Joe Lieberman sticks up for his friends

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The story that Senator Joe Lieberman, Independent of Connecticut, will campaign for a couple of Republicans in 2010, is making the rounds today.

He hasn’t said who, but I don’t think they will be too far out in right field (not left field). They will probably be reasonably moderate Republicans in safe red districts who have collaborated with Joe in the past.

Consider some of Republican members he’s helped campaign for Congress in previous years – they’re all his good buddies. Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, is the ranking member on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that Lieberman chairs. Peter King, a Republican Congressman of New York, has also buddied up with Lieberman on many issues over the years.

Both are also in safe GOP districts. King in some senses is the de facto leader of New York State Republicans, having held his congressional district with 56% of the vote in 2008 in a year that Obama’s tide lifted all Democratic boats. Collins held onto her her Senate seat in ‘08 by 61% of the vote.

And if you’re worried that Lieberman will help usher in a major upset for Republicans, note as ABC News’s Jonathan Karl has, that he is helping Chris Dodd, the embattled Senate Democrat of Connecticut, to hold onto his seat:

In the big campaign in his home state of Connecticut next year, however, Lieberman said he will strongly support Democratic incumbent Sen. Chris Dodd, who faces a tough re-election battle.

“I believe Sen. Dodd will get re elected, but it’s not going to be easy. This is going to be a tough year for incumbents,” Lieberman said. “I hope I can help him get re-elected.”

via Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman Says He’ll Back Republicans in 2010 Congressional Races – ABC News.

One would expect Lieberman to hold steady with the precedent he has set – assistance to his good friends, the ones he isn’t too far away from ideologically. Democrat and Republican alike. Don’t expect him to campaign for, say, David Vitter in Louisiana, or for any Republican who is likely to get walked all over. Lieberman doesn’t want to be seen as backing GOP losers. But you might see him show up again in Rep. King’s district, or on the stump for any other moderate Republicans who are likely to pick up an open House seat or hold onto one to which they’ve already been elected.

Also, I wouldn’t expect Lieberman to stump for any Republicans in open Senate seats, or in those with an embattled Democratic incumbent. Hopefully he’s smart enough to understand that anything he does that would shrink the Democratic majority in the Senate makes his role as the magical 60th vote irrelevant. So, stumping for say Mike Castle in Delaware would be foolish, as would going on the trail against Senator Specter in Pennsylvania.

Now if Lieberman fails to abide by his own precedents, and makes it more difficult for the Democrats to hold onto their cloture-invoking 60 votes, Senator Reid will have to revise the social contract that gave him his committee chairmanship. Of course, if Lieberman really does prevent a final health care bill from having an up or down vote by backing a Republican filibuster, that social contract is null and void anyway. At that point, Reid should eject Lieberman from the Democratic caucus forthwith. And then he’ll just be another Republican backbencher, and of little use to campaigning Republicans in 2010. Maybe this is how the “Joe will filibuster health care” circle gets squared at the end of the day.