Lieberman increasingly expecting to lose Senate chairmanship after Obama attack John Byrne

Published: Tuesday September 9, 2008





Print This Email This Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) expects to lose his position as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee if Democrats pick up four or five additional seats in the Senate, according to his aides, who floated the claim in Tuesday's Politico.



According to the Connecticut senator's staff, Democrats are upset about his speech at the Republican National Convention in which he attacked Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). Lieberman was the Democrats' vice presidential choice in the 2000 presidential election.



"Lieberman returned to Capitol Hill Monday  his first day back since speaking at the convention  and was greeted by the resignation of his $120,000-a-year legislative director, Joe Goffman," the online political news site reports. "The 66-year-old Connecticut independent has said he hopes to stay in the Democratic fold, although people close to him say hes increasingly pessimistic about his prospects of doing so."



"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid 'had no intention' of disciplining Lieberman for merely backing John McCain, a Democrat close to the Nevadan said. But Reid became incensed, the Democrat said, by Liebermans attack on Barack Obamas fitness to serve as commander in chief."



"While Reid has publicly adopted a wait-and-see attitude on his longtime friend from Connecticut, he has told associates that Lieberman will lose his post 'if we hit 55 or 56' seats, a gain of four or five freshmen in November, the person added."



Read the full story here.



