Sen. Joe Lieberman's staunch stay-the-course defense of President Bush's Iraq policies isn't winning him any friends among fellow Democrats.
Lieberman's pro-war views may be winning him praise from a grateful White House, but some Democratic colleagues see him as undercutting their party's efforts to wrest control of Congress from the GOP next fall.
"He's doing damage to the ability of Democrats to wage a national campaign," said Ken Dautrich, a University of Connecticut public policy professor. "It's Lieberman being Lieberman. And it's frustrating for people trying to put a Democratic strategy together."
Democrats hope a surging anti-war tide in 2006 can help them shatter the GOP's 12-year lock on the House and win back the Senate for the first time since 2001.
"It's not a tidal wave now, but the ingredients are starting to fall into place," said veteran Democratic strategist Tad Devine.
Lieberman, who seems to relish his role as a maverick, is veering far from the Democratic script. His vocal support for the war, a stark and frequent reminder of the deep divisions among Democrats on how to end the war, makes him something of a marked man.
"Lieberman is a big voice, he was Al Gore's running mate and he carries weight," said Dautrich. "But he beats to his own drum and that's a problem for Democrats."
Lieberman's pro-Bush stance has long rankled many Democrats, but his comments Tuesday scolding anti-war critics within his own party had a sharper edge.
"It is time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that he will be commander in chief for three more critical years, and that in matters of war we undermine presidential credibility at our nation's peril," said Lieberman, urging bipartisan cooperation.
The senator has a long history of bucking his party. He was one of the few Democrats to chide former President Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. He has assailed Democrat-friendly Hollywood for producing sleaze.
Lieberman, a firm backer of U.S. intervention in Iraq, voted for the 1991 Gulf War, casting the fight in moral terms.
"They may not agree with him, but Democrats respect what he is saying," said former Clinton White House spokesman Michael McCurry. "People know he's not playing politics with Iraq."
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