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I swear this is a "verbatim", not a "shorter":
According to the aide, Lieberman's met with Harry Reid and discussions were very friendly. Reid wanted him to step down from his post as chairman of Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in exchange for heading a lesser committee. Lieberman reminded Reid of how loyal he's been to the Democrats in myriad of ways despite the obvious disagreements, and indicated that would be unnacceptable.Oh, yes, well if you just make an exception for such trivialities as "supporting the Republican candidate," "speaking at the Republican convention in support of said candidate," and "grotesquely smearing the Democratic candidate," he's been very loyal!
Reid's choice is obvious: let Lieberman join the Republican conference with no seniority or chairmanships. I completely understand that broad party coalitions inevitably involve making peace with wankers. People who actively support the other party are a different matter. He has no leverage and won't be a reliable cloture vote in any circumstances. Let him walk.
--Scott Lemieux
