Democratic faithful among his constituents and his U.S. Senate caucus say he's moving too far to the right in supporting a number of President Bush's initiatives, particularly the administration's plans to remake Social Security.
Distancing himself from his party on "security and social issues"
In his home state of Connecticut, some Democrats are getting fed up with Lieberman's perceived increasing disdain for left-wing ideology – so much so, there is an effort just now getting under way to replace him.
"I think he has betrayed his constituency and he is leaning way too far to the right," New Haven resident and Web designer Marjorie Clark told the Times. She and some 30 others who supported Democratic National Committee chief Howard Dean's failed 2004 presidential bid met earlier this week to plan a "Dump Joe" campaign.
But will it happen? Not likely; Lieberman's popularity remains high among both Democrats and Republicans in his state - as in almost-70-percent-approval-rating high. And for now, party officials say he's still one of them.
That could change, though, if he became a useful ally for President Bush's Social Security overhaul plan.
"I think that Joe understands that, at this point in time, unity is the most important card Democrats have to play," one Democratic senator told the Times on anonymity. "He is sympathetic enough to that need that he is not going to bolt the reservation."
Some Republicans don't see it that way. They believe the Democratic hierarchy is pressuring its members to hold the line against Bush's Social Security reform, which includes a provision to allow younger workers to invest a portion of their contribution but which won't affect workers 55 and older.
"If this becomes 'You cannot work with Bush to solve Social Security,' then it will be a death blow to the Democratic Party. You will have more Republicans up here than we can handle," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told the Times.
Lieberman agrees. He, like the president, wants to fix Social Security, not use it as a tool to let the president twist in the wind.
"There is a whole attitude out there, 'Just say No!,' " he told the Times. "In other words, 'Let the president sink with this proposal. We are winning.' But we are not winning because the victory here is to solve the Social Security problem."
Lieberman avers he is a proud member of the Democratic Party and "I intend to stay that way."
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