DBAppraiser said:
Lieberman won his re-election as an independent and doesn't tow the party line on Iraq and terrorism so he has been shunned by the Democrats. He isn't allowed to participate in the convention this summer.
Watching tv tonight, it is being reported that the Clintons are very worried that Al Gore will poke them in the eye and endorse Obama. Gore is a super delegate and it is no secret that the Gores despise the Clintons. Nothing like a little disfunction in the family to keep things interesting.
Joe 'mentum' Lieberman is publically backing a member of another party. Democratic Party bylaws (and I'd have to check on the GOP bylaws) state that Super Delegates can vote/back any candidate in the party. Backing an opposing party candidate puts Joe 'mentum' squarely outside the bylaws, and so he is not going to be at the convention.
Simple.
He holds some committee seats, and caucuses with the party, and so 'shunned' may be some more spin DBA. While there are members who despise him, he still has some national support from Blue Dogs, and until he is stripped of party membership, committee assignments and caucuses with the knuckle draggers, he's just a left leaning independant.
When he lost in the primary last year, he formed a Connecticut for Lieberman party, and so technically, that is what he is.
I''d also like to mention that Tom Lantos died today, a truly honorable and decent human being who will be missed.
