Net Roots Delivering Petition Slamming Lieberman
A coalition of liberal net-roots groups is set to deliver a petition bearing more than 43,000 signatures to members of the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee calling for the panel to strip Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.) of his rank and committee chairmanship when the 111th Congress convenes in 2009.
On Wednesday morning, net-roots activists will deliver stacks of petitions to Senators along with a new video from Brave New Films titled “Lieberman Must Go,” which they say documents the numerous slights and betrayals of his colleagues in the Democratic caucus that Sen. Lieberman has exhibited, sometimes ostentatiously, over recent years.”
The petition cites a litany of concerns with Lieberman since he left the Democratic Party in 2006 after losing the primary election to Ned Lamont. Among them, he has endorsed Republican Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) for president, disparaged the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), “openly and repeatedly,” and advocated for continuing the war in Iraq.
In addition, Lieberman is likely to address the Republican National Convention in September, the petition states. And all the while, Lieberman has been “enjoying the full privileges” of membership in the Democratic Conference.
Lieberman “sits on the far right of the spectrum on the core, central issues of our time: national security and Iraq,” said Matt Stoller of OpenLeft.com. “He has no standing as a Democrat and should be stripped of his placement within the caucus.”