bobbyw24
12-16-2009, 06:33 AM
By Jordan Fabian - 12/15/09 06:12 PM ET
Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) on Tuesday left open the possibility of running for reelection as a Republican in 2012.
Lieberman, who caucuses with the Democrats, told CNN's Dana Bash that the move is "unlikely" but did not rule it out.
Asked if he would run as a Republican, he said "I don't know what I'll run as. I like being an Independent. So that's definitely a possibility. But I'd say all options are open."
Lieberman added "It's unlikely I'd run as a Republican but I wouldn't foreclose any possibility. I think the more likely thing is that I'd run as an Independent because that's what I am."
Lieberman, previously a lifelong Democrat, won reelection as an Independent in 2006 after being defeated by businessman Ned Lamont (D-Conn.) in the Democratic primary. Lamont during the campaign harped on Lieberman's support for the Iraq War in 2003.
Now liberals have turned their cross-hairs on Lieberman, a key centrist holdout on healthcare reform, after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) stripped the bill of the public option and Medicare buy-in proposal. The Connecticut Independent has strongly objected to both the provisions.
Lieberman called suggestions that he opposes the measures due to a sense of animosity toward the Democratic Party "poppycock."
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/72395-lieberman-leaves-door-open-for-republican-candidacy-in-2012-
Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) on Tuesday left open the possibility of running for reelection as a Republican in 2012.
Lieberman, who caucuses with the Democrats, told CNN's Dana Bash that the move is "unlikely" but did not rule it out.
Asked if he would run as a Republican, he said "I don't know what I'll run as. I like being an Independent. So that's definitely a possibility. But I'd say all options are open."
Lieberman added "It's unlikely I'd run as a Republican but I wouldn't foreclose any possibility. I think the more likely thing is that I'd run as an Independent because that's what I am."
Lieberman, previously a lifelong Democrat, won reelection as an Independent in 2006 after being defeated by businessman Ned Lamont (D-Conn.) in the Democratic primary. Lamont during the campaign harped on Lieberman's support for the Iraq War in 2003.
Now liberals have turned their cross-hairs on Lieberman, a key centrist holdout on healthcare reform, after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) stripped the bill of the public option and Medicare buy-in proposal. The Connecticut Independent has strongly objected to both the provisions.
Lieberman called suggestions that he opposes the measures due to a sense of animosity toward the Democratic Party "poppycock."
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/72395-lieberman-leaves-door-open-for-republican-candidacy-in-2012-