Fellow Indy Weblogger Oliver Willis said it, and Kos said it: after a long string of betrayals of Democratic causes, and now after a long tirade against Democratic Chair Dean in this week's New Yorker, Joe Lieberman might as well announce his conversion.

Oliver:

Joe Lieberman feels that as a Democrat, it's a good idea to launch a public attack on the party chairman. Why? Why the hell does he do this? Why is Joe Lieberman actively hurting the Democratic party? He knows the media salivates over the notion of a party member disagreeing with party leadership, and the GOP is smart enough to keep their disputes behind closed doors. But Joe Lieberman, seduced by the lights, camera, and ink can't wait to be the "maverick" once again, knifing his party in the back.

Maybe it's because even though Dean lost in NH, he kicked Lieberman's ass 26%-9%? Maybe it's for historical reasons - because Joe Lieberman did nothing to help Al Gore among the constituencies he was supposed to, and was perhaps a drag on the '00 ticket? Perhaps it's because his party took a look at him in 2004 and rejected him again, and again, and again, and again? (compare this to Wes Clark, who essentially just became a Democrat in 2004, yet consistently outpolled Lieberman and actually won a primary election)

Kos:

Now the writer is clueless if he thinks Lieberman is the most conservative member of the Dems senate caucus. Not even close. Ben Nelson, Max Baucus, Mary Landrieu, Mark Pryor, Byron Dorgan and Tim Johnson are all more "conservative" than Lieberman, who has a stellar record on some progressive issues.

But as many of us have noted ad infinitum, there's being a conservative Democrat, and then there's being a disloyal Democrat.

Biden bites his tongue and refuses to criticize Dean. Lieberman jumps at the bit. Biden is rewarded with a piece that is essentially about him, all the way through (and the dilemma foreign policy hawks face in the Democratic Party). Lieberman's entire role and purpose in the piece is to take shots at other Democrats.

Oliver:

At some point, it is no longer about policy. It isn't about disagreeing on one issue and agreeing on another. It becomes about what is best for a political movement, and that political movement's ability to move forward and create progress for a nation.

That is why Joe Lieberman should leave the Democratic party.

The trigger:

Biden could find little to say about Dean, other than this: “No goddam chairman’s ever made a difference in the history of the Democratic Party.� His colleague Joseph Lieberman, who is perhaps the most conservative member of the Democratic caucus, said, “Dean was wrong on the war and what he was talking about was bad for the country. We’ll see what he does as chairman. If he devotes his energies to building a party at the base, as he talked about doing, good for him. If he continues to be a prominent spokesman on defense policy, I would regret it.�

Lieberman is a study in the dangers of steroidal muscularity, becoming an outlier in his own party. (He has edged to the right as his running mate in the 2000 election, Al Gore, has moved leftward.) His fate was sealed with a kiss, planted on his cheek by Bush, just after the President delivered his State of the Union address. “That may have been the last straw for some of the people in Connecticut, the blogger types,� Lieberman told me. But he is unapologetic about his defense of Bush’s Iraq policy, saying, “Bottom line, I think Bush has it right.� When I asked if he was becoming a neoconservative, Lieberman smiled and said, “No, but some of my best friends are neocons.�

For a Democrat who wants to cultivate an image of toughness on national security, the challenge is to adopt positions that, in some cases, are closer to those of Paul Wolfowitz than to those of Edward Kennedy while remaining loyal to the Party.

Media Girl:

For me, there is no trigger. I've just never really cared for Joe. He was a bland VP candidate in 2000, offering nothing to the ticket besides a warm body. When Joe Lieberman opens his mouth, he speaks like he thinks himself to be FDR, though he lacks the white boater. But that's just a sin of style, and maybe I'm just being unfair to say he speechifies more like the railroad announcer at Disneyland. But let's face it, his voting record in the Senate is mixed at best. I don't know. I just feel like I cannot believe a single thing that comes out of his mouth. And then there's that hawkish attitude, that smarmy smirking self-righteous talk that tries to gloss over the fact that, in the end, he's really saying that might makes right.

Maybe every party needs its pariah, it's steaming example of all the things that the party opposes. Frankly, I don't care if Lieberman comes out as a Republican. (He doesn't care about us "blogger types," either.) It's the same difference -- Republican is as Republican does, as Forrest Gump taught us all.

The only thing is that if Lieberman changes party affiliation to match his loyalty, then Democratic Party funds could go to a candidate that actually would hold Democratic positions. As it is, the Democrats are funding an elephant in donkey's clothing, and if they continue to deny that, well, then they're just a bunch of turkeys. (And it will be the Republicans having Thanksgiving.)

But let's not leave things on my own personal views. Let's harken back to 2003, when Dean and Lieberman were arch rivals for the presidential nomination:

Since Garry South came aboard Lieberman’s campaign, he has steered the strategy into a two-person race between Lieberman representing the center-right DLC wing of the party, and Dean representing the center-left base of the party. This is the matchup that South apparently wants, as Lieberman no longer pays any attention it seems to Gephardt and Kerry. Again today, Lieberman trotted out his DLC talking points and warned that Dean and leftist Dems will lead the party to slaughter if they repeal the Bush tax cuts and act weak on defense and national security.

However, Lieberman is ignoring what recent polls point out: the base is fed up with the party for not being tough enough with Bush. In addition, while Lieberman carries the DLC banner, Dean is the only candidate with upward movement among Democrats....

Yet in Lieberman’s appearances lately, especially today on Fox, he is providing the GOP with all of the video clips they would need to blast Dean as a tax-raiser on the middle class. Lieberman sounds a little frantic in his attacks, like a man who is watching the base, especially the young move away from the DLC center of the party he is trying to occupy, and towards Dean.

Make no mistake: the battle between Dean and Lieberman is in fact a battle for the soul of the party. Dean believes that in order for the party to beat Bush and win, it must first bring its base back into political activism as well as bring aboard those who haven’t been engaged in politics.

...and let's not forget things like this:

Sen. Joe Lieberman attacked the left wing of his party Sunday, saying Democrats "don't deserve to run the country" if they move left and embrace "the failed solutions of the past."

"If we're for middle-class tax increases, if we send a message of weakness and ambivalence on defense, if we go back to big government spending, if we're against trade [and] for protectionism -- which never created a job -- we don't deserve to run the country," Lieberman, a presidential candidate, said on "Fox News Sunday."

"We're not going to be able to meet the challenges that America faces today."

Spoken like a true ... Republican.

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