Sen. Joe Lieberman's party-mates met Wednesday night to consider taking political punishment against him into their own hands.
At one point, the state Democratic Party considered asking Joe to leave the party because of his support of Republican John McCain. Now, it seems the party just wants to make sure he know they are disappointed by sending him a 'strongly worded letter'.
The Democratic State Central Committee met in Hartford to decide what to do. Initially they had prepared a resolution to censure Lieberman and ask him to leave the party but changed their position and decided to call for an admonishment and expression of disapproval and disappointment. The change, they say, is due to Democrats in Washington declining to severely punish Lieberman.
President-elect Barack Obama had signaled to party leaders that he was not interested in taking action against Lieberman for his support of McCain and criticizing the Democratic nominee during the long campaign.
Senate Democrats voted last month to allow Lieberman to remain as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. But they also condemned statements he made during the campaign and removed him from his leadership post on the Environment and Public Works panel.
Just before Connecticut Democrats met about Lieberman’s party status, Quinnipiac University released a poll stating that only 38 percent of state voters approve of his job performance.
Lieberman has said that he regrets some of the statements he made during the campaign, but he believes it's time to move on. He has praised Obama for his actions during the transition period before he takes office.
The Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday shows that Lieberman's job approval rating among Connecticut voters has dropped to 38 percent from 46 percent in July.
Douglas Schwartz, the poll's director, said Lieberman "appears to be paying a high price" for his public support of McCain.
- 42 percent of those surveyed said Lieberman's backing of the Republican presidential candidate made them think less favorably of Lieberman.
- 43 percent said it made no difference.
- 14 percent said they liked his support of McCain.
The poll marks the first time that more voters disapprove of the job Lieberman is doing than those who approve. His worst numbers come from Democrats; only 21 percent approve of Lieberman.
Lieberman did not attend Wednesday night's meeting at Connecticut Democrat Headquarters in Hartford.
