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Ear to the Ground

Lieberman Won’t Budge on Health Care

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Posted on Nov 23, 2009
Flickr / matthewnstoller

Sen. Joseph Lieberman says he will never let any form of public option—opt-out, trigger or otherwise—through the Senate, citing budget concerns. This—despite CBO estimates showing the health reform bill reducing the deficit over 10 years—from a senator who has thrown billions at boondoggles throughout his career.

Keep in mind that the Democrats don’t need Lieberman to actually vote for the bill. They simply need him to vote with the party to end debate. It’s for situations like this that the Democrats have allowed Lieberman to keep his committee chairmanship and protected him from retribution despite his many betrayals. Because on the big votes—you know, the things Democrats have spent decades fighting for—he’s supposed to hold his nose and deliver.

Something, it seems, he rarely does. The Wall Street Journal speculates that if Lieberman won’t bend, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will. Or maybe the Democrats will finally do something about the shameless opportunist in their midst.  —PZS

Wall Street Journal:

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, speaking in that trademark sonorous baritone, utters a simple statement that translates into real trouble for Democratic leaders: “I’m going to be stubborn on this.”

Stubborn, he means, in opposing any health-care overhaul that includes a “public option,” or government-run health-insurance plan, as the current bill does. His opposition is strong enough that Mr. Lieberman says he won’t vote to let a bill come to a final vote if a public option is included.

Probe for a catch or caveat in that opposition, and none is visible. Can he support a public option if states could opt out of the plan, as the current bill provides? “The answer is no,” he says in an interview from his Senate office. “I feel very strongly about this.” How about a trigger, a mechanism for including a public option along with a provision saying it won’t be used unless private insurance plans aren’t spreading coverage far and fast enough? No again.

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By fwdpost, November 26, 2009 at 5:50 pm Link to this comment

Didn’t the Democrats run him as V.P.? Ever wonder why? He’s the same old Joe.

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Leefeller's avatar

By Leefeller, November 25, 2009 at 8:17 am Link to this comment

One can see the tears in Lieberman’s eyes from just thinking about all that money not going to his pet projects!

As opportunists go, Lieberman may really only be mediocre in climbing the ladder of opportunism, because he has to stop on the way and count his money!

Reason Lieberman is not a red hot opportunist, is he has ferocious competition and he is being slowed down by his compassion and all that crying.

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By samosamo, November 24, 2009 at 3:32 pm Link to this comment

Connecticut just has to be one of the most worthless states in this country since it
seems to take great pride in producing garbage like joe liarberman who should be
under federal arrest for treason.

So, how much longer before connecticut can fix the problem they created, 4 more
goddamn years?

joe liarbman, the poster pervert for demanding term limits!!!!!

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By Rodney, November 24, 2009 at 1:54 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Follow the money. pretty much everyone is bought and payed for. Screw the people. Just give them lip service. I need my TV and billboard money. We have the most corrupt political system next to the middle east. At least they are more blatant with their corruption so we know what happens there. But here the bribes come in the form of corporate contributions and lobbyists. Joe Lieberman is lower than a gutter rat which has a lot more class. At least the the rat won’t smile at you while stabbing you in the back.

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By Ed Harges, November 24, 2009 at 1:33 pm Link to this comment

Joe Lieberman should dropped from a helicopter gunship - tied, gagged, and
naked - into a lake of untreated Gaza sewage.

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no mans land's avatar

By no mans land, November 24, 2009 at 8:32 am Link to this comment

Gettysburg Address:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

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By Leefeller, November 24, 2009 at 8:27 am Link to this comment

“I am sticking with Joe”? The guy holding the sign seems to giving the bird. Am I the only one who sees the shameless opportunity in this, when Lieberman is done with the signs he can sell them to Joe the Plumber.

“Shameless opportunist” does suggest a redundant oxymoron, this is the oxy-moron-Joe everyone knows and would like to, fill in in the blank: ____________?

Lobbyists must love this guy Joe, you can see this by the smile on the guys face holding the sign!

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By Samson, November 24, 2009 at 7:59 am Link to this comment

And to really understand the Democrats in Washington, you have to know this history.

In 2006, the Democrats in the state of Connecticut said they wanted Lieberman gone.  In the quaint old notions of democracy, Connecticut held a primary where the Democrats of the state were allowed to choose their candidate for Senate.  Lieberman lost.

So, Lieberman took his corporate money and his right-wing views and went off and ran as an “independent” AGAINST the choice of Connecticut’s democratic voters. Using this combination of corporate money and rightwing voters AGAINST the choice of the states Democrats, Lieberman kept his Senate seat.  (the Republican candidate on the ballot only got 9% of the votes, showing where the Republican votes and money really went).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_election_in_Connecticut,_2006

One would expect that the Democratic Party’s national leadership would be a bit upset that the decision of its state party was overturned in such a way. Instead, the Senate Democrats welcomed Lieberman back with open arms.  Most importantly, the Senate controlled by Democrats picked this Senator who openly opposed the Democrats to keep his powerful committee memberships and to stay in the powerful position of the Chair of the Senate Cmte. on Homeland Security.

That’s ‘democracy’ in the Democratic party.  The facade of letting party members have a say in their party via primaries is a sham.  Money rules.  Lieberman has big money behind him, so the national Dems in Washington love him.  Even though he can’t even win an election among the Democrats in his own state.

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By no mans land, November 24, 2009 at 7:46 am Link to this comment

Thanks for links Samson. Good info.

R.I.P. Democracy.
We’ll miss you.

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By montanawildhack, November 24, 2009 at 7:42 am Link to this comment

Forgive me as I didn’t read this article but I didn’t have to as Lieberman IS and always will be the biggest pimp, hustler, weasel and double agent to ever soil the floor of the US Senate…

Our members of Congress don’t give a god damn about Health Care, Social Security and Medicare because they don’t need them…..  They have their own gravy train health benefits and pensions and to HELL with the unwashed masses….

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By Samson, November 24, 2009 at 7:37 am Link to this comment

Two sites that any American citizen should have bookmarked.

http://www.maplight.org
http://www.opensecrets.org

maplight.org (“Shining a light on Money And Politics”) compiles the raw data into more useable reports and statistics. 

opensecrets.org is the raw data .. an online database of the actual records filed with the FEC of campaign contributions.

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By Samson, November 24, 2009 at 7:29 am Link to this comment

Any Senator from Connecticut is bought by the insurance industry in Hartford.  That’s been true for ages.  Just like any Senator for Delaware is bought by the banking industries that HQ in that very corporate-friendly state.

To understand the Democratic party, you have to notice that the Senators from Conneticut and Delaware are always considered prominent leaders of the party and presidential candidates.  The former Senator from MasterCard, Joe Biden, is currently the VP.

From maplight.org .... ( a very useful site).
Joe Lieberman
Total Campaign Contributions Received: $31,706,339
Top 10 Interests Funding
Interest   Contributions  
Securities & Investment   $2,994,825  
Lawyers/Law Firms   $2,978,871  
Real Estate   $2,562,677  
Pro-Israel   $1,438,440  
Misc Finance   $1,005,328  
Health Professionals   $815,800  
Business Services   $694,709  
Insurance   $641,494  
Misc Business   $550,071  
Misc Manufacturing & Distributing   $500,126  

Contributions from political parties and from other candidates are not included in top 10 lists.

————————
Note, those numbers are totals, 2003 to present.  Its also likely due to delays in the quarterly reporting system that any amounts flowing in the last few months aren’t included.  This chart might just indicate the previous money that came in back when stuff like banking laws, securities laws and the bankruptcy bill were being discussed in our supposedly democratic system.  Guess who Lieberman supported then?

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By nickmammano, November 24, 2009 at 5:02 am Link to this comment

Lieberman is a despicable hypocrite—bought and sold by the insurance industry which owns Hartford Connecticut. 

TruthDig should report on his campaign contributions—I’ll bet the private health care interests have contributed millions.

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By ChaoticGood, November 24, 2009 at 12:10 am Link to this comment

Good ol’ Joe.  Just throw a “baby ruth” into the pool and sure enough theres’ Joe munching it down.
You gotta hand it to him, he’s America’s double agent.

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By G.Anderson, November 23, 2009 at 11:19 pm Link to this comment

Joe Lieberman reminds me, of the politicians that I grew up with in the 60’s, Tricky Dick, Spiro Agnew, John Mitchell, and yes Richard J. Daley…

He has the same vibe. Just like those old time politicians, I doubt if his right hand knows what his left hand is doing.

In the end that’s what always trips them up.

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