On June 25, Brave New Films launched Lieberman Must Go, their petition drive urging the Senate Democratic Steering Committee to boot Joe Lieberman from the Democratic caucus. The petition reads:

We CANNOT tolerate a leader of the Senate Democratic Caucus who supports George Bush and McCain's War in Iraq. We CANNOT tolerate a Democratic chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee who endorses and stumps for McCain. We call on the Senate Democratic Steering Committee to strip Joe Lieberman of his chairmanship and his leadership role.

2 weeks later, 43,460 and counting have signed and tomorrow Brave New Films will deliver the petitions to the steering committee.

The Hill has it:

Liberal activists say they will deliver a 43,000-signature online petition to Democrats on Wednesday seeking to strip Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) of his rank and Homeland Security Committee chairmanship in the next Congress.

More From The NY Times Caucus blog:

The group's goal is not to have Mr. Lieberman kicked out now - the Democrats need his vote to keep their slim majority - but in 2009, presuming the party picks up more seats in November.

The leadership isn't likely to embrace the idea - at least not right now. Democrats generally respected Mr. Lieberman's support for the war and Mr. McCain as principled stands. But they have become increasingly irritated with him, particularly after he went on a conference call sponsored by the McCain campaign last month characterizing the presumed Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama, as weak on Israel.

Harry Reid, the leader of the Democratic majority who is close with Mr. Lieberman, typically replies to questions about Mr. Lieberman's membership by saying that Democrats need his 51st vote. That leaves unsaid what might happen if they have more than 51 votes come next year.

What happens is that Joe Lieberman becomes essentially irrelevant, except to the extent that he holds a committee chairmanship, which really is the goal here -- to put it in the hands of a real Democrat. Seriously, Lieberman's embrace of McCain and his apparent plans to speak at the Republican convention in September really should disqualify him from being considered a true member of our caucus. You served a purpose, Joe, but now you must go.

And hey, how better to ensure that Lieberman's vote is irrelevant than to help us get to 60 senators not counting Lieberman. That means 10 new Democratic senators in 08. I think it's doable, especially if we support our Road To 60 Senate candidates.

On Tuesday, John McCain announced that a pillar of his energy plan is to lift the ban on offshore drilling.

Sen. John McCain on Tuesday proposed lifting the ban on offshore drilling as part of his plan to reduce dependence on foreign oil and help combat rising gas prices. Sen. John McCain says it's time for the federal government "to put our own reserves to use."

"The stakes are high for our citizens and for our economy," McCain, the presumed Republican nominee for president, said at a press conference Tuesday in Houston, Texas.

This announcement represents a shift in policy of just about 180 degrees from his prior position, a flip flop that did not go unnoticed by Barack Obama.

"John McCain's support of the moratorium on offshore drilling during his first presidential campaign was certainly laudable, but his decision to completely change his position and tell a group of Houston oil executives exactly what they wanted to hear today was the same Washington politics that has prevented us from achieving energy independence for decades," he said. "It's another example of short-term political posturing from Washington, not the long-term leadership we need to solve our dependence on oil," he said.

Hell, even CNN called McCain out. Check out this piece from The Situation Room that frames McCain's entire energy policy as one big flip flop after another.

As Dana Bash says:

"What really came across in John McCain's speech [on energy] is how challenging it is for him to find his way...what you get are some contradictions."

Seriously, it makes you wonder if McCain is losing his base. Watch it:

Of course, one key point CNN misses is just how tied to big oil John McCain actually is. Brave New Films has a great new video in their Real McCain series that reveals exactly what big oil's $1 million+ worth of donations they've made to McCain has gotten them in return: his refusal to require oil companies to use their profits to invest in alternative energy.

But I think my favorite part about McCain's blatant pandering yesterday was that despite his ongoing efforts to distance himself from Bush, McCain just can't seem to catch a break. Guess what Mr. 28% is going to be doing today:

Hours [after McCain's speech], White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said President Bush on Wednesday will ask Congress to lift the ban on offshore drilling.

Hilarious.

Robert Lopez served 8 years in our military, fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan as a tank commander. He was told he'd get his whole education bill paid for when he got out of the service. Mr. Lopez has fought and sacrificed for our country but like so many others, Mr. Lopez has faced the bleak reality of a government that has turned its back on its veterans.

That is why Senators Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel proposed a new GI Bill, which would bring back WWII-style standards of providing vets with full tuition, room and board. And that is why 51 senators have signed on, including 9 Republicans like John Warner, giving this GI Bill tremendous bi-partisan support.

But it isn't enough. Faced with unprecedented filibusters, the only way to ensure Senate passage of the GI Bill is to get 60 cosponsors. So far, John McCain has refused. The same McCain who insists he supports our troops. The same McCain who is voting lockstep with the Bush administration (who have also resisted this bill). We need to get John McCain to do the right thing. We need him to sign now and signal to other Republican leaders that we should be strongly behind our vets.

The original GI Bill transformed American history, providing education for returning soldiers. Not only was this our nation's moral duty for the unbelievable sacrifices of our World War II veterans, it helped create America's middle class and spurred decades of economic growth for our country.

That's why, today, we're launching this new web video with an accompanying petition, urging Senator McCain to step up and be a leader for veterans, by signing onto the GI Bill.

The burden of ensuring that our veterans get the education they were promised and earned largely sits on his shoulders. If he won't stand up for the troops, he must explain why.

Vote Vets, WesPAC and Brave New Films feel passionately about giving our veterans the support they rightly deserve. Our government owes our troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan the opportunity to receive full educational benefits. These patriots have fought hard for our government; it's time our government started fighting hard for them.

Sign the petition to McCain here.

Update [2008-4-3 18:25:19 by Todd Beeton]:Watch the video below:

From Brave New Foundation, cross-posted from Alternet.

This year, the presidential election will not hinge on the emotionally divisive issue of immigration.

That's good news for everyone who believes that a moral society takes care of its most vulnerable members, forcing no one into the shadows. If the nativist wing of the Republican Party had seen its electoral goals realized, we would have witnessed a Republican primary dominated by a tragic debate about how best to expel the 12 million undocumented immigrants living in America, whether by deporting as many as possible, or by making legal conditions so inhospitable that they leave of their own volition. That debate would have trickled out into the general election, with Republican strategists trying to 'wedge' independent and Democratic-leaning voters with toxic appeals to national chauvinism and racial prejudice masquerading as distinctions of legitimate policy differences. Like the debate over what kinds of prisoner interrogation techniques legally constitute torture, these are the kinds of public discussions we engage in at the cost of our collective soul.

Happy now?

Keep tabs on Chris Matthews over at Media Matters' Matthews Monitor.

Brave New Films has released their latest Fox Attacks video, this one going after Fox for advancing vile talking points about Barack Obama, which then get picked up by mainstream media sources and spread like a virus.

Sign the petition to demand that the media stop enabling Fox's anti-Obama smear campaign.

Update [2008-3-14 16:4:5 by Todd Beeton]:Look, people, I do agree that Barack Obama got a free ride in the media for a while and Hillary Clinton could do no right. We've seen a shift in that lately but honestly, it doesn't make holding the media accountable no matter whom it smears any less important. This is going to be crucial for all of us in November no matter who the nominee is, unless of course you plan to vote for John McCain if you don't get your way in the primary, in which case I'm really not sure what you're doing at a Democratic blog.

I urge you all to check out Brave New Films's great primary coverage, hosted by Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks. They'll be discussing the state of the race throughout the country all day, including interviews with Senators Ted Kennedy and Barbara Boxer, Gov. Howard Dean as well as bloggers Jane Hamsher, mcjoan and yours truly (I go on at 8:30pm PST.) Hope you'll check it out.

For some alternate primary day coverage, Brave New Films has some streaming election coverage hosted by The Young Turks' Cenk Uygur and BNF's Robert Greenwald. Definitely worth checking out.