The Democratic leader in the Senate indicated Thursday that he intends to protect Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) even as the former Democrat steps up attacks on the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.).

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters he has no plans to “threaten” Lieberman following the renegade senator’s sharp criticism this week of Obama’s policy toward Iran.

But Lieberman continues to caucus with Democrats and in doing so gives Reid a 51-49 majority in the Senate. That, Reid said, represents an “important vote.”

Lieberman’s crucial vote was on display Wednesday, when he helped Democrats narrowly pass a budget resolution. That same day, Lieberman participated in a McCain campaign conference call blasting Obama.

“Let’s stop and think a little bit,” Reid said. “What did we vote on [Wednesday]? Hmm. We voted on the budget. Without Lieberman’s vote, the budget would not have passed.”

The budget cleared by a couple of votes, 48-45.

Reid added, “So I think everybody should understand that Joe Lieberman had made a decision on issues relating to the war, and he’s decided to back John McCain. But Joe Lieberman is an important vote for this caucus.”

Lieberman’s chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee this Congress is not at risk, aides say, because stripping him of the gavel could propel him to caucus with Republicans and give the GOP majority control of the Senate.

But Democrats may not need Lieberman to hold onto their majority next Congress since they are widely expected to pick up seats in November.

Still, Reid’s comments on Thursday suggest he’s not prepared to strip Lieberman of his chairmanship.
“I’m not about to threaten anybody at this stage,” Reid said.

Democrats say they were surprised when Lieberman decided to support McCain. And they have privately raised alarm as Lieberman has taken his advocacy of McCain to a new level by launching direct attacks against Obama and leaving open the possibility of speaking at the Republican nominating convention in September.

On Wednesday, a day after Obama claimed the Democratic nomination, Lieberman blasted the Democrat for his speech before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, accusing him of flip-flopping on his stance toward Iran. Specifically, Lieberman criticized Obama for voting against a 2007 resolution designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization.

“I was hoping, and I continue to hope, that he will say that vote was a mistake,” Lieberman said.

Soon after that call, Obama and Reid both spoke with Lieberman.

“I’ve had conversations with Joe Lieberman at some length,” Reid said Thursday. “I’m not going to discuss the conversations here. But I think the discussions he had with Obama [Wednesday] and the discussions that he had with me had been fruitful.”

Reid added: “We’ll let the future decide what it’s going to be.”

A Lieberman aide described both conversations as “friendly” and “absolutely non-confrontational.”

The aide said Reid did not give any warnings to Lieberman or ask him to stop attacking Obama.

Lieberman is a loyal Democratic vote on most domestic issues and has taken a lead role this week in the majority’s efforts to push through a climate-change bill.

But the Democrats’ 2000 vice presidential nominee has grown increasingly isolated from his party after he lost his state’s Senate primary largely because of his strong support for the Iraq war. A number of Senate Democrats supported his rival in that race, Ned Lamont, but Reid, a close friend of Lieberman’s, did not.

Lieberman has said that Reid assured him that his chairmanship is safe next Congress.

But in a May interview with MSNBC, Reid seemed to leave the door open to removing him from his committee spot, saying “Yes, of course,” to a question about whether there was anything he could do to remove Lieberman from his chairmanship.
 
Sam Youngman contributed to this article.