianic lunatics who think God commands them to blow up children in Israel (and elsewhere).

So, time for Lieberman to caucus with the GOP on organizational matters - and the GOP could do no better than making this truly independent man; this man who has risen above party in service of the nation, in to our next Senate Majority Leader...and, if God is really pleased with us, eventually into the next Vice President of the United States of America.

Posted by Mark Noonan at July 3, 2007 01:54 AM

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Comments

the GOP Senators should have been locked in a room and forced to watch Rosie O'Donnel strip tease to polka music as just punishment for their foolishness from 2004 until 2006.

Mark, I disagree with you on this. I love polka music.

All together everyone:
Moja droga, ja cie kocham...

On the other hand, if the punishment (which I agree the Pubs richly deserve) includes Rosie singing polka music, that would be quite appropriate.

Posted by: Bigfoot at July 3, 2007 10:14 AM

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Wow Mark... if God is pleased with us he will make Lieberman into the next vice president? So, was God pleased with us when he chose George W. Bush, or was that just a cruel joke he was playing? Personally, I'm hoping the voters get to choose our next president and vice president, and that they don't follow in the deluded, misguided, arrogant, cataclysmic steps as our current divinely chosen commander in chief.

Like Lieberman, I am a staunch supporter of Isreal, but with his reckless rhetoric about bombing Iran, and his lockstep support of everything Iraq, it's hard to look at him as anything other than George W. Bush, but with a couple more brain cells. That being said, it makes perfect sense why you are such a fan.

Posted by: CAIndie at July 3, 2007 10:28 AM

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You know, it's kind of funny... If Lieberman was a Republican, you would call him a RINO for his social stances... National defense is all he has in common with the Republicans...

Posted by: Rana Quijotesca at July 3, 2007 11:46 AM

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For all of his talk, Lieberman will never caucus with the Republicans. He knows it's political suicide. If he does, and the Democrats win big in 2008 and reclaim the Senate, his career is done for. He will never receive a position of power or influence again. And if the Republicans win big, they'll no longer have a use for him. The only event which allows him to retain his importance in this scenario is if 2008 maintains the status quo in Congress, with an almost even Republican/Democrat split. And I don't think either of us believes thats likely.

Posted by: amused observer at July 3, 2007 02:33 PM

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Lieberman is a fool and he will pay a fools price....

Posted by: Fearless Manatee Hunter at July 3, 2007 05:19 PM

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Hmm ... seem like strange logic. Loyalty and fealty seem to be the currency respected by the Republican Party, not independence and having one's own ideas.

Posted by: Patrick at July 3, 2007 05:36 PM

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