While Senator Lieberman has never been my favorite Senator (far from it, actually), I've always respected him. Yes, he caucuses with the Democrats, and votes wrong on 90% of the legislation. Yes, he was a Democrat originally and, arguably, only switched to Independent when he lost his bid in the primary. And yes, he was Al Gore's running mate in the 2000 elections.
Those are a lot of negatives for any conservative Republican to have to look past, but as I've written in past posts before: it's all about the area, baby. Connecticut is, like Massachusetts and other New England states, a much more liberal area. Naturally, the more liberal leaning (particularly on social issues) politicians will come out ahead 9 times out of 10. This immediately means a politician from that area is not going to be as socially conservative, as, say, Mike Huckabee.
Besides realizing why he voted on some of the bills that he has, one has to realize what he, coupled with John McCain, try to stand for. He and McCain are good buddies, and work across the aisle any chance that they get. Granted, I don't think that reaching across the aisle simply to put forth the act works out well if you are selling out your principles at the same time, but, on certain occasions and in different situations I applaud the effort and the civility that this fosters. Heck, he even supported the Republican ticket and said this about our President to be:
"In the Senate, during the 3 1/2 years that Sen. Obama has been a member, he has not reached across party lines to . accomplish anything significant, nor has he been willing to take on powerful interest groups in the Democratic Party to get something done."
Those are some tough words against the person that would end up becoming our next President, however, Lieberman was right. There have been scant areas where Obama has really reached across the center, and most of those have been fairly recently.
While Lieberman will probably not be remembered as the most influential member of the Senate, he will be remembered for his determination to reach across the aisle...even if it was a fools errand. Besides that, it is important for conservatives to remember: once this moderate is out, it probably won't be filled by another. It's Connecticut, after all. Sen Lieberman was lucky to win that seat as an Independent to begin with, and with his sloping poll ratings, it's apparent that the residents in Connecticut don't want a moderate Independent anymore. Perhaps a moderate Republican will take a good run at the seat, and perhaps follow Scott Brown's lead. But, that is pretty unlikely, given the number of liberal Democrats that that state has elected.
So, remember, fellow Republicans: All of those that have wished for Lieberman to go away...be careful what you wish for.
