Lieberman: I Continue To Oppose Any Kind Of Trigger

At this point I would be very glad for Lieberman to block this bill; he would be destroying two pieces of shit with one stupid act; his own career and a big givaway to insurance companies for almost nothing in return.

I mean whoop-de-do, instead of a viable public option, people 55-64 who are too poor to be profitable marks for the insurance companies get to "buy-in" to Medicare at a price they probably can't afford.

Seriously expecting at this point for the bill in the end to have Snowe voting for it but not Lieberman.

Totally unable to understand though why they're allowing Lieberman to continue to have chairmanships, caucus with the dems etc. The way I thought it worked was that those chairmanships were something they could hold over his head as a threat to make him vote on the Democrats' big-ticket, basic policy items. Except we see now that that threat doesn't actually work, so why bother?

Seems this site's prognostications concerning Lieberman have come true. I think the inclusion of the trigger was an attempt all along to get Snowe, as the bill would have lost too much liberal support if there was not some form of public option.

Lieberman keeps talking about compromise but refuses to compromise. Anyone want to bet that when repugs regain the majority, he'll switch to that caucus?

Liberals and progressives just don't get it. This is so predictable that it's almost laughable. If we want something to pass and we want to get Lieberman's vote, we have to swear that the compromise is unacceptable and more of a sellout than single-payer! He is not of us. He hates us. He hates us forever. We must "briar patch" him in order to get his support... The minute he thinks we like it, he stops liking it.

I bow to no one in my disgust with Our Joe (I'm one of those Connecticut Dems who thought we'd laid him to rest when we helped Ned Lamont beat him in the primary), but I've been thinking for a while now that he won't, in the end, kill this bill and be on the wrong side of a historic moment. He wants to posture and be the center of attention, but if it comes down to the end and he's vote number 60, he'll find a way to vote for cloture and pretend he didn't change his mind.

I could be wrong, though.

If they can get Snowe, or otherwise find 60 votes without Joe, so much the better.

Hopefully the other conservadems finally wake up and realize his game here. He's not for compromise of any kind, he's trying to kill the bill for the benefit of his Republican buddies. If the Dems could get 59 cloture votes they should bring it to the vote and left Lieberman filibuster with the republicans.

I think with 59 cloture votes and a obstructionist filibuster, popular opinion would be on the side of the Democrats to the point one Republican would have to cross the aisle to get cloture.

This is a vindictive man without a moral center. THIS will be how he will be remembered by history.

What? Did the industry think of something else it wanted?

More compromise around the corner.

Hopefully the other conservadems finally wake up and realize his game here. He's not for compromise of any kind, he's trying to kill the bill for the benefit of his Republican buddies.

This is my own sense as well -- not because Lieberman wants to please his Republican buddies (Joe's goal in life is please Joe, and no one else) but because he realizes that:

a.) To have a snowball's chance in hell at remaining a US Senator from Connecticut after the next election he's either going to have to run as a Republican or as an independent who relies on Republican votes (ala 2006), and:

b.) He's going to need a fuckload of money, which Conn-based insurance companies/executives/lobbyists are ideally placed to provide.

Point b.) argues that Joe won't vote for any bill the industry doesn't like; but point a.) says he won't vote for any bill under any circumstances. But, because he'll still need at least a few Democratic votes in '12, he'll try hard to avoid looking like the guy who actually killed health care reform.

Calling Joe a weasel is really unfair to weasels -- they both have incredibly flexible backbones, but weasels are much smarter and make absolutely no bones about what their goals are: filling their stomachs.

Since Joe Lieberman promotes anything Israeli, Why doesn't someone ask him to promote Israel's Healthcare System for the USA?

How soon can we GET RID OF LIEB!!!!!!!!???? AHGHGHGHGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry--I'm usually quite placid.