Only One Day Left to Tell Your Senators 'Lieberman Must Go!'

Posted by ZP Heller, Meet the Bloggers at 7:29 AM on November 17, 2008.

Our Lieberman Must Go campaign is gaining Joe-mentum! Over 1,600 people have already made a call to their Democratic Senators, requesting they take away Lieberman's plum Homeland Security Committee chairmanship this Tuesday, when Dems will gather behind closed doors to determine Lieberman's fate.

The press is also taking notice. Our own Communications Director Leighton Woodhouse explained what Lieberman Must Go is all about to The Connecticut Post:

"This is not about retribution or vengeance...This is about the fact that Lieberman has been very clear that his world view and agenda are contrary to the vision that Obama has espoused." 

The reality is that Lieberman spent the recent election actively campaigning against Democrats, most notably Barack Obama.  But as Leighton suggested, stripping Lieberman of his committee chairmanships is not about exacting revenge.  Lieberman has careened to the right on both foreign and domestic policy issues.  He has stood with McCain on everything from the Iraq War to fear-mongering about Iran to offshore drilling, and he has represented everything the GOP stands for by speaking at the Republican National Convention.  Rewarding him with a powerful committee chairmanship would be, as Sen. Bernie Sanders has said, "a slap in the face of millions of Americans who worked tirelessly for Barack Obama and who want to see real change in our country."

Perhaps Think Progress' Satyam Khanna put it best, however, when he noted during Friday's Meet the Bloggers that Lieberman should no longer be chairman of the Homeland Security Committee or any other committee for the simple reason that he has been a terrible chairman from a progressive standpoint.  You can check out Think Progress' full report, but some of Lieberman's lowlights include the fact that he held no oversight hearings over the Bush administration in 2007; he completely bungled the Hurricane Katrina investigation; and to this day he refuses to hold war profiteers like Blackwater accountable.  

The only suitable means of addressing Lieberman's hawkishness and partisan politics is by stripping him of his Homeland Security chairmanship.  Merely removing his subcommittee chairmanships -- as some Dems have suggested -- would be insufficient, particularly when his Homeland Security gavel gives him subpoena power to investigate the Obama administration.  And to those who believe Dems should placate Lieberman to reach that coveted 60-seat, filibuster-proof Senate majority, I say Lieberman's neocon world-view and the fact that he has cozied up to the Republicans means there is no guarantee he will vote with Democrats on anything going forward.  That is why Lieberman Must Go.  Please call your Senators this Monday and tell them.

Tagged as: iraq, democrats, republicans, joe lieberman, barack obama, john mccain, hurricane katrina, blackwater, homeland security, brave new foundation, robert greenwald, caucus, cenk uygur, meet the bloggers, chairmanship, committee, satyam khanna

ZP Heller is the editorial director of Brave New Films. He has written for The American Prospect, AlterNet, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Huffington Post, covering everything from politics to pop culture.