Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)
According to The Hill CT's own Joe Lieberman opposes the public option plan that is expected to be included in the healthcare reform bill coming out of the Senate.
Here is the full story:
"Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said this weekend that he opposes a public option plan for consumers in a healthcare reform plan to emerge from the Senate. "I don't favor a public option," Lieberman told Bloomberg News in an interview broadcast this weekend. And I don't favor a public option because I think there's plenty of competition in the private insurance market." Lieberman's decision joins several other centrist Democrats' decision to have publicly refused to back the plan, derided as a "government-run" plan by Republicans. Centrist Democrats like Sens. Mary Landrieu (La.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.) have also been skittish to back the public option, which is favored by liberal Democrats and the Obama administration. If Republicans are able to pick off enough Democrats, they may be able to muster enough votes to filibuster any legislation that includes the public option. "We have a unique opportunity, a real opportunity to do this year what we've been trying to do for years, which is to reform American healthcare," Lieberman said. "I think the one thing that will stop that is pressure on the so-called public option." "Let's get something done instead of having a debate," the Connecticut Independent added." It is times like this that make me happy CT stuck with "Good Ole Joe" in 2006.
For more info:
Here is an interview Lieberman did with Bloomberg News - (Skip to 4:40 to see the Senator talk about health-care)
Click HERE for the story at Bloomberg News
Comments
I'm puzzled. While the good senator is staunchly opposed to government involvement in healthcare, he is denying the American people the very option that is currently offered to all citizens of Israel.
Is the Senator's opposition to government healthcare philosophical or economic? If he feels that it's too great a burden on the National budget, perhaps there are some extra-national payments that could be curbed in order to help fund this shortfall. Would the foreign recipients of this cash be willing to give up a portion in order to ensure that 50 million Americans can have access to the same level of health care that their own citizens enjoy. Hmmm... Perhaps the good citizens of the Senator's home state might pose that question to him. Apparently he is in Washington looking after their interests..
Another example of Lieberman dressing up crass self-interest - the huge dollars he has received, and will receive from the insurance industry - as principle. The man is truly the most the most unprincipled, selfish, Nixonian figure in politics today.
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