Joe Lieberman

Howard Dean Wrong To Call For Abandonment Of Health Care Reform

Ronald 1 Comment

Former Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean has denounced the health care legislation being considered by the Senate because of the likelihood that there will be no public option or Medicare alternative for 55-64 years old, in order to keep the support of Joe Lieberman and get a bill passed.

While I am very unhappy at the dominant role that Lieberman has, to abandon the whole idea of health care reform now would mean the likelihood of no reform at all during this presidential term, and possibly for a long time.

As I see it, it is better to get incremental reform than no reform at all, and to cover millions more of those who are not insured.

It is tough to say that compromise is necessary, but realistically it is the only alternative, and President Obama senses that, and in this, he is, I think, a realist and a practical man.

Once this legislation is passed, an effort can be made over time to strengthen the law, with the most important issue now being to accomplish the passage of legislation that, finally after nearly a century since Theodore Roosevelt first suggested it, will move toward the goal of universal health insurance coverage.

Senator Joe Lieberman: A Nightmare For The Democratic Caucus!

Ronald 3 Comments

Senator Joe Lieberman, Independent from Connecticut, has become a nightmare for the Democratic caucus that welcomed him back after his public support of John McCain in 2008, even making him Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Lieberman has been a constant thorn in the side of President Obama, and now has stated he will not support any public option or Medicare extension in the Health Care legislation being considered, and that he might join the filibuster of the Republicans, making it effective by his own vote.

The story of the year could be Joe Lieberman, the 2000 Vice Presidential nominee, preventing his party from enacting the major initiative of the Obama Administration. And this comes on top of news that his wife, Hadassah, works in the health care industry, and that Connecticut is the major center of health care insurance companies.

Apparently, Lieberman does not care about his public image, and is in bed with the insurance companies that rip off many Americans, and with the Republican party, which has no interest in health care reform.

Shame on Joe Lieberman! But also remember that when he ran for the Senate against liberal Republican Senator Lowell Weicker in 1988, that William F. Buckley, Jr, publisher of the conservative National Review, voted for him and said Lieberman was his “favorite Democrat!”

So maybe Lieberman was always not to be trusted as a true Democrat. Now the Democrats are paying the price! 🙁

The Inscrutable John McCain

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Senator John McCain has often had the image of being a maverick, but now, a year after his loss in the Presidential election, he has become more hard line, even on issues that he once seemed to be flexible.

For instance, his close relationship with Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham seems to have cooled a bit, at least on the subject of global warming, where both senators along with John Kerry, are working on legislation.

But also, he is now closer to Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader, with whom he usually has had disputes. And he is extremely harsh on Obama on just about everything, despite his independent image. Only on Afghanistan is he fully supportive of the President.

McCain faces a primary battle, which might explain his hardline conservatism. But he also is fully supportive in public of his former running mate, Sarah Palin, even when she condemned his campaign staff, always managing to say something pleasant about her and her future role in the Republican party.

As always, John McCain is mercurial, unpredictable, and ultimately, inscrutable!

The Democrats Who Stand In The Way Of Health Care Reform

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As things now stand, the health care legislation being debated in the Senate has four Democrats preventing a real reform package, and we could call them the “N and Three L’s”–Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and Blanche Lincoln of Nebraska.

Without these four votes for the “public option”, the only way conceivable that the Democrats can overcome a filibuster is to utilize “reconciliation”, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would prefer to avoid, but can use if necessary, just as it was under the GOP control of the Senate during the Bush Administration.

This means 51 votes, or even 50 plus the Vice President, would be enough to accomplish health care reform. This has been broached before by myself and others, and certainly is not preferable, but we have reached a point where we cannot allow a few rebellious Democrats to block necessary reform that has never reached this stage legislatively.

To allow health care reform to fail at this point would be a tragedy on the level of the Afghan War escalation about to begin! 🙁

The Senate Health Care Debate Begins!

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With the courageous decision of Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu and Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln to support the beginning of debate on health care, the Democrats have succeeded in keeping their party caucus united, including independents Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders.

Now a long period of weeks of debate begins, and there are many torturous steps to go before a final vote, including the debate over abortion and over the “public option”. Votes in the Democratic caucus will be lost on these issues, including Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Landrieu and Lincoln among others.

So the question is whether it will be possible to pass a substantial health care bill without causing a filibuster. Since that seems unlikely, the concept of “reconciliation”, requiring only 51 votes to pass legislation, may have to be put into play.

While it would be preferable to avoid “reconciliation”, the likelihood is that it will have to be utilized in order to bring about the most significant legislation since 1965 when Medicare passed into law.

Senate Democrats And Health Care: Major Lack Of Courage By Some

Ronald 2 Comments

As the Senate is about to begin debate on the health care bill, the Democrats are divided on the public option and on the abortion issue.

Already, independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut has said he will block any bill with a public option.

But it is not just Joe Lieberman who presents a problem. There are also the difficulties that moderate Democrats have with the legislation, and the danger that a few of them will block any action on health care.

These include Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, and Ben Nelson of Nebraska in particular. But what many do not understand is that their home states are among the poorest in the country, particularly the states of the two women senators, and there is such a dire need for a public option, and yet all three seem reluctant to do what is best for their states.

Basically, they all lack the courage to do what is right, and that is very disturbing, as the failure to bring about health care reform, if that occurs, will do great harm to the Democratic party in Congress, and also to President Obama, as this is his biggest issue, and it requires success for him to be in a strong position for 2010 and beyond!