Democrats opt not to reprimand Joe Lieberman

Reporting from Washington, D.C. — Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut senator who was vilified by Democratic activists for his support of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, escaped serious retribution from Democratic Senate colleagues today.

Lieberman will remain in the Democratic caucus and keep his chairmanship of the prestigious Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.

As part of a resolution adopted overwhelmingly by Democratic senators, he will forfeit chairmanship of an Environment and Public Works subcommittee. He will keep chairmanship of an Armed Services subcommittee.

The result is a far cry from the sentiments voiced by many Democrats after Lieberman spoke at the Republican National Convention this summer and suggested Barack Obama wasn't ready to be president. McCain seriously considered Lieberman as his running mate.

Democrats talked about expelling Lieberman from the Democratic caucus and stripping him of the Homeland Security chair.

Lieberman is a registered Independent, but works with Democrats in the Senate. He was a Democratic lawmaker for two decades, and was the party's vice presidential nominee eight years ago. He switched his affiliation in 2006 after losing the Democratic primary in Connecticut, largely because of his strong support for the war in Iraq.

After the recent election, when Democrats gained a bigger majority on the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid met with Lieberman and let it be known that serious punishment was required. Lieberman, for his part, made noises about going over to the Republicans.

But there was no sign of that today. Lieberman and Reid stood together before the cameras after the caucus vote, and Reid praised Lieberman's commitment to Democratic principles. "This was not a time for retribution," Reid said. "It was time for moving forward."

Lieberman said he regretted some of the statements he made about Obama during the campaign. And he credited the president-elect for calling on Lieberman to stay with the Democrats. Obama last week suggested that Lieberman should not be severely punished.

"My hope is that he becomes a Democrat again," California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said after the vote.

The resolution was sponsored by Sens. Christopher Dodd (Connecticut), Ben Nelson (Nebraska), Thomas Carper (Delaware) and Ken Salazar (Colorado). With the newly elected members of the senate voting, it passed by a 42-13 margin.

"The mood overall was 'Let's move on from here,' " Dodd said, adding, "we understand completely the frustration that a lot of Democrats feel."

Reid also was elected to another term as majority leader and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) was reelected as the majority whip.

Oliphant is a writer in The Times Washington Bureau.