Tom Maguire at Just One Minute picked up the same news report as I did on Joe Lieberman's decision to run as an independent. The anger from the Democratic base has pushed him into making that decision by giving their support to Ned Lamont, supposedly for being outside the mainstream of Democrats, especially on the war. However, Tom points to the Poole analyses for the past three sessions of Congress -- and the Democratic base seems somewhat misinformed.

In the 109th Congress, for instance, Lieberman's position finds him the 17th most conservative Democrat out of a caucus of 44 -- hardly an extremist among Senators. Lieberman occupies the 16th most conservative slot in his caucus in the 108th Congress. In the 107th, Lieberman came in at almost the dead center, at #20. Joe Biden and Joe Lieberman have almost identical scores in the last two sessions, and Harry Reid has a more conservative rating than either in both of them.

If the netroots think that Lieberman has moved outside of the base, perhaps that reflects more on their perspective than on the reality of Lieberman's performance.

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» Joe Lieberman Readies Independent Run Amid Democratic Dilemma from The Moderate Voice
It's "crunch time" for the Democratic party in the face of the announcement that Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman is getting ready to run as an independent... [Read More]

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» Joe Lieberman Readies Independent Run Amid Democratic Dilemma from The Moderate Voice
It's "crunch time" for the Democratic party in the face of the announcement that Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman is getting ready to run as an independent... [Read More]

Tracked on July 4, 2006 12:07 PM

» Cracks & Fissures from Hard Starboard
The difference between the Kos-hacks and DLCers is really less ideological than it is tactical. DLCers recognize that liberalism is no longer a majority philosophy in America and, thus, the need for guile and deception if the Democrats are to keep en... [Read More]

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» Liberals are Demonizing Joe Lieberman from Blue Star Chronicles
So Lieberman will go the way of Zell Miller and any other democrat who does not take the extreme socialist and/or communist views of the far left. Reasoned thinking and a willingness to work TOGETHER with their countrymen for the good of the country ... [Read More]

Tracked on July 4, 2006 1:26 PM