The Prodigal Senator?

So, the wussies are back.  No, I'm not referring to the Swiss Army Command, the deluge of cheesy family-friendly Holiday television specials, or even the Cleveland Browns.  I'm not even talking about those kids that played hopscotch or Magic the Gathering at recess.  I am referring to that upper echelon of weenies, that nose-bleed section of wimps, the Coward Club of Mt. Everest.  Yes indeed, the Democrats of the late 20th Century and the first eight years of the 21st Century are BACK!  (And only two weeks after they vanquished Washington.)

Yesterday, the Democratic caucus in the United States Senate held a secret vote on the fate of Senator Joe Lieberman from Connecticut. The Senator had not only endorsed the Republican candidate John McCain for president (because he's his friend?), but had viciously campaigned AGAINST his party's candidate, Barack Obama.  So because of his dissent, the vote could simply oust the Senator from his committee position, from the entire Senate, or completely approve of his performance in both.

Nevermind the fact that Lieberman has already broken a pledge to his Connecticut constituency by declaring himself an Independent. Nevermind that he co-chairs the Senate Homeland Security Committee, and has failed to provide a single instance of oversight, or ANY evidence of cajones against the current extremely right-falling president. Nevermind the fact that Lieberman has turned out to be quite possibly the most hawkish Democrat in history (barring LBJ himself).  Uh, nevermind alllllll that...I'm sorry, I can't keep a straight face - MIND ALL OF THESE THINGS.  Senator Joe Lieberman has time and time again proved himself to be utterly useless to the Democrats, and generally useless to the call of progress.

So it's pretty obvious that this joker should go, right?  What was the outcome of this obvious vote, you ask?  42-13, Lieberman stays in the Senate with his chairmanship intact!  Really?  REALLY????  Wow, that takes some serious anti-balls.

Let's get one thing straight: I am the last person to tell people to fall in line with a particular party. I am an Independent myself. I happen to be very left-leaning, but there are things that the Democratic Party does that I severely disagree with. I happen to think both parties are corrupt, broken, and even wrong in many instances. This isn't about that. This, ladies and gentlemen, is about the nature of forgiveness.

I'm sure already the pundits are thinking up some sort of metaphor to Jesus Christ's parable of the Prodigal Son in the Gospel of Luke (chapter 15: 11-32)...which I guess I just did.  I find the story to be uplifting, and I believe it teaches a valuable lesson about - among many things - humility, repentance, and forgiveness.  I believe the story also gives us a model of how rebellion and atonement can play out in a natural and life-changing fashion.

I can appreciate the comparison, but there is one large incongruity between the two.  The real-life situation doesn't follow the model.  In the parable, the father immediately forgives his son upon seeing him return wearily into his arms.   Sure, both the son and Lieberman did things that require forgiveness.  The son was selfish and wasted what was so graciously given to him, and Lieberman...well, was...selfish and wasted what was so graciously given to him.  However, forgiveness must be requested, and the detractor must have changed his or her defecting ways.  The son came back on his knees, imploring his father to employ him as a worker, and to no longer call him his son.  Lieberman, however, was not so repentant.  He was more or less UNrepentant.  His public statement after the 42-13 vote leads me to believe that he not only never asked for forgiveness, but that he doesn't even intend to change his actions.  This is where this instance drastically differs from the Prodigal Son.

I'm not naive. I understand the reasoning behind the decision. The Democrats - along with President-Elect Obama - want a chance at a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, and that rests on Lieberman being brought back into the fold. As of now, with Lieberman back, the Democrats have 58 Senators with two more races still undecided (60 is the magic number).  So, the decision is purely political.  I get it. However, I believe Lieberman may cause more trouble in the future than that much-envied majority is worth. This is particularly true if Lieberman continues on his path of unapologetic warhawk-ness, and if he truly believes his own anti-Obama rhetoric.  (He said that Obama is all talk, that he voted to cut off funding for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, blah, blah, blah, lies, lies lies.)

I believe that without punishment, we don't grow. In the end, we are animals. If nothing has happened to us to break us of a habit, then the habit will continue, because there is no incentive to stop it. Similarly, repentance and its resulting growth will not come about without some sort of punishment. The Prodigal Son was punished by having to live with the pigs, and grovel at his father's feet.  The Senate Democrats have afforded no such punishment. Joe Lieberman will still retain his status in the Homeland Security Committee, he will retain his good standing among Democrats. In fact, all parties involved have passive-aggressively put on a smile and pretended like everything is just peachy.

So, in conclusion, all I have to say to the Senate Democrats, is that I hope they're satisfied with they're decision. Because, from where I sit, they may have created one more thorn in the side of real lasting change that Barack Obama can and will create with the right support in the Senate.

Sources: 

The Rachel Maddow Show, November 18, 2008

Countdown with Keith Olbermann, November 18, 2008

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/11/19/lieberman/?source=newsletter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prodigal_son