Chris Dodd and a few of his Senate colleagues pulled off an amazing feat of political gamesmanship to help Joe Lieberman keep his Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs chairmanship. It was so effective, in fact, that by the time Democratic Senators voted on Lieberman's role in the Party, they no longer had the option to strip Joe of his chairmanship.
[T]he outcome was for all intents and purposes a fait accompli.
Sources on Capitol Hill say there was little to no opportunity for Senators angry at their recalcitrant colleague to fully register their disagreements. Only one resolution -- one that kept Lieberman in his post but took away his position on an environmental and public works committee -- came to the floor, and it clearly had the support to pass. Senators could voice their displeasure or vote nay. But in the end, as one aide says, "the meeting was theater."
Chris Dodd and a handful of leading Senate Democrats apparently worked for days to keep the HS&GA gavel in Lieberman's hands.
"They had more than two and a half weeks to organize around this," said one high-ranking aide who favored Lieberman being stripped of his post. "And the fact of the matter is, Reid basically met with Lieberman 48 hours after the election was over. During that time it seemed like he was leaning towards stripping Lieberman of his committee chairmanship. But once that word came out, the only folks who were organized were the pro-Lieberman supporters."
The problem, the aide reluctantly ceded, was an absence of coordinated progressive leadership. While the pro-Lieberman allies were out in force -- led by Sens. Chris Dodd, Ken Salazar, Tom Carper, and Bill Nelson -- the Senators who wanted a harsher punishment held their cards tightly.
Dodd's efforts began on November 6, when he and Lieberman staged back-to-back press conferences in Washington, D.C. At the first press conference, Lieberman acknowledged meeting Harry Reid and said he would consider the "options" presented to him, which presumably included losing his chairmanship and joining the Republican caucus. At the second presser moments later, Dodd laid claim to the Banking Committee chair, shrugging off suggestions by Joe Biden that he move to Foreign Relations. Dodd and Lieberman also spoke several times that day.
The next day in Hartford, Dodd warned of a "messy fight" with the Obama-Biden administration if Lieberman were stripped of his chairmanship. Considering that it's Harry Reid and the Senate Steering Committee -- not Obama -- who picks the committee seats, it was an odd response. That warning could easily have been taken as a veiled threat to oppose Obama's legislative agenda. Since it only takes a few Democratic Senators to make good on such a threat, and Dodd was in the process of lining up Senators Nelson, Salazar, and others to side with him, the threat had to be taken seriously. Apparently it was. On November 9, Obama said he didn't hold any grudges against Lieberman, that he preferred that Joe caucus with the Dems, and that the Senate work out the details.
The rest was political theater.
It remains to be seen to what degree Dodd helped to salvage or sabotage the Obama administration's plans for change by bringing Lieberman into the fold -- and to what degree Dodd himself is interested in reform. As Banking Chairman, Dodd can lead the effort to revamp the financial services industry, or he can continue to let that industry regulate itself -- to disastrous effects. In fact, much of the credit or blame for what gets accomplished in Washington over the next two years will go to Senate Democrats like Dodd and Lieberman. I wonder if they'll rise to the occasion. |
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