Cornyn: GOP 'would welcome' Lieberman, Nelson

From David A. Patten of Newsmax on Nov. 2:

Republican Sen. John Cornyn is rolling out the welcome mat for any Democrats willing to switch party affiliations after Democrats receive the one-sided drubbing most analysts predict on Election Day.

One obvious target for Cornyn's affections: Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, who has been officially listed in Senate records as an "Independent Democrat." Lieberman lost his party's 2006 primary, but won the general election running as an independent.

"I think he votes like a Republican on those areas, and we would certainly welcome him or any other Democrat who wants to switch sides of the aisle and caucus with us," Cornyn, the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said of Lieberman on Fox News Tuesday.

Another oft-mentioned prospect for a switch is Sen. Ben Nelson, the conservative Nebraska Democrat who at times has found himself at loggerheads with his party's progressives.

Among Nelson's recent run-ins with his party's leadership was his vote against President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nomination of Justice Elena Kagan. Nelson opposed Kagan after releasing a statement that he had "heard concerns from Nebraskans."

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