In 1996 Willie Brown called his Board of Supervisors a "collection of pantywaists" and proceeded

"I'm telling you, I can produce six votes on that board any day of the week. For anything. . . . But I have to do it when I think it's wise to do it.

"I have to do it when I can do it a second time. This is not a gas station in the desert. This is not Dick Morris dealing with a $200 hooker. These are long-term relationships. These are mistresses that you have to service."

The US Senate..a whore by any other name

Yet again, Democrats reward those who betrayed them, and betray those who support them. Maybe they can ask Rumsfield to be Attorney General next, just to show how post-partisan they are. I think this kind of signal is a great one to send, but they picked the wrong messenger. To me the lesson is that Republicans only held Democrats accountable for anything, and Democrats aren't going to hold anyone accountable. What an improvement.

If he'd done a real mea culpa, then a message of forgiveness might be merited. But Lieberman isn't sorry and doesn't pretend to be. Making Obama and the Dem caucus a bunch of stooges. And I'm being kind.

I think this is more evidence Obama owns Lieberman now. The same way he kept the chair he can lose it if he starts doing anything that Obama doesn't like.

Obama used the netroots - How does it feel? Now it's all about placating the center-right to come on board. He knew he could use the progressives because they "learned their lesson" with Bush/Gore in 2000 and the Nader vote.

fucking pussies.

Breaking:Lieberman expelled from Pilates class in Senate gym.

Josh,

You're the wittiest editor in the blogosphere.

LOL

Another red letter day for Milquetoast Harry.

Reid must have really inspired some fear in the boxing ring.

"Punch me again, buster, and I'm warnin' ya... I'll suck your dick off!"

Feeling scammed?
Victim of bait and switch?

A pragmatic centrist government is what we need right now.

I've already called Durbin's office to complain, he is my Senator, after all.

I cannot believe this shit- this is spit in the eye of Obama's most fervent supporters.

I sincerely hope that Lieberman is stripped of any real power behind the scenes.

What I will NOT forgive is a statement by Obama himself saying that waht Joe did is ok. I fully expect Obama to treat Lieberman like the traitor he is for the next four years.

Hilarious! I just got a fundraising appeal from the DSCC. By Max Cleland for Jim Martin.

Fuck you, DSCC. You should contact Joe Lieberman's supporters: he appears to have quite a few in the Senate.

I wouldn't mind this so much if it were just an indication that the new administration was going to kiss ass for the "centrist", DLC types; anybody who was listening should have known Obama was going to break our hearts in any number of ways. This isn't just wrong, though -- it's politically stupid. It's sending a message that congressional Democrats are the same wobbly, weak-kneed crybabies they've always been. It's an open invitation to push them down and take their lunch money.

I hold Joe Lieberman in very low esteem. VERY low.

But the commentary here and esp on Daily Kos seems to me rather unhinged.

Obama plainly calculated that it was better to have Lieberman on the inside of the tent droning outward, than on the outside droning in -- or that banner headlines about Ds' vindictiveness and eschewing of bipartisanship, at the dawn of his Presidency, were highly undesirable.

I have considerably higher faith in his political judgment than mine or those of the DKos community. It's worth being angry about -- and the expressed anger on liberal blogs is itself helpful as proof of Obama's having been willing to "stand up" to his core supporters -- but this little brouhaha needs to be kept in perspective. We want to win on policy, most of which has to go through Congress. That's what matters, and I defer to O's judgment that this annoyance is the better political move. (Nnd Obama, not we bloggers, was the actual target of Lieberman's calumnies).

"Among the Senators who spoke out in support of Lieberman keeping the chairmanship, according to the source: Kerry, Durbin, Ben Cardin, and Tom Udall."

Udall hasn't been sworn in -- who the f__ asked him?

Well, now we know who to target during their next Primaries. Their support for this piece of garbage over the base who volunteered our time and donated money to Obama has shown us there is not Change we can believe in.

It's politics as usual. They didn't even make Droopy Dog apologize.

And the Dems wonder why they lose majorities. They are weak.

Back to a registered Independent for me.

Elizabeth2, with all due respect, your position amounts to "Shut up and let the professionals handle it." Sorry; not willing to do that.

I do agree with you, though, that the people saying they've lost all faith in Obama and will never support a democrat again are overreacting. I think I can see why the leadership are letting Lieberman slide -- they want to project an air of bipartisan goodwill, build up political capital, yadda yadda. I can even see the value in that; I just think said value is outweighed by, a) reinforcement of notion that democrats can be pushed about at will and, b) the fact that a very important committee is under the control of a Senator who doesn't agree with the stated positions of the new administration on matters under that committee's purview.

I admit that this could be a master stroke in Obama's grand scheme. I hope it is. It looks like a misstep from here, though.

Call weak kneed Reid at his DC Phone: 202-224-3542 and let him know how you feel.

Call Joe's office at 202) 224-4041 and demand an apology from him for knocking Obama and campaigning for Republican senators

Go Jeff Merkley!

I was lukewarm on him as a candidate, but if this is a sign of things to come, we picked a winner here.

The sad thing is that if this was done as a nod toward "bipartisanship," it won't work. The Republicans look at Lieberman and see a loser who couldn't deliver for their candidates. They look at the Dems and see a bunch of weaklings who won't stand up for what they believe in.

Is there anyone in this who wins besides Lieberman?