Lieberman is Out of Sync with the Dem Party, Kerry Blasts Lieberman’s Use of ‘Scare Tactics’

The Hill reports that "A group of Senate Democrats is growing increasingly angry about Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (D-Conn.) campaign tactics since he lost the Democratic primary last week."

If he continues to alienate his colleagues, Lieberman could be stripped of his seniority within the Democratic caucus should he defeat Democrat Ned Lamont in the general election this November, according to some senior Democratic aides.

In recent days, Lieberman has rankled Democrats in the upper chamber by suggesting that those who support bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq by a certain date would bolster terrorists’ planning attacks against the U.S. and its allies. He also sparked resentment by saying last week on NBC’s Today show that the Democratic Party was out of the political mainstream.

It's not the Democratic party that is "out of the political mainstream," it Joe Lieberman who is out of sync with the party -- big time. Last night in an interview on The Young Turks, Cenk Uygur asked John Kerry about Joe Lieberman's comments that the Democratic party's policy on Iraq would strengthen terrorists. Kerry called Lieberman's "scare tactics" a "disgrace" -- Listen Here.

"That's bunk. That's scare-tactic bunk. And it's an unfortunate statement from somebody of Joe's quality, and I regret it....

I'm not going to stand for those scare tactics , that's exactly what the Republicans have been doing for the last years. They avoid a real discussion by throwing out a slogan and they scare people....

It's a disgrace that people are playing to the lowest common denominator of American politics, which is fear."

The buzz around the Hill is that is IF Lieberman does manage to retain his seat in the Senate come November, he could lose his seniority in the Democratic caucus. No one is making a firm commitment to that prediction, however:

So far, at least 26 Democratic senators have said they are supporting Lamont, including Reid, according to a survey conducted by The Hill. Reid spokesman Jim Manley said Democratic leaders would make no decisions about committees until after the election.

Bob Geiger has the full breakdown of Democratic Senators who are supporting Lamont here, as well as the hold outs still supporting Lieberman.