Free Republic

It is protest day, for the Left and the Right, on Capitol Hill. First out of the gate - 9 Protesters backing a universal health care system briefly occupied Sen. Joe Lieberman's office this morning. Protesters were arrested, one by one, and dragged out of his office amid chants of "Everyone in and noone out, universal healthcare now!" and "Represent Connecticut, not AETNA!"

AIKEN, S.C. (AP) The South Carolina congressman who gained national attention for shouting "you lie" at President Obama during a speech to Congress will attend a Republican rally in Aiken. The Aiken Standard reports the Saturday rally will be held at the Republican Party headquarters in Aiken. Some have called the event a fundraiser and a show of support for Wilson. Aiken County Councilman Scott Singer called the rally awkward. He said he didn't want the rally to appear to support of Wilson's outburst. Wilson's shout at the president came after Obama said that extending health care to all Americans...

HARTFORD, Conn. – Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman has a message for actor Alec Baldwin, who is reportedly considering a move to Connecticut to challenge Lieberman in 2012: "Make my day."

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Vice President ______________________________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 23, 2009 VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN ISSUES STATEMENT ON ACTING COMPTROLLER GENERAL GENE DODARO’S TESTIMONY AT HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS HEARING Vice President Biden issued this statement following the testimony of GAO Acting Comptroller General Gene Dodaro at this morning’s Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing: "From the beginning, we committed to not only work at record speed to provide immediate economic relief under the Recovery Act, but to do so with unprecedented accountability...

A press release from Lieberman's office, announcing the passage of an amendment this evening: The United States Senate today adopted an amendment to the budget resolution, introduced by Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), to increase the end strength of the United States Army by 30,000 personnel. Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Mark Begich (D-AK) and John Thune (R-SD) co-sponsored the amendment. “Today’s vote shows that Congress is ready and willing to support those who voluntarily serve our country," Lieberman said. “This amendment is an important step in the right direction, and will help grow the Army to prepare it both for its...

Congressional Quarterly: Senator Says Secret-Ballot in Private Meeting to Determine Whether Democrats Punish Lieberman Senate Democrats will vote by secret ballot on Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman ’s fate this week, according to North Dakota Sen. Byron L. Dorgan . The caucus is due to meet Tuesday to decide whether Lieberman, a Democrat-turned-independent from Connecticut, should be punished for his aggressive support of Sen. John McCain , R-Ariz., for president. Secret ballot, eh? Well, reminding Democrats of this episode should prove amusing when they try and pass card check legislation.

State wide news ,friday 07 Nov, Cabinet positions have been offered and turned cown by Senators Snowe and Collins. According to this news story, Collins was offered Dept of Homeland Security.

Sen. Joe Lieberman's affiliation with Democrats was in question after a meeting Thursday with Majority Leader Harry Reid, steamed over the Connecticut independent's high-profile support of John McCain for president. Reid, in a sternly worded statement after the 45-minute meeting, said no official decisions have been made. But an aide to the Nevada Democrat said Reid was leaning toward removing Lieberman as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were confidential. "While I understand that Sen. Lieberman has voted with Democrats a majority of the time, his...

Good grief. Lieberman: McCain draws the line at using Rev. Wright. "Wallace asked Lieberman if McCain would bring up Rev. Jeremiah Wright after condemning state Republican parties for running ads criticizing Obama for his relationship with the controversial figure." "Lieberman responded: “He [McCain] didn’t like that approach. Senator McCain feels that same way about bringing up Reverend Wright through his campaign. And that’s the kind of line drawing that I think John McCain is all about.” "Later on Fox News Sunday, Brit Hume said the McCain camp would be “out of their mind” to not bring up Obama’s relationship with...

Nervous Nellies is an establishment on Deer Island, Maine, selling excellent jams and chutneys in a weird and wonderful garden featuring sculptures made of household junk and old car parts. It also pretty much describes the state of mind of the Democratic Party as it contemplates a presidential election it knows it ought to win but could lose. That mindset was not improved by the televised debate between Barack Obama and John McCain, at least if my personal Democratic focus group, consisting of three women, a business executive, a writer on culture and a think tank director, and one man,...

I didn’t hear it personally, but I have it from a reliable source, that Sen. Joe Lieberman told Sean Hannity the following on the radio this afternoon. SEN LIEBERMAN: [Laughs]. Yeah, I mean it is true, it’s odd in terms of the typical stereotypes of the two parties. Senator McCain I’m not saying hasn’t gotten some money from Wall Street but the major recipient of the contributions from Wall Street executives and employees has been Sen. Obama. I’m disappointed, I think this is a great act of leadership by John McCain, this is the guy I’ve come to know and...

Gore’s 2000 running mate says Obama would be a fine leader — later Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee in 2000, urged Democrats to cross party lines Tuesday night and cast their votes for Sen. John McCain of Arizona, telling they they could “always count on him to be straight with you about where he stands and to stand for what he thinks is right regardless of politics.” Lieberman, who is now officially an independent but continues to caucus with the Democrats, was addressing delegates at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., but he...

This is an in-between day. It's as if people are holding their breaths, maybe planning a quick shopping trip to pick up last minute stuff before they head off to Denver where the Democratic National Convention will begin on the 25th. The invitations are in the mail. Mine hasn't arrived yet, so I guess I won't be going. And I won't be going to St. Paul either when the Republicans get together for their big hoohah. That one I'd actually like to go to. Not since Ronald Reagan changed his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican has there been the...

Sen. Joseph Lieberman termed Iran's training of Iraqi insurgents "an act of war" in a Florida appearance Wednesday evening on behalf of Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign. The independent Democrat from Connecticut spoke at length about the threats facing both the state of Israel and the United States during a town hall meeting at the Palm Beach Synagogue in South Florida, describing McCain as ready to face global dangers as commander-in-chief from his first day in office. Lieberman said that by loosing its elite Kuds revolutionary force to train extremists to fight in Iraq, the Iranian regime has "been responsible...

He’s going to transform the party — by turning us into hawkish Democrats? Nuance. There’s a bigger point — and this initial volley, they say, lays the groundwork for it. They will be sharpening McCain’s message that he, not Obama, is the true change agent, a man who’s repeatedly taken unpopular stands, made the hard calls and forged bipartisan alliances. Part of the calculus now is how his VP choice will further sharpen that message. There is significant support among top McCain advisers that he make a “transformative” pick who would change the Republican Party — someone who would appeal...

MT. PLEASANT, South Carolina - Cisco Systems’ John Chambers and FedEx founder Fred Smith could be among those asked to serve in a John McCain cabinet, the Arizona senator said on Friday. Photo credit: Reuters/Jim Young. US Senator John McCain greets supporters at a campaign event in Summerville, South Carolina, January 11, 2008. But their services would have to come at a discount. “I want to go get the best and the brightest, whether they’re Republican or Democrat, and I’m going to tell these men and women: ‘Work for a dollar. Work for a dollar a year. You’ve done pretty...

Obama splits Black CaucusBy: Josephine Hearn Jan 17, 2008 06:03 AM EST The Clinton supporters have said their endorsements didn’t hinge on race. (Composite photo by Politico.com) Photo: AP Even though Barack Obama may become the first African-American ever to represent a major party as the nominee for president, many black lawmakers on Capitol Hill are not supporting him. And that’s creating tensions within the Congressional Black Caucus.More than a third of the black members of Congress are backing Hillary Rodham Clinton or John Edwards in the presidential primary, a stance that puts them at odds with many of their...

Lieberman: Friendly with GOP, lying about DemocratsPETER URBAN Purban@ctpost.com Article Last Updated: 11/30/2007 10:01:46 PM EST As an independently elected Democrat, freed to pursue issues outside the restrictive partisan lines, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman has done little to foster bipartisanship on the central issue of the day. In fact, Lieberman had done more to widen the partisan divide on the Iraq war than mend it. Fresh from his most recent visit to Iraq, Lieberman went on Fox's "Your World with Neil Cavuto," where he chastised Democrats for failing to acknowledge post-surge progress in Iraq. "This is the third time I've...

The 2008 Democratic candidates are beholden to a "hyper-partisan, politically paranoid" liberal base that could endanger the final nominee's chances of winning next year's presidential election, Joe Lieberman, the former vice-presidential Democratic candidate, said yesterday. In his most outspoken attack on fellow Democrats since he was unsuccessfully challenged last year by Ned Lamont, a liberal Democrat, for his Senate seat in Connecticut, Mr Lieberman yesterday said he might not vote for the Democratic presidential nominee next year.

"Huffington Outnasties Olbermann"

How do you know when someone's gone off the deep end of the liberal pool? When they manage to outduel even Keith Olbermann at calumny. On this evening's show, Olbermann and Arianna Huffington were discussing Joe Lieberman's support for President Bush's Iraq policy. Olbermann's opening bid was to suggest, given Liebermans's support for traditional Dem positions on issues like ethics and global warming and the fact that "he could give the Senate to the GOP if he feels crossed or just feels like it," that the independent Democratic senator from CT was a "necessary evil" from the Dems' viewpoint. Arianna...

That's what Marjorie Cohn is saying on The Thom Hartmann Show. The talk started a few hours ago, from what they're saying. (not that it didn't occur to any of us earlier, but it's going around now) Per Cohn: * It would stop the Senate investigations dead in their tracks. * It would guarantee a Senate confirmation. * It would change the balance of power in the Senate, in favor of the Republicans. * And it smells of Karl Rove. Her advice? Barrage the Senate with calls. Make sure this doesn't happen. It would be an unmitigated disaster.

Ever since Connecticut Democrats refused to back him for a fourth term in Congress, Joe Lieberman has been burnishing his independent credentials in the narrowly divided Senate while becoming increasingly critical of the Democratic Party on the war in Iraq. Lieberman, the Democrats’ 2000 vice presidential nominee, insists he is not actively considering joining the Republican Party. But he is keeping that possibility wide open as his disenchantment grows with Democratic leaders. The main sticking points are their attempts to end the war in Iraq and their hesitation to take a harder line against Iran. “I think either [Democrats] are,...

<p>Julie Banderas just gave out an email address for questions, sorry I missed it. Duncan Hunter on Fox News Channel!</p>

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Lieberman, McCain, Kyl, Graham, and Coleman today introduced a bipartisan amendment to the Defense Authorization Act, confronting the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran over its proxy attacks on American soldiers in Iraq. The amendment details the publicly available evidence put forward over the past year by General David Petraeus, commanding general of Multi-National Force Iraq, and others about Iran’s violent and destabilizing activities in Iraq. The amendment states that “the murder of members of the United States Armed Forces by a foreign government or its agents is an intolerable act of hostility against the...

Earlier this week, the U.S. military made public new and disturbing information about the proxy war that Iran is waging against American soldiers and our allies in Iraq. According to Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner, the U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, the Iranian government has been using the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah to train and organize Iraqi extremists, who are responsible in turn for the murder of American service members. Gen. Bergner also revealed that the Quds Force--a special unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps whose mission is to finance, arm and equip foreign Islamist terrorist movements--has taken groups of...

WASHINGTON - Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman asserted Monday that the Iranian government has in effect declared war on the United States. Lieberman commented after a U.S. military spokesman said Tehran's senior officials were aware of efforts to encourage violence against Americans in Iraq. "The fact is that the Iranian government has by its actions declared war on us," said Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats. As a result, he continued, "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...

Bay area CODEPINK member collapsed in Lieberman's office after 10 days of an ongoing hunger-strike to gain a meeting with the Senator. Outraged by Senator Lieberman's comments on CBS on June 15 about wanting to bomb Iran, CODEPINK member Leslie Angeline, 50, decided to start a hunger strike until she could meet with the senator. A meeting was scheduled then cancelled by Lieberman's office, resulting in over 50 members of CODEPINK and Iranian, Iraqi, Israeli and Jewish communities to converge on the Senator's office. 3 days later the Senator from Connecticut repeated his accusations and proposed military attack against Iran....

Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch said Tuesday he's supporting legislation to create new House seats for his home state of Utah and the District of Columbia, boosting chances that after two centuries residents of the nation's capital will get a vote in Congress. Hatch joined Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., in sponsoring the Senate version of a bill, passed by the House last month, that would permanently add two seats to the 435-seat House, giving one to the Democratic district and another, provisionally, to Republican-leaning Utah. Most House Republicans joined the Bush White House in opposing the bill, saying the Constitution denies...

Lieberman: Patience Thin With Iran April 24, 2007 Newsmax.com Sen. Joe Lieberman said the United States would not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons and warned that America was losing patience with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s regime. "The world cannot allow this nation with this leader having said what he has said to get nuclear weapons,” Lieberman said during a speech at a synagogue in Montreal, Canada, on Sunday. "The U.S. would never say that it would not use military power to at least try to knock out part of the nuclear weapons program of Iran to at least delay the...

It hasn’t been the best week, and with the Iraq Study Group apparently poised to release its eagerly awaited plan for surrender later today, things are unlikely to get better anytime soon. So, before we get to the serious stuff, let’s cling to one piece of positive news. Yesterday, Joe Lieberman refused to rule out the idea of caucusing with the Republicans in the Senate. As I typed that sentence and prepared to hit the “publish” button, I could sense veins popping across the progressive blogosphere. The AP reports: "Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut said yesterday that he will...

Sen. Joe Lieberman on Sunday repeated his pledge to caucus with Senate Democrats when the 110th Congress convenes in January, but refused to slam the door on possibly moving to the Republican side of the aisle. Asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" if he might follow the example of Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont, who left the Republicans in 2001 and became an independent, ending Republican control of the U.S. Senate, Lieberman refused to discount the possibility. "I'm not ruling it out but I hope I don't get to that point," he said. "And I must say -- and with...

HARTFORD, Conn. --Sen. Joe Lieberman on Sunday repeated his pledge to caucus with Senate Democrats when the 110th Congress convenes in January, but refused to slam the door on possibly moving to the Republican side of the aisle. Asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" if he might follow the example of Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont, who left the Republicans in 2001 and became an independent, ending Republican control of the U.S. Senate, Lieberman refused to discount the possibility. "I'm not ruling it out but I hope I don't get to that point," he said. "And I must say --...

Connecticut voters who worried that Sen. Joe Lieberman might embrace calls by Democrats to withdraw from Iraq can rest easy — that option doesn't appear to be on his plate. The Senate Armed Services Committee convened a hearing last week to discuss the situation in Iraq and Lieberman made it clear through his questioning that he does not favor a withdrawal. Emboldened by victories in the mid-term elections where the central issue was Iraq, Democrats are pressing for a change in course that will bring American troops home sooner, rather than later. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who will chair the...

Yeah, I know. Another vanity. But I'm wondering...any chance he might flip?

Lieberman, Seniority Sure, Has No Plans to Join G.O.P. Mr. Lieberman said he spoke Wednesday morning to Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, and that Mr. Reid assured him that he would retain his seniority despite having bolted the party after losing its primary in August to run on his own party line.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, may have agreed to caucus with the Democrats in the next congressional term, but the Connecticut independent made it clear Wednesday he would not hold the party line on a call for phased troop withdrawals. "Both general Abizaid and Ambassador Satterfield were quite clear and to me convincing, that for congress to order the beginning of a phased redeployment, a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq within the next 4 to 6 months would be a very serious mistake and would endanger ultimate the United States," Lieberman told reporters after the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on...

Tuesday, November 14, 2006 Senate Democrats give Lieberman standing ovation WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, who bolted the Democratic party after losing a primary election this year to run as an independent, won a standing ovation at a closed meeting of all Senate Democrats Tuesday. /snip "It's been a helluva year," Lieberman told the group before imploring them to heed the lessons of the midterm election and "be willing to compromise" with Republicans. Lieberman, who now calls himself an "Independent Democrat," was asked if the warm reception helped remove lingering bitterness from the campaign when many of his...

Four days after calling his party affiliation a "closed issue," U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman said Sunday he was "not ruling it out" that he could turn Republican...

Declaring himself a "non-combatant," U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, in remarks at a New Haven press event Friday, raised anew the question of whether his "independent" candidacy will help Republicans hold onto three Congressional seats in Connecticut -- and control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Lieberman -- who after losing an Aug. 8 Democratic primary to Ned Lamont has launched a third-party bid to hold onto his seat in the Nov. 7 general election -- was asked whether he still endorses Diane Farrell, Joe Courtney and Chris Murphy, three Democrats looking to unseat endangered Republican incumbents Chris Shays, Rob Simmons...

The giddiness from those on the far left after Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman went down in his Democratic primary against Ned Lamont, who ran an anti-Bush, anti-Iraq campaign, may be short-lived. A poll released last week finds that Sen. Lieberman, now running as an independent in the general election, has a comfortable lead over Mr. Lamont. The survey, conducted by Quinnipiac University pollsters, found that 53 percent of likely voters favor Sen. Lieberman, while 41 percent back Mr. Lamont. Just 4 percent supported the Republican candidate, who is being encouraged by members of his own party to withdraw from the...

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Connecticut's secretary of the state says Sen. Joe Lieberman has gathered enough signatures to run for re-election with a new party.

HARTFORD, Conn., Aug. 21 -- Critics of Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman's independent run to keep his job attacked on two fronts Monday, with one group asking an elections official to throw him out of the Democratic Party and a former rival calling on state officials to keep his name off the November ballot.

(Bridgeport-WTNH, Aug. 21, 2006 6:00 PM) _ One group claims Lieberman is trying to start a fake political party and another says Lieberman is a fake Democrat and should be kicked out of the Democratic party. Joe Lieberman says he is a Democrat and always will be and that he's running in November as an Independent petitioning Democrat. Some democrats in New Haven, where Lieberman lives and votes, say they want him kicked out of the party. Joe Lieberman had another of his 'Cup of Joe with Joe' stops in Bridgeport today but while he was there a group of...

Michael Moore wrote an open letter to Democrats who voted for the war. Either recant your vote, disavow your pro-war stance, or else. He specifically threatened Hillary Clinton. Look at what happened to Lieberman they crowed. We targeted him because of his war vote and we can target you. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Ned Lamont, whose anti-war campaign rattled the political landscape by toppling Sen. Joe Lieberman in Connecticut's Democratic primary, is gaining support among voters — but Lieberman still has an edge, according to a poll released Thursday. The Quinnipiac University poll has Lieberman leading Lamont among registered voters 49 percent to 38 percent. Republican Alan Schlesinger gets support from 4 percent. Among likely voters, Lieberman was supported by 53 percent, compared to Lamont's 41 percent and Schlesinger's 4 percent. Lieberman, a nationally known centrist who has been criticized by many Democrats for supporting the war in Iraq and a perceived closeness...

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Ned Lamont, whose anti-war campaign rattled the political landscape by toppling Sen. Joe Lieberman last week in Connecticut's Democratic primary, is gaining support in November's three-way Senate race according to a poll released Thursday... Lieberman leads Lamont among registered voters 49 percent to 38 percent. Republican Alan Schlesinger gets support from 4 percent. Thats an improvement for Lamont, who tralied Lieberman 51 percent to 27 percent in a three way race in a July 20 Quinnipiac poll...

EAST HAVEN, Conn. - Two days before the Democratic primary, U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman made what he called his closing argument on his record Sunday as he tries to gain ground on upstart challenger Ned Lamont, who is leading in the latest poll. Lieberman, a three-term incumbent and his party‘s vice presidential candidate in 2000, has been dogged by liberal Democrats angry at him for supporting the war in Iraq . Lamont, a political newcomer and founder of a cable company, has capitalized on the war‘s unpopularity in Connecticut by accusing Lieberman of being too close to Republicans and President...

Monday, August 7, 2006 Copyright © 2006 Republican-American Second of two parts. [Part one, yesterday, dealt with the gubernatorial primary here in CT] For his entire political career, Democrat Joseph I. Lieberman enjoyed favorable news coverage. He became a news media darling in the 1980s by infusing activism into the state attorney general's office. In 1988, journalists swooned when he upset incumbent Republican Sen. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. In his first 17 years in Congress, Sen. Lieberman benefited from constant kneepad journalism. Reporters covered his "Cup of Joe" gatherings as if they weren't publicity stunts. In crises, they sought him...

There are a great many people on the left of American politics who think that there is one - and only one - lesson of Vietnam: parties fighting unpopular wars lose power, perhaps for a generation. But this is a remarkably solipsistic way of viewing Vietnam. Of the three Presidential elections fought during that war two saw the President re-elected by massive proportions. The 1964 election gave the Democrats their biggest victory since FDR and 1972 their biggest defeat since Lincoln. (And the latter may not count for much, as the most staunchly Democrat states sat that one out). Certainly,...