Joseph Lieberman: Demo-Repugnant
One has to wonder why so many of Joseph Lieberman's Democratic colleagues were so surprised that the Connecticut senator did an about-face on the latest incarnation of the health care reform bill. Reports had some Democrats expressing shock and dismay that Lieberman would declare his opposition to the proposal to allow people to buy into Medicare at age fifty-five. It is true that while running as a Democratic candidate for vice-President with Al Gore (and in more recent statements), Lieberman had been on record as supporting expanding Medicare eligibility, even hinting that the policy shift was his original idea. What fellow Democrats ignored all too easily this time, however, was the two-faced character of the Connecticut legislator. This was a man who lost the Democratic Senatorial primary in 2006 and, after winning the race as an independent, supported the Republican ticket in the presidential election. Mindful of the need for a 60 vote majority in the Senate, Democratic leaders showed deference to Lieberman by allowing him to keep his prestigious post as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. Now he has repaid the favor by stabbing the party (and the President) in the back on what is arguably the most import piece of social legislation that will emerge in our time.
The whole episode must be terribly embarrassing for Harry Reid; the failure must be laid at his doorstep. As majority leader in the Senate, Reid is responsible for keeping party troops in line. By allowing word of a deal over Medicare expansion to leak out before Lieberman expressed himself definitively, the Nevada senator set up a major disappointment for legions of progressives who were prepared to accept the deal as a reluctant concession for relinquishing the public option.
Being sucker-punched by Joseph Lieberman is not exactly the kind of thing that's easy to live down. The Democratic leadership should have seen it coming. One thing is certain: meaningful health care reform is a matter of life and death for millions in this country. The Connecticut senator, who has collected more than $1 million in campaign contributions from the insurance industry over the years, is clearly the most despised man in America right now.
One has to wonder why so many of Joseph Lieberman's Democratic colleagues were so surprised that the Connecticut senator did an about-face on the latest incarnation of the health care reform bill. Reports had some Democrats expressing shock and dismay that Lieberman would declare his opposition to the proposal to allow people to buy into Medicare at age fifty-five. It is true that while running as a Democratic candidate for vice-President with Al Gore (and in more recent statements), Lieberman had been on record as supporting expanding Medicare eligibility, even hinting that the policy shift was his original idea. What fellow Democrats ignored all too easily this time, however, was the two-faced character of the Connecticut legislator. This was a man who lost the Democratic Senatorial primary in 2006 and, after winning the race as an independent, supported the Republican ticket in the presidential election. Mindful of the need for a 60 vote majority in the Senate, Democratic leaders showed deference to Lieberman by allowing him to keep his prestigious post as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. Now he has repaid the favor by stabbing the party (and the President) in the back on what is arguably the most import piece of social legislation that will emerge in our time.
The whole episode must be terribly embarrassing for Harry Reid; the failure must be laid at his doorstep. As majority leader in the Senate, Reid is responsible for keeping party troops in line. By allowing word of a deal over Medicare expansion to leak out before Lieberman expressed himself definitively, the Nevada senator set up a major disappointment for legions of progressives who were prepared to accept the deal as a reluctant concession for relinquishing the public option.
Being sucker-punched by Joseph Lieberman is not exactly the kind of thing that's easy to live down. The Democratic leadership should have seen it coming. One thing is certain: meaningful health care reform is a matter of life and death for millions in this country. The Connecticut senator, who has collected more than $1 million in campaign contributions from the insurance industry over the years, is clearly the most despised man in America right now.
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