november utc from the boston globe lieberman a democrat who won reelection as an independent also said he wants to be called an independent democrat a strong backer of the iraq war lieberman was returned to office on election day with strong gop support he ran as an independent after he lost the democratic primary in august to ned lamont he said yesterday on nbc's meet the press that he will begin his new term as a democrat because it would make him part of the congressional leadership the senator is in line to become chairman of the homeland security and governmental affairs committee i'm going to caucus with the democrats both because it's good for my constituents in connecticut because i retained my seniority i become a committee chair but also i want to continue to work to bring the party back to its historic traditions of strength on national security foreign policy and innovation and progress in domestic policy lieberman said he said that because voters returned him to capitol hill as an independent i am now an independent democrat capital i capital d matter of fact the secretary of the senate called my office and asked 'how do you want to be identified ' and that's it independent democrat the senator said with many senate democrats having campaigned or raised money for lamont as the party's nominee lieberman acknowledged that it might be a little awkward for him back in washington they played by the traditional partisan political playbook and i can't say i enjoyed it but we're all grown ups we've got a job to do and i'm going to do my best to get that job done lieberman said democrats will hold a edge in the senate so lieberman the democratic nominee for vice president in could find himself courted by republicans he was asked about the possibility that he might switch caucuses if he became uncomfortable as democrats sought to enforce party discipline particularly if the gop offered to keep him as a committee chairman and respect his seniority i'm not ruling it out but i hope i don't get to that point and and i must say and with all respect to the republicans who supported me in connecticut nobody ever said 'we're doing this because we we want you to switch over ' he said i believe that the american people are considering both major political parties to be in a kind of probation because they're understandably angry that washington is dominated too much by partisan political games and not enough by problem solving and patriotism which means put the country and your state first lieberman said in senator james jeffords addition by hodgdon's secret garden d of vermont abandoned the gop and aligned himself with the democrats putting them in control of the evenly divided senate the switch made him a hero among democrats and a traitor among republicans lieberman said senator harry byrd of virginia listed himself as an independent democrat in the late s before that the last senator to use the designation was in the mid th century he said link