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Ear to the Ground

Putting Lieberman in Charge of Health Care

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Posted on Dec 10, 2009
Original (minus the thumb): Senate.gov

The health care deal the Senate and president are so excited about would scrap a public option in favor of a plan administered by the Office of Personnel Management. Guess who oversees the OPM? Joe Lieberman, unless Democrats take away his chairmanship, which they’ve shown no inclination of doing.

Congressional Quarterly via DailyKos: The plan emerging from negotiations among moderate and liberal Democrats would put a key part of the planned health insurance exchanges under the supervision of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). And jurisdiction for oversight of OPM falls to the centrist-dominated Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which Lieberman chairs. [Link]

Let’s recap. We’ve gone from not even talking about “single payer” to a public option, a public option that covers about 11 million people, a public option that covers 4 million people, a public option that covers 4 million people unless states opt out to a private plan overseen, ultimately, by Joe Lieberman, senator from Aetna. This isn’t the art of compromise, it’s the art of getting screwed.

[Thanks, George and James]

—PZS

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By Sepharad, December 15, 2009 at 9:52 pm Link to this comment

Am amazed a couple posters have managed to blame Israel for Joe Lieberman just because they have public health coverage for every citizen.

I thought he might be OK when he was Gore’s vp choice but am so pissed off at him now that I’m going to ask him to refund his half of the $25 I sent for that November’s election.

What he hasn’t explained is why he is now against dropping Medicare eligibility to 55-year-olds—something he not so long ago advocated. I’d like to hear him explain himself but he hasn’t deigned to do it.

On the other hand, do I really want to hear some smarmy half-assed reason to deny Americans what 40% of them say they want—public health care?

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By Druthers, December 12, 2009 at 9:14 am Link to this comment

After the next elections they may not need him so much for the precious 60th vote.
Do they imagine that after all this voters will be flocking to the ballot boxes to get more of the same when they can get the same results by staying home?

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By Bud, December 12, 2009 at 5:37 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

What is a person to say about Joe the Ho lyingface? What I could say would be an insult to all the pigs of the world,so I won’t say it.

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By omygodnotagain, December 11, 2009 at 2:39 pm Link to this comment

So the Dark Lord of the Sith Senator Liebermann has used the dark side of the force to persuade his weakminded colleagues that he is the answer to the Medical Trade Federation. Seems like he has a new pupil Darth Obama

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By hidflect, December 11, 2009 at 12:31 pm Link to this comment

The senator’s beloved Israel has full government funded health care for every citizen. Why isn’t Joe slamming, castigating and criticizing them for this? Because nothing is too good for people he really cares about, the people he feels are his blood brethren. And his concern for American citizens? Naah… not so much.

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By samosamo, December 11, 2009 at 11:23 am Link to this comment

Connecticut is the worst state in the union and they would elect adolph hitler and osama bin laden as their representatives to washington and I believe they will also be the first to set up a babies for sell for future slaves with uncle joe’s help in the complicit congress.

Whew, and didn’t say a goddamn cuss word.

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By CaptRon, December 11, 2009 at 9:54 am Link to this comment

re: dihey

I admit that I am far from eloquent in use of speech or the written word. I must ask you though, Where did I lose you? How did I confuse you so that I may have a chance to correct where you seemingly believe I have erred? I certainly meant American. It sounds like you are very pronounced with the constitution, so I ask for your interpretation of my meaning-please?

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Samson's avatar

By Samson, December 11, 2009 at 9:38 am Link to this comment

When you see Joe Lieberman sitting in his chairman’s chair, you know exactly what the Democratic Party thinks about ‘democracy’.

In 2006, the CT Democratic party held an exercise in ‘democracy’ when they held a party primary. The idea of a party primary is a democratic one, in that it says that the party members across the state get to pick their candidates instead of party elite in a closed smoke filled room.

All the party leaders backed Lieberman.  Sen Dodd aligned himself with his fellow Senator.  The junior Senator from IL, one B. Obama, flew over to CT to help support Lieberman.

But, the party members in CT backed a man named Ned Lamont.  They did the work at a party convention to put Lamont’s name on the ballot over the objections of Dem party leaders who cried ‘unity!’ in their attempts to rally support for the unpopular Lieberman.

The party activists in CT also did the hard work to win that election.  They overcame Lieberman’s huge money advantage where he had millions more to spend than his challenger, they overcame the support for Lieberman of all the Dem party leaders and wanna-be-leaders like Obama, and they won the election.

So, Joe Lieberman decided he didn’t like democracy, so he decided not to respect the views of his supposedly fellow party members in CT. Lieberman ran on the ballot as a “Independent”.  Effectively though, Lieberman ran as a Republican. The Republicans decided to abandon their own nominee and instead threw their support behind Lieberman in an attempt to defeat the democratic choice of CT’s Democratic Party members.  In the end, the Republican’s official nominee got 9% of the vote as Republicans votes and money instead backed Lieberman.

Lieberman, with Republican backing, won that election.  So, what did Lieberman’s fellow Dems back in the Senate do?  Were Lieberman’s fellow Dems outraged that the ‘democratic’ decision of the CT Democrats had been overturned?  Were the Senate Dems outraged that the candidate that was the choice of the CT Dems had just been defeated by Lieberman allying himself with the Republicans?

Heck no.  The Senate Dems welcomed Lieberman back with opens.  In some closed room, they must have held a ‘CONGRATULATIONS JOE!” party.

Committee chairs in the Senate are held by the majority party.  This is because they’ve got the Senate votes to put whoever they want in that seat, so no one really even contests it.  Yet, there’s Joe Lieberman, officially representing an independent party with one member, unofficially a Republican who got elected with Republican money and Republican votes and defeating the choice of CT’s Democratic party members, there’s Joe sitting in that committee chair.

So, none of this is any surprise.  The Democrats signaled that they would do exactly this when they put Lieberman in that committee chair.

Get this straight. The top Democrats love Joe Lieberman and everything he represents.  Almost as much as they hate the concept of democracy in their very un-democratic Democratic Party.

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By G.Anderson, December 11, 2009 at 6:50 am Link to this comment

Some people rob you with a gun, some with a pen. For the Gun robbers we have jails, for the pen robbers we have seats in the senate.

Eventually, Lie bermans picture will become the symbol of a government bought and sold, and he will no longer be a senator. Most likely he will become a lobbyist.

But by then it will be too late to save the lives of the millions of American’s who will die without health care because of his actions in the Senate.

Managed care was created, because the system of medical delivery in this country was failing, now managed care has failed. Proping up managed care, most certainly will mean the end of medicine, and the end will only be delayed a few years.

Medicine will continue to become a Russian roulette of dangerous but profitable proceedures, hazardous and lethal medications, shortages of doctors who are being squeezed out of the system, and a continue bail out of people to alternative care that offers them their only hope of health.

That our government is corupt and no longer represents the needs of this country should be plain as the nose on Joe Lie bermans face. He is the poster child of whats wrong with the political parties of this country.

He is neither a Democrat or a Republican, but the first offical plutocrat.

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By tp, December 11, 2009 at 5:39 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Is there a surprise here? Lieberman? Give me a break.

There is no political will strong enough to hold on to a single position long enough to change anything. All these big monopolies have to do is delay the process long enough to put the people to sleep. Then behind closed doors they plan their propaganda attacks with “who’s going to pay for this” slogans after throwing trillions to the bank robbing bail out recipients.

  It should be crystal clear by now for all to see that change was never the plan. The only plan was to pull the wool over our eyes while these crooks steal us blind. Lieberman - Obama - what’s the difference?

  If there was by chance a possibility that a political force could rise out of the complete defeat of our progressive ashes caused by the lies and trickery of a Benedict Arnold by the name of Barack Obama, it will be because we started working together on a plan and stuck with it until we accomplished our plan.

  There is a new movement from an old proven method in which I feel could put the banksters in their place and solve our economical problems along with Health care. It is called the “Brownians”, which is a new PAC that makes since to me.

  The Brownians is named after Ellen Brown who wrote “Web of debt”. Her agenda is to stop Fractional Reserve Lending, which has been abused and used by private banks to create money out of thin air. She is for nationalizing the Feds as most people think they are now a government institution but in reality a private group of banks. Her main agenda is to make it against the law for these private banks to create money. Only our government should print money as stated in our Constitution in the beginning of the United States of America back in 1776.
 
  There is a debate going on now in The Dailey Bell > http://www.thedailybell.com/639/Brownians-Defend-Position-Lively-Debate-Ensues.html <.

  Check out Ellen Brown website. She is presently in the beginning stages of developing a political Action Committee. > http://webofdebt.wordpress.com/ <

tp

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By dihey, December 11, 2009 at 5:05 am Link to this comment

Dear CaptRon. Please study our Constitution and try again when you have discovered the words “for Americans only”.

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By Howie Bledsoe, December 11, 2009 at 4:26 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Who keeps electing this horses ass?  I mean, really?
Who likes this guy?  He is SUCH a creep, even god fearing, arab hating redneck types get the heebie jeebies with this guy. How does he keep doing it?

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By amex, December 11, 2009 at 4:23 am Link to this comment

I look at Lieberman and I just shake my head.  He is so obviously purchased by insurance companies, that you couldn’t think anything else.  His obvious lack of caring about what the majority of Americans are demanding makes me sick.

Knowing that he is so tainted makes me suspicious of the people of Connecticut.  Are you Connecticuters really liking this guy?  Why don’t you get together in mass and go pichfork this obviously anti democratic maggot. Take him by his mongoloid head and throw him into the gutter.

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By montanawildhack, December 11, 2009 at 3:13 am Link to this comment

Joe Lieberman is so great…. I have so much respect for him that I named my pet Dung Beatle after him..

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By Robert Dimitri, December 11, 2009 at 3:05 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

The Senator from Tel Aviv keeps being rewarded for
betraying this country. But then again who in Washington isn’t.

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By CaptRon, December 11, 2009 at 12:00 am Link to this comment

I’m sorry but I have to say this in reference to the photo provided with this entry:

Check out the size of Lieberman’s thumb. The longest sized thumb I have seen. It explains a lot to me about the man. He has more than likely been able sit on that thumb in Congress, and with the size of it, force all the S*** he talks out of his mouth. Now all seems to make sense of the man, Joe Lieberman. Apology to those offended.

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By ChaoticGood, December 10, 2009 at 11:45 pm Link to this comment

In “Lieberman” we trust.

All hail to the Liberman.  If his ego was any bigger we could rent out his head as a hot air balloon and all go for a ride.

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By CaptRon, December 10, 2009 at 11:16 pm Link to this comment

OK, I now know reform as I want it will not be done through this congress. So, here is what I want. I want my family and all legalized Americans on the same policy as our congress, not one like it, the same one(and if you’re not legally American-get legalized as quick as you can). Simple. No such term as cannot, but should this seemingly be the case, then abolish the coverage for congress and rewrite to make us all the same. No such thing as no, just do it. This does away with Lieberman and Lieberman types. Next, I want ethics back in government, or maybe in government for the first time. No campaign contribution coffers accepted for anyone. No outside contribution other than those donated to a fund distributed equally to all candidates based on year long donations only to this fund by us. No money, media time, can be gotten except from the equally distributed funding. The fund is set up like the presidential donation fund on tax forms, yet all money donations can be taken but must be distributed to all equally. Penalty for doing otherwise is loss of candidacy. Corporations and their lobbyists would not be able to manipulate by money power influence to a specific candidate or their family members. I want ethics to be a top priority and the quality for which a bill is passed rather than obtained benefits to the candidate or their family. This for starters, so stop the vote on health care reform and just put us on that policy they have. Rather simple really. Also, a C-span media-type outlet is only allowable media way of presenting your candidacy. The rest of interest can be piqued by internet blogging, but to see & hear the candidate you must go to the proper channel only. What do you think? Have you had enough yet?

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