Lieberman: I've Made Up My Mind

Joe Lieberman isn’t backing out of the Connecticut Senate race, and that’s final.

“I made up my mind,” Lieberman said Wednesday morning on the CBS News Early Show. “My wife will tell you, when I do that I get stubborn.”

Lieberman said that when he was re-nominated for Senate in Connecticut months ago, he had no way of knowing he would be selected to be Al Gore’s running mate.

State law allows him to compete for both offices, though Lieberman's critics - and some supporters - have questioned the wisdom of doing both.

Lieberman said state Democratic party leaders in Connecticut are telling him “it would be chaos if you pulled out. There wouldn't be a real election.”

But if that sentiment is pervasive in the Constitution State, Democrats in Washington, DC, worry that Lieberman’s dual candidacy could cost them the Senate.

Currently, the GOP holds a five-seat majority in the U.S. Senate, but with polls showing a host of close Senate races, hopes are high among Democrats that the Senate could be captured. But if Lieberman won his Senate race in Connecticut and stepped aside to serve as vice president, it could mean the difference.

As for that fear, Lieberman said that “folks in the legislature in Connecticut say they want to have a special election next year. That's what I'd like to see; give the voters a chance after a full debate.”

If Lieberman must resign his Senate seat, Connecticut's Governor John Rowland would appoint his replacement. By state law, a special election would be held in 2002 to fill the position, but the state legislature could call an election before then. Rowland has said he would not appoint himself to the seat. He said a short list of successors would include Republican Reps. Christopher Shays and Nancy Johnson.

In the interview, Lieberman also discussed the issue of Democrats taking money from Hollywood and simultaneously criticizing movie houses for marketing violence to children.

“Look, there’s too much money in politics,” Lieberman said. “It's only Al Gore and I that will send John McCain and Russ Feingold's (campaign finance reform) bill to Congress. …You shouldn't market adult-rated stuff to children and use them to test these adult-rated films. We've said to them: Stop it. If you don't stop it, we'll take action through the federal trade commission within six months.”