TPMDC
Report: Lieberman Won't Filibuster Health Care After All
Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 3, 2009, 8:35AM
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)
Share
Send to a friend!
"Sources" close to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told The Hill yesterday that Reid is expecting Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) to vote with the Democratic majority to close debate and move to a final vote when Reid's health care bill hits the Senate floor. Lieberman's public promises to join a GOP filibuster of the bill because it contains a public option are just his attempt to influence the final bill, the sources told the newspaper -- in reality, Lieberman is not a threat to an up or down vote on health care reform.
One Reid source, from The Hill's report:
"Lieberman keeps assuring Reid that he's OK...But he's one of those characters -- you never know with Joe."
Lieberman's official spokesperson denied the claim from Reid's office when the The Hill called. But the paper reports "connected" progressives inside the beltway share Reid's take. "Activists and liberal bloggers" have "seethed" over Lieberman's public comments because they are "out of the loop" on his actual thinking, the paper reports.
The paper reports that even as Lieberman has ramped up his public rhetoric about a filibuster of the health care reform bill, Reid has been telling progressives in D.C. not to worry about the Independent senator. The message appears to have been received.
From the report:
"At the end of the day Sen. Lieberman will vote to cut off debate," said Richard Kirsch, national campaign manager of Healthcare for America Now, a coalition of liberal and labor groups. "He'll do what he has to do. He's making a lot of noise."
If Lieberman's filibuster threats aren't real, why does he continue to make them? More "sources" give The Hill one answer:
Sources attribute Lieberman's public declaration of opposition as an effort to win concessions for his constituents, which include several major insurance companies based in the state.
Other Stories Featured at TPMDC
Join the Conversation!
Leave a comment
Follow us!
PollTracker
Most Popular
- Gavin Newsom Throws Tantrum In First Interview Since Dropping Gov. Bid
- The Public Option Dead End
- Al Gore: I'll "Outcrazy the Crazy"
- Harry Reid, and What Happened to the Public Option
- Schumer: We'd Like Republican Support, But 'We're Not Going To Not Pass A Bill'
- Bachmann: 'I Don't Understand Why The Democratic Party Would Be Opposed To Me'
- What Did We Learn From Saturday's Health Care Vote
- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Loses Patience in CBS5 Interview
- Dean: There's No Real Insurance Reform In Health Care Bills
- Coburn: I Acted As Ensign-Hampton Go-Between
- Lieberman Repeats Claim That Public Option Not Part Of 2008 Presidential Campaign
- Senate Agrees To Debate Health Care Bill
- Is Everybody Disappointed In Obama?
- Bernie Sanders: 'My Vote For The Final Bill Is By No Means Guaranteed'
- November 22
- I Call Bullshit.
- HCAN: "It's a Shame Not a Single Republican" Voted To Allow Debate
- Steele: 'Moderate Democrats Sacrificed Their Principles'
- THE EXPERT AS THE DANGEROUS WHORE
- Intel Inside? Prove It.
- Where Does This Leave Us?
- Filibuster Thwarted ... For Now
- I Call Bullshit.
- Is Everybody Disappointed In Obama?
- Establishment Reality
- THE EXPERT AS THE DANGEROUS WHORE
- The Cast Has Assembled
- Bernie Sanders: I Want My Leverage!
- Clinton Not Attending Health Care Event Because it's Politicized?
- Time to contact the FCC
TPM Stories Now Surging on Digg.com
TPM Top News
© 2009 TPM Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
ivy22
November 3, 2009 8:45 AM
Don't count and any "deal" from Joe.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
_jonny_5_
November 3, 2009 9:39 AM in reply to ivy22
I also didn't count on Reid to include the PO in the Senate Bill... So who knows....
Another thought is...
They(or at least Reid) may in fact just be "Chumming the Waters"
Everyday the Heathcare fight is in the news and people are talking about it, is a good day in terms of getting the bill passed, Especially since Repubs aren't bringing anything to the table but their usual Obstruction.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Cool Blue Reason
November 3, 2009 8:49 AM
I privately promise to kick Lieberman in the nuts, should I have the opportunity.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
GTFOOH
November 3, 2009 9:31 AM in reply to Cool Blue Reason
If you can find them!
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
EastWest
November 3, 2009 9:48 AM in reply to GTFOOH
Heh. Yup.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
DickTater
November 3, 2009 8:53 AM
I trust Joe Lieberman. Just look at the guy, look at his record. What's to worry about? What could go wrong with Steady Joe at the wheel? Relax, take a nap folks. Rest comfortably. Joe's got our backs.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
tiowally
November 3, 2009 9:41 AM in reply to DickTater
Isn't that where he likes to stick the knife?
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
hologram5
November 3, 2009 10:23 AM in reply to DickTater
Yeah, he's got my back... Riiiiiggghhht. I wouldn't count on it and am NOT holding my breath.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
AmericanDad
November 3, 2009 8:57 AM
So.... either Joe is a greedy bastard with a heart of cold stone willing to sell the very lives of fellow Americans, or he's a vociferous serial liar willing to make false and damaging public statements for the purpose of making rich people even richer.
Either way, he's scum.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
FlownOver
November 3, 2009 10:07 AM in reply to AmericanDad
As McCain said of Blago, Lieberman may be "a rare combination of both."
Definitely scum. My fondest wish is that Reid gets Lieberman to vote right, THEN Lieberman loses his chairmanship. Lincoln, Nelson, Conrad et al. would benefit greatly from a Keyser Soze-style lesson about consequences.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
albertparsons
November 3, 2009 8:58 AM
Well, here's one thing you can say for Anton Scalia: He prevented Joe Lieberman from becoming Vice President of the United States.
I mean, can you imagine?
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Jaybird
November 3, 2009 9:01 AM in reply to albertparsons
True that. I don't think Gore gets flogged nearly enough for this pick. Not quite Palinesque of course... but not one of his better decisions either.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Steaming Pile
November 3, 2009 9:03 AM in reply to albertparsons
Did us all a favor he did. Sort of. (eye roll)
Seriously, we survived VP Dan Quayle. We would have survived VP Joe Lieberman. In fact, putting him in the VP chair, where he could do little harm, would have been the best possible outcome.
Of course, I could also see Joementum (if he were still the incumbent VP) getting his ass handed to him in '08 by John McCain, but then again, Johnnie Mac wouldn't have had to tap that silly ditz from Alaska to run with him, either.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
biryanifan
November 3, 2009 9:24 AM in reply to Steaming Pile
"...where he could do little harm"?
See Cheney, Dick.
Meanwhile, what did Lieberdouche get for playing nice? Clinton fawning over Bibi Netanyahu might just be the tip of the iceberg. Shudder!
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve
November 3, 2009 9:42 AM in reply to biryanifan
A vice president is precisely as influential and important as the president chooses to let him be. In the absence of a presidential grant of authority, the vice-presidency is as described by the first occupant ("the most insignificant office ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived") and by John Nance Garner ("the vice presidency is not worth a pitcher of warm piss.")
Dick Cheney was an unprecedented aberration in U.S. history. His secret shadow presidency was made possible solely by the fact that he was a sociopathic powermonger with utter contempt for democracy and the constitution whose running mate was the most singularly unprepared, weak-minded, weak-willed and otherwise mentally and tempramentally unsuited presidential candidate in the history of the Republic.
Gore probably would have felt compelled to give Lieberman something important sounding to do, but I think the longer the Gore presidency lasted, the less influence Lieberman would have had. That's what happens when presidents diverge ideologically from their veeps (see aforementioned John Nance Garner.)
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Schmed- ley
November 3, 2009 10:31 AM in reply to The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve
Just curious: do you think Gore would have dumped Lieberman before the second term campaign?
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve
November 3, 2009 9:27 AM in reply to albertparsons
You think eight years of attending funerals of people not important or liked enough to rate a POTUS appearance, breaking ties in the Senate and indulgingin the occaisional morbid daydream would be worse than leaving him in the Senate where he can do real harm?
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
GTFOOH
November 3, 2009 9:33 AM in reply to albertparsons
A broke clock is right twice a day.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Dorn76
November 3, 2009 10:04 AM in reply to albertparsons
You're kidding, right? We got Dick Cheney instead. Yeah, great.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
bvd
November 3, 2009 8:58 AM
Anyone who trusts Lieberman is a fool. At the end of the day he'll do what's best for himself.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
precisioncontrol
November 3, 2009 8:58 AM
I actually believe this report. However, I still think it's important for progressives to castigate Lieberman or others like him when they make noises like this. The public pressure is critical.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
WNCBlue
November 3, 2009 8:59 AM
I know this is the Hill's own phrasing, but will someone tell me when companies became constituents? Did I miss the constitutional amendment giving Aetna and Wellpoint the franchise?
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Matt Jones
November 3, 2009 9:52 AM in reply to WNCBlue
"Constituents" is a nicer word than "donors", that's all.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Schmed- ley
November 3, 2009 10:36 AM in reply to WNCBlue
Ostensibly, the 14th Amendment gave corporations that privilege. Also, since the Senate traditionally represents the wealthy elite in practical terms, Lieberman hasn't strayed far from the reservation.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Jaybird
November 3, 2009 9:00 AM
If there's anything you can take to the bank... it's the word of Joe Lieberman.
Perhaps Joe was on brink of losing some chairmanships? Geeze, he is such a prick of a goober.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Steaming Pile
November 3, 2009 9:06 AM in reply to Jaybird
You mean Harry Reid found his balls and put the screws to Holy Joe? I guess if people actually win the lottery once in a while, anything could happen.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Jaybird
November 3, 2009 9:36 AM in reply to Steaming Pile
Hard to imagine Reid getting all "tough guy" on us all of a sudden. But I'd guess it was either a carrot or a stick that changed Joe. In any event, we can all count on Joe to do what's right for Joe.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
EastWest
November 3, 2009 9:53 AM in reply to Jaybird
"...do what's right for Joe." That about covers it, but the problem is that Reid doesn't have the balls - maybe even the brains - to remove Lieberman from his chairmanship. Basically, Joe can do whatever he wants, because the Wieniecrats all cower down whenever he whines in their direction. The only price he has to pay is that he gets a bit more PR and self-adulation.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Winston Smith
November 3, 2009 9:03 AM
Well, in that case...ah...nevermind. Fuck you, Joe.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Zell
November 3, 2009 9:11 AM
Doesn't smell right. The claim is that his public threats are merely an attempt to influence the bill, while he's privately assuring Reid that he won't carry through on them.
How does he expect his threats to work if he's telling the very person he's threatening that he won't carry through on them?
This article seems like wishful thinking.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Bill From PA
November 3, 2009 9:14 AM
Quote: 'Well, here's one thing you can say for Anton Scalia: He prevented Joe Lieberman from becoming Vice President of the United States.'
If Scalia allowed Lieberman to becove VP we'd have been spared BushCO and all that entailed and Holy Joe would be a political footnote right now.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
beholder
November 3, 2009 9:15 AM
"They've got a deal" and it looks like Harry Reid just broke it.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
AnswerFrog
November 3, 2009 9:29 AM
Traitor Joe: "Trust me!"
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
waltersobchak
November 3, 2009 9:34 AM
This news cannot be believed; Joe Lieberman has never done anything to help his constituents, unless his ego counts as a constituent.
I think he's publicly making noise because he wants to run in 2012 and is trying to get the CT GOP endorsement and party line.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
tiowally
November 3, 2009 9:51 AM in reply to waltersobchak
Note that the report said "... an effort to win concessions for his constituents, which include several major insurance companies based in the state."
As we all know his only constituents are the insurance companies and a delightful, scum-sucking couple named named Joe and Hadassah Lieberman.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
conniptionfit
November 3, 2009 9:43 AM
Hey Joe, we've got a deal for you! Vote for cloture or lose you chairmanship! Who died and made you god, that you think you should have the say about whether your fellow Senators even get to vote?
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
SqueakyRat
November 3, 2009 11:41 AM in reply to conniptionfit
I dunno. I'm sure he likes his chairmanship, but he doesn't seem to do much with it.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
_jonny_5_
November 3, 2009 12:15 PM in reply to SqueakyRat
He knows that s part of the threat against him. Does anyone not think he's discussed potential commitee assignments w/ McConnell if he were to switch?
The second McConnell makes a better offer(ranking Member of a higher-profile commitee) Ol' Joe will jump to the repubs.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
dpabowen
November 3, 2009 9:49 AM
Evan McMorris-Santoro: You don't need to put sources in quotes unless it's a quote (in which case you should attribute it) or if you're trying to be ironic (in which case you shouldn't, b/c this is purportedly still a news site that wouldn't make a story out of intentionally bad sourcing). Just some basic usage for ya.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve
November 3, 2009 9:51 AM
I concur on those who are suspicious. I'm speculating that that leadership thinks this leak is the best way to short circuit his latest cyclic attention-seeking episode. I don't think they'd be saying this, however, if they hadn't put the screws to him and tightened them down hard.
But I don't trust him to respond rationally to leadership's inputs and anyone who does is a fool. At best, it just means he's going to go public with his opposition to some other matter of critical concern to leadership and the Administration.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Whenwillthisnightmareend
November 3, 2009 10:01 AM
This guy is a snake. With this behavior (on national TV, nonetheless) he's lying to someone. He's lied to his constituency, he's lied to democrats, he's lied to his friends, and he's lied to his country. I don't think that he's ever lied to republicans. So why should we feel comforted when he assures Harry Reid that he won't filibuster this bill. I think a more honest and reliable senator from CT is necessary, regardless of what happens next. Let's all work to retire this lying sob.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Rich in NJ
November 3, 2009 10:04 AM
I'll believe it when I see it.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
johnmccsf
November 3, 2009 10:17 AM
Who knows what Joe will do?
Whatever strikes Joe as getting him the most attention at the time he does it.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Barbie
November 3, 2009 10:33 AM
TPM shark TPM
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
leftyloosey
November 3, 2009 10:59 AM
Joe is a louse.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
pastagrossa
November 3, 2009 11:54 AM
Lieberman detests the left and non-wormlike Dems more than they (we) detest him. His detestation has swollen further from having been proven wrong so many times, which must have been unbearable to his innate self-righteousness. He's truly a dangerous character, a spiteful human being waiting for a fuse to light, and should have been long ago removed from the party.
He'll probably stick with his promise. At which point one has to hope that the Dems will either blow up the idiotic Senate rules or go for reconciliation as they should have done anyway. No one will remember Lieberman or Senate rules 5 years from now -- they'll remember whether Dems found the spine to fix the country or not.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?