Lieberman's choice

Hugh Hewitt's latest article is a plea for Lieberman to change his party affiliation and give control of the senate back to the Republicans.

It is increasingly obvious that if the political war in Washington is to be stopped from hurting and possibly fatally crippling the war against the Islamists, Senator Lieberman is going to have to change parties, pulling a reverse Jim Jeffords.

. . . I don’t think any amount of political payoff could tempt Lieberman as it did Jeffords. The switch would not be because of a desire for more special ed funding or some set of perks he just cannot get from the Dems. Of course he’d want seniority and leadership, but the motivation would have to be the obvious: He can stop the war from being lost and he understands the consequences of such a defeat.

I obviously hope Lieberman doesn't do this. The personal consequences and rewards would be large. He'd be seen rightly as a traitor by the Democrats, essentially burning his bridges with that group. And I'm not sure how running as a Republican (even an independent who caucused with Republicans) would play with his home state. On the other hand, the Republicans and the Conservatives would reward him as they did Zell Miller.

I don't think Lieberman will do it; that's just too big a step. But it's impossible to know for sure.