Lieberman key player on global warming

Lieberman and Warner are working to make the bill more nuclear friendly — and thus more palatable to McCain — by introducing an amendment that provides funding for training of nuclear power plant workers and to encourage more people to become nuclear engineers.

The Lieberman-Warner amendment would also provide money to redevelop the manufacturing of nuclear power plant components in America. “We discover now that since we stopped building nuclear power plants, people in America don’t make the major components, you have to go overseas,” Lieberman said.

Antagonizing Democrats
Meanwhile in his 2008 campaign persona, Lieberman continues to antagonize the Democrats.

There’s the question of whether Lieberman will address the GOP convention in September. “Nobody’s talked to me anymore,” Lieberman said somewhat ambiguously, seeming to imply that some conversation about him addressing the convention had occurred.

Groups such as Democracy for America and People for the American Way are denouncing Lieberman for being slated to speak at a Christians United for Israel event next month hosted by evangelist John Hagee.

McCain renounced the Texas preacher two weeks ago after statements by Hagee from the 1990s came to light in which he had said Hitler's persecution of the European Jews fulfilled a divine plan to get the Jewish people back to Palestine.

While McCain has bailed out on Hagee, Lieberman hasn’t. He said Tuesday he would speak to Hagee’s group as planned.

“This is a commitment I made. I spoke to it last year and they asked me some time last year to come again this year,” Lieberman said. “I disagree with some of the controversial statements that Pastor Hagee had made that were discovered recently that I did know about. Most of them were from a time past.”

He added, “I do think it’s fair to judge somebody by the totality of their life’s work and he’s done a lot of good work. One of the good works he did was to create this group, Christians United for Israel, which not only supports Israel but is supporting the United States in the war on terrorism.”

Volatile relations with Democrats
Lieberman’s volatile relations with Democrats dates back to 2006 when he lost his Senate Democratic primary in Connecticut to challenger Ned Lamont, but handily won re-election as an independent.

Some Democrats who support Obama are hoping for Lieberman to get his comeuppance on Election Day.

“You know, eating your words later is always a painful experience,” remarked Obama supporter Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb. referring to Lieberman’s attacks on Obama. “The less you say of that (criticism of Obama), the better, if you want to serve as a bridge builder” between Democrats and Republicans. 

If Nelson gets his wish and McCain loses on Nov. 4 and the Democrats gain more seats in the Senate, some Capitol observers wonder whether Democrats will make Lieberman persona non grata at their weekly policy lunches.

Will they go further and oust him from his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee?

MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann asked Majority Leader Harry Reid last month whether there was anything that Lieberman “could do that would make you move to take (away) his leadership position away on Homeland Security?”

“Yes, of course,” Reid said, without saying what the firing offense might be.

“Joe has been very good on issues with some exceptions, on everything but the war,” he said. “But you know, I don’t have all Democrats on everything. So, it’s really unfair to pick on Joe on a few other things, the war we can pick on him all we want. I disagree. I think it’s wrong what he’s done and I told him that.”

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