Joe Lieberman: I'll filibuster Harry Reid's plan

[toomuchtime_]

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Tuesday that he’d back a GOP filibuster of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s health care reform bill.


Lieberman, who caucuses with Democrats and is positioning himself as a fiscal hawk on the issue, said he opposes any health care bill that includes a government-run insurance program — even if it includes a provision allowing states to opt out of the program, as Reid’s has said the Senate bill will.


"We're trying to do too much at once," Lieberman said. “To put this government-created insurance company on top of everything else is just asking for trouble for the taxpayers, for the premium payers and for the national debt. I don’t think we need it now."


Lieberman added that he’d vote against a public option plan “even with an opt-out because it still creates a whole new government entitlement program for which taxpayers will be on the line."


His comments confirmed that Reid is short of the 60 votes needed to advance the bill out of the Senate, even after Reid included the opt-out provision. Several other moderate Democrats expressed skepticism at the proposal as well, but most of the wavering Democratic senators did not go as far as Lieberman Tuesday, saying they were waiting to see the details.


Lieberman did say he's "strongly inclined" to vote to proceed to the debate, but that he’ll ultimately vote to block a floor vote on the bill if it isn’t changed first.


"I've told Sen. Reid that if the bill stays as it is now I will vote against cloture,” he said.


“I can’t see a way in which I could vote for cloture on any bill that contained a creation of a government-operated-run insurance company,” Lieberman added. “It’s just asking for trouble – in the end, the taxpayers are going to pay and probably all people will have health insurance are going to see their premiums go up because there’s going to be cost shifting as there has been for Medicare and Medicaid.”


Lieberman said he “very much” wants to vote for health care reform but that he’s worried about stifling “the economic recovery we’re in” or adding to the federal debt.

Joe Lieberman: I'll filibuster Harry Reid's plan - Manu Raju - POLITICO.com

 

[Jay Canuck]

anyone surprised?..... Joe will be finished in politics soon anyways.

 

[Oddball]

I tolja Reid's scam was a poison pill, not a Trojan horse.

 

[Mike458877]

I don't see this as a surprise, but good for Joe nonetheless!

I wouldn't be so sure about Joe being washed up in politics, he may actually be creating more political options for himself.

Mike

 

[toomuchtime_]

anyone surprised?..... Joe will be finished in politics soon anyways.

Right state, wrong senator. Conn. voters love Joe Lieberman as they demonstrated the last time he was elected after the Dems denied him their Party's nomination. Chris Dodd, however, will soon be history.

 

[Jay Canuck]

you speak for all Conn. voters? - neato.

 

[elvis]

Let's hope he doesn't break his promise the way Obama did on Fisa.

 

[Xenophon]

Dingy Harry just isn't having a good week.

That can only be good news for teh country.

 

[Oddball]

you speak for all Conn. voters? - neato.

You seem to think you get to speak for Americans, asshelmet.

 

[elvis]

you speak for all Conn. voters? - neato.

Obmabots always say the country spoke loud and clear last November, so why not?

 

[toomuchtime_]

you speak for all Conn. voters? - neato.

Nah, just for the majority who elected Lieberman in a three way race over the Democrat who had enormous support from the Party and the Republican. Chris Dodd, on the other hand, an uberliberal Party loyalist, is headed for the dustbin on history, proving that Conn. voters are smarter than you want to give them credit for. In fact, if they could, they'd probably like to give Joe both the state's Senate votes.

 

[Jay Canuck]

Harry is such a pussy he is prolly curled up somewhere sucking his thumb and shaking.




"I’ve not been very happy with the White House’s Obama's lukewarm support of the public option."
-- Tom Harkin --

How is it "leadership" to tell Reid and Pelosi to "figure it out and call me when it's over?"

 

[Sarah G]

Lieberman likes getting attention, he never met a camera he didn't love. Those Republican moderates are taking too much of his facetime, he has to resort to more drastic measures..

 

[Oddball]

Looks like Snowe is out, too.

Think she's trying to steal Lieberman's thunder?

 

[toomuchtime_]

Harry is such a pussy he is prolly curled up somewhere sucking his thumb and shaking.




"I’ve not been very happy with the White House’s Obama's lukewarm support of the public option."
-- Tom Harkin --

How is it "leadership" to tell Reid and Pelosi to "figure it out and call me when it's over?"

Before being elected President, Obama spent his entire life proving that although he was often popular, he was not a leader. Why should anyone be surprised by his failure of leadership now?

 

[Jay Canuck]

you speak for all Conn. voters? - neato.

Nah, just for the majority who elected Lieberman in a three way race over the Democrat who had enormous support from the Party and the Republican. Chris Dodd, on the other hand, an uberliberal Party loyalist, is headed for the dustbin on history, proving that Conn. voters are smarter than you want to give them credit for. In fact, if they could, they'd probably like to give Joe both the state's Senate votes.

we all like to read our crystal ball our own way.

 

[Sarah G]

Looks like Snowe is out, too.

Think she's trying to steal Lieberman's thunder?

Snowe kind of had her baby toes in the water, she was never really ready to jump in.
They have to get the Democrats in then they won't have to worry about it.

 

[Xenophon]

Looks like Snowe is out, too.

Think she's trying to steal Lieberman's thunder?

Takes a lot to repel Olympia from socialism, I'm surprised she isn't big into the pubic option (not a typo).

 

[Oddball]

Looks like Snowe is out, too.

Think she's trying to steal Lieberman's thunder?

Snowe kind of had her baby toes in the water, she was never really ready to jump in.
They have to get the Democrats in then they won't have to worry about it.

She's on record as saying she threw in on the committee vote to see what happened next.

Looks like she couldn't see coming what most people who have their heads screwed on straight could.

 

[saveliberty]

Snowe and Lieberman, rats jumping the ship. It is said rats do that just before the ship sinks. There is always some truth to those sayings. The public option aka. De-con for Democrats.