Mugwump

As I anticipated here, the partisan status of Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman is up in the air, now that the election results are (largely) in.

Some Democrats want to oust him as chair of the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, because he endorsed John McCain for president.

On the other hand, he has reportedly talked with Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Republican leader, about switching to the Republican Party. But, as this report in Politico describes, McConnell has little to offer Lieberman. The committee chairmanships are, of course, all in the hands of the Democrats. And it would even be difficult to find Lieberman a ranking-minority-member position on a major committee.

No obvious path for Lieberman. But if he does switch, that would end the Democrats' quest for a 60-40 majority in the Senate.

If you're curious about "mugwump", click here.