Joseph Lieberman's Committee Chair In Jeopardy

With no room for diversity or moderate viewpoints, the takeover has begun and it looks like Joseph Lieberman is set for political execution. As an Independent who tends to vote Democrat in social arenas, with the exception of the "split" votes over Iraq, the current top committee chair may be on the way out following yesterday's meeting with Majority Leader, Harry Reid. In a CBS report that explained Reid's ire towards Lieberman and his lack of loyalty to the Democratic Party, the former Democrat is taking some time to "think" about Reid's harsh statements:

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.

Harry Reid also was quoted as saying "While I understand that Sen. Lieberman has voted with Democrats a majority of the time, his comments and actions have raised serious concerns among many in our caucus," alluding to Lieberman's lack of total partisan loyalty. Joe Lieberman was Democrat Al Gore's VP running mate when he initially lost to George Bush, Jr. In 2006, Lieberman ran as an Independent in Connecticut for the Senate and won, beating out both the Democrat and Republican candidates. He is still registered as a Dem and votes on the majority of issues as a Democrat, despite his friendship with John McCain, a liberal Republican. During McCain's Presidential campaign, he had considered Lieberman as his running mate, but chose Palin instead. Lieberman did give a speech at the GOP's convention on McCain's behalf. A speech that irked partisan supporters of Barack Obama. Reid's unconfirmed decision to oust Lieberman must have Democratic caucus support and if it does pass, the Republicans have said they will welcome the Independent to their side. Lieberman's support has been a 51 to 49 vote but now that the Senate has morphed to a 55 seat strong hold of Democrats, that support may have waned. Lieberman's ousting was part of the prediction "IF" the Democrats took over, as discussed in The Hill back in October. Loyalty to the party will be a key element in what may be viewed as a hostile takeover of the government. With Obama's current selection of Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, whose father was allegedly part of a terror group in the late 40s, and who is known for his Chicago style partisan politics and for "hurting" others in the process, with harsh language and intimidation, as well as his heavy reliance upon Bill Clinton's opinions,civil decisions may be long gone. This decision has earned Obama much support from Israel. In August, the Politico reported Rahm Emanuel's disgust over Lieberman in a statement:

Endorsing McCain was one thing, Emanuel said, but accepting a hero's welcome in the belly of the GOP beast is "something different."

Emanuel is also at the seat of several controversies, according to Wiki's sources :

Emanuel held a seat on the quasi-governmental Freddie Mac board, which paid him $231,655 in director’s fees in 2001 and $31,060 in 2000. During the time Emanuel spent on the board, Freddie Mac was plagued with scandal involving campaign contributions and accounting irregularities.[32]

A 2006 Chicago Tribune article raised speculation regarding a possible connection between Emanuel's Congressional election success and convicted former Chicago water department boss Don Tomczak.[32]

USA Today reported in late January 2007 that Emanuel failed to disclose that he was an officer of a family charity, a violation of law requiring members of Congress to report non-profit leadership roles. The charity does not ask for outside donations and is funded by Emanuel and his family.[33]

As the new team of hard-core Democrats are carefully hand selected, those who have any history of faltering loyalty or friendships to opposing parties can bet their positions will be on the line. Change for the country, just make sure you are a "loyal" follower.