OTOH, we don’t need liberals like him in the GOP either: we’ve already got Lindsay Graham, Chuck Grassle, Olympia Snow, et al.
He can stay Independent and still vote for the Republicans to organize the Senate.
1) Joe isn’t joining the Rs, he’s just speaking at the convention...
2) On a topic that he is more “conservative” on that some of the RINOs you listed.
3) It embarrasses the Ds (given he was their VP candidate just 8 years ago) and underscores how weak Ds are on national security and the need to win the “war on terror,” a concept most Ds thing was manufactured by Bush, Cheney, Rove and other “pro-Israel” supporters.
4) He helps the Jewish Vote which will be key in Florida and Michigan.
Make no mistake, Joe is a lefty on 99% of the issues but he is a patriot and wants to see the country succeed. That is what got him tossed out of the D party. I don’t agree w/ Joe 99% of the time but I’m happy to hear him talk about national security at the convention.