 Joseph Lieberman
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Jobs rotate in rumor mill
Lieberman key to possible changes for state, local politicians
By Fred Lucas
It's a political rumor with a twist. In fact, several twists, turns and flips.
THE NEWS-TIMES
It's a scenario that runs from Washington, D.C., to Danbury City Hall. From the Department of Homeland Security to the Connecticut state Senate.
It has local Republicans buzzing, e-mails flying and lukewarm denials rolling off the tongues of intrigued politicians.
And it's too good not to share.
It goes something like this:
Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, a Democrat, could be named secretary of the Department of the Homeland Security, a department he helped to create.
This would leave an open U.S. Senate seat. The buzz is that Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell would name U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson, R-5th Dist., to fill out Lieberman's Senate term.
That would leave an open U.S. House seat. A special election would be held, and observers are licking their chops over a possible free-for-all among local up-and-coming pols.
 Nancy Johnson
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Possible candidates? Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and state Sen. David Cappiello, according to GOP whispers.
"It's been out there," one high-powered Connecticut Republican said of the multi-part rumor. But, like the others, this former GOP office holder said he's not in the loop enough to know what's true and what's just post-election gossip.
Among the people who have heard it through the grapevine is state Rep. David Scribner, R-Brookfield.
"I have had conversations with people over the past few days about a number of scenarios," said Scribner, a possible state Senate candidate should Sen. Andrew Roraback of Goshen — whose district includes Brookfield and New Milford — run for the congressional seat. "I don't like to spend time thinking about hypotheticals," Scribner said.
But plenty of others are eager to yak about the possibilities — off the record, of course. The Lieberman scenario is also mentioned on YourNews2.com, a conservative Web log about Connecticut politics.
Again, let it be clear: There are no hard facts here. Many consider the chain of events implausible. But not impossible.
After all, President Bush's cabinet is undergoing a major overhaul. Among others, Secretary of State Colin Powell stepped down last week. Some very serious pundits thought Lieberman might be in line for that job, but he was passed over.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has not announced his resignation. But Washington insiders believe that's going to happen sometime soon.
Even though Lieberman and Bush are of opposing political parties, Lieberman has supported Bush on most national security issues. Further, it was Lieberman's legislation that created the Homeland Security Department.
In published reports last week, Lieberman said if President Bush made an offer he would have to at least consider it. But he said he doesn't expect an offer.
In an interview last week, a spokeswoman was more definitive. "Nobody has made an offer and the senator does not expect to get an offer," said Lieberman spokeswoman Leslie Phillips. "The senator does plan to run for reelection to the Senate."
A White House spokesman had no comment about what President Bush would do concerning appointments.
"We don't speculate on personnel matters," said White House spokesman Ken Lisaius. "As far as we know, the Department of Homeland Security has not made any announcement and Secretary Ridge has not offered his resignation."
There are reasons for skepticism. For one, Lieberman might not want to serve in a Republican administration — particularly because, as a vice presidential candidate, he ran against Bush in 2000. Also, the Democrats can hardly afford to lose another senator; as it stands, Republicans will hold an 11-seat majority when the new Senate is sworn in.
Despite all of that, the rumors persist. Even former Democratic U.S. Rep. James Maloney of Danbury has heard of the Lieberman-Johnson-etc., scenario.
"On one hand, he would make a great Homeland Security secretary," Maloney said of Lieberman. "He would make a great defense secretary and a great attorney general. But he is not likely to damage the Democratic Party in the Senate."
If Lieberman did leave, Rell is under no obligation to appoint another Democrat to fill out the Senate term. In fact, governors routinely name politicians from their own party in such instances.
So would Johnson — the senior Republican in Connecticut's House delegation and a highly regarded expert on Medicare — be Rell's choice as senator?
The governor's office is not preparing to make an appointment to replace Lieberman any time soon, said Rell spokesman Rich Harris. "We haven't heard anything officially from Washington along those lines at all," Harris said.
As for Johnson?
There's more prestige in being a senator than a member of the House. But Johnson might not want to be a freshman senator with relatively little influence, said some Republicans. Also, Johnson is in line to chair the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee after one more term in the House.
"I won't speculate," said Johnson spokesman Brian Schubert. "Nancy remains focused on her agenda in the House of lower taxes, more jobs, better health care, better schools and cleaner air."
In the Danbury area, the loudest chatter was who might run for Johnson's seat. Cappiello has heard all the rumors, but said he has not taken any steps to raise money for a special election for Congress. That doesn't mean he won't.
"It would be unwise for me to rule anything out before I know the lay of the land," Cappiello said. "It would also be unwise to waste my time and energy on what-ifs."
Boughton isn't taking any action to run for another office, either. Like Cappiello, he isn't ruling it out. "Never say never," Boughton said. "It would depend on when the election is and the timing. I don't know if it would work. There are a lot of considerations."
But he stressed that he's not focused on a special election for Congress. "My number one focus is on the people of Danbury," Boughton said. "I won't make judgments on a hypothetical."
Roraback also said he would "certainly never say never." However, he doubts all the events will unfold according to the speculation. "I am not spending time pondering scenarios I believe to be unlikely," he said.
Maloney said he has taken no action to raise money to run for Congress again himself, but also wouldn't rule it out if the seat opens up. Maloney lost to Johnson in 2002 in a battle of incumbents after redistricting merged the 5th and 6th Districts.
Depending on who might win the congressional seat, that could mean a special election for a state Senate seat. Or there could be a new Danbury mayor.
State Rep. Janice Giegler, R-Danbury, is one of the legislators who could be in line to run for Cappiello's 24th District seat.
She said she hasn't even thought about that, having just been reelected to the House for a second term. But she's heard people talk about the scenario and sees why they might think it's so.
"Senator Lieberman has worked well with both sides of the aisle," Giegler said. "Congresswoman Johnson has done a lot and could bring a lot to the position of senator. She's very qualified."
Giegler called the rumor intriguing.
But, Cappiello cautioned, that's all it is at this point.
"It's a rumor I've heard in Hartford," he said. "But I hear millions of rumors in Hartford."
