Call Lieberman an Independent Democrat

WASHINGTON — He was a Democrat who won re-election as an independent, so Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman now says he wants to be called an Independent Democrat.

If that's not confusing enough, the three-term lawmaker who will caucus with Senate Democrats would not rule out entertaining entreaties from the GOP if he starts to feel uncomfortable among Democrats.

Lieberman was returned to office on Election Day with strong GOP support, running as an independent after he lost the Democratic primary in August to Ned Lamont.

The senator is in line to become chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

"I'm going to caucus with the Democrats both because it's good for my constituents in Connecticut. Because I retained my seniority, I become a committee chair, but also I want to continue to work to bring the party back to its historic traditions of strength on national security, foreign policy and innovation and progress in domestic policy," Lieberman said Sunday.

He said that because voters returned him to Capitol Hill as an independent, "I am now an Independent Democrat, capital I, capital D. Matter of fact, the secretary of the Senate called my office and asked, 'How do you want to be identified,' and, and that's it. Independent Democrat," the senator said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

With many Senate Democrats having campaigned or raised money for Lamont, as the party's nominee, Lieberman acknowledged it might be "a little awkward" for him back in Washington.

"They played by the traditional partisan political playbook. And I can't say I enjoyed it, but we're all grown-ups, we've got a job to do, and I'm going to do my best to get that job done," Lieberman said.

Democrats will hold a 51-49 edge in the Senate, so Lieberman, the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2000, could find himself courted by Republicans.

He was asked about a scenario in which he might become uncomfortable as Democrats sought to enforce party discipline and then the GOP offered to keep him as a committee chairman and respect his seniority if he switched.

"I'm not ruling it out, but I hope I don't get to that point," he said.

In 2001, Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont abandoned the GOP and aligned himself with the Democrats, putting them in control of the evenly divided Senate. The switch made him a hero among Democrats and a traitor among Republicans.