Posted on 11/03/2009 2:44:27 AM PST by markomalley
Sen. Joe Lieberman has reached a private understanding with Majority Leader Harry Reid that he will not block a final vote on healthcare reform, according to two sources briefed on the matter.
The unpredictable Democrat-turned-Independent last week publicly stated he would join Republicans in filibustering the Democratic legislation after Reid (D-Nev.) announced he had included a government-run health insurance plan in the bill.
But sources said Reid’s staff is telling liberal interest groups that Lieberman (Conn.) has assured Reid he will vote with Democrats in the necessary procedural vote to end debate, perhaps with intentions to change the bill.
“Lieberman keeps assuring Reid that he’s OK,” said one source. “But he’s one of those characters — you never know with Joe.
“Maybe he’s talking tough to get the public option watered down or he’s trying to get some stuff for himself on other topics or on other sections of the legislation,” the source added. “He’s basically trying to be a senator.”
Lieberman’s spokesman said Monday that nothing has changed from last week, when the senator said he would support calling up the bill but would block a final vote.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Then why stand up there like a fool and say he won’t support it.
They wonder why we feel politicians should go.
I saw Liebermann on the Sunday AM talk shows this weekend and it was pretty clear he would be voting with the Republicans to not shut off debate.
...why would Lieberman say one thing and do another... Because, like most Senators, he is a vicious liar only interested in self preservation.
Defying the will of the people. The amazing disregard and decietful, despicable tactics used to pass a bill no one wants. They were given priveledges by us and those priviledges must be removed.
No the privileges must not be remove, THEY must be removed and replaced with people who understand the constitution and who they work for!
They threatened either his family or his body or his bank account or his future. “’Eh! We kneecap you.”
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find only things evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelogus
LIEberman has always said he would not vote for the “public option” but would not stop debate on the bill. Meaning he will not vote a nay at the filibuster but if the public option stands he will vote against the final bill. Republicans cannot stop the bill with a 40+1 filibuster and they cannot stop the 50+1 vote on the final bill.
LIEberman represents the most insurance companies in the U.S. in his Connecticut seat. They are adamantly opposed to any public option.
Ben Nelson, Evan Bayh, Mary Landrieu and LIEberman all are opposed to the public option. None will vote nay at the filibuster saying they hope to modify the bill during the ensuing debate. If the public option remains in the final bill they will vote nay but it only takes 50+1 votes to pass it and they can tell their voters how “hard” they tried to get it removed.
Doing the right thing is not in LIEberman’s nature.
He went along with the scheme to disallow the military votes in the 2000 election.
Unforgivable.
Joe seems to lack the courage of his convictions a lot of times. Would not surprise me if he sold his vote for some pork product for Connecticut.
Wonder about Bayh, Nelson, ??. Seems like more than just Joe could stop this. Hope one of them has a brass set of knockers.
I dont trust either one of these two Mother’s Truckers.
Lieberman says he will filibuster, and some punk in Harry Reid’s office says he won’t. Who to believe? Actions speak louder than words.
It’s going to take a while to cleanse our government of these scum; but it will be done.
I am hoping to see some of them stripped of their offices, pensions and a get a little jail time.
You got that right. Lieberman is up to his old tricks----blackmail. He wants something-----during Clinton’s impeachment, he held out till he got the VP nomination.....
Lieberman cannot be trusted. He will say and do anything to get something for himself. This so-called "conscience of the Senate" went on and on condemning Clinton's behavior (for public consumption), but when the crucial vote came, he stood by Clinton.
Even more egregious are Lieberman's lies to get himself into office.
BACKSTORY Lieberman is a staunch supporter of abortion rights now, and even voted FOR partial-birth abortion six times in a row. An Orthodox Jew, Lieberman defends his pro-abortion, pro-infanticide record, saying Jewish law is deeply divided and Orthodox Jewry construes abortion as "a personal matter."
But pro-life leaders in Connecticut remember another Joe Lieberman. Lieberman made pro-life pledges about 20 years ago, when he was first a candidate for the US Senate. Lieberman sought pro-life votes in the final stretch of his 1988 Democratic bid to oust 18-year Sen. Lowell Weicker, a pro-abort Republican.
"Joe was very liberal, like Weicker, but we had a poll on abortion that showed which way the wind was blowing," says Daniel Cosgrove, then the Democratic town chairman in Branford, Mr. Lieberman's hometown. The poll showed anti-abortion sentiment outweighed pro-choice views in urban areas throughout Connecticut. "In the Waterbury area, it was more than any, 12,000 [more] against abortion," Mr. Cosgrove says.
Lieberman "expressed himself as coming from an Orthodox Jewish tradition in support of life, not in favor of abortion on demand." "Lieberman expressed himself against abortion, all suicide, and euthanasia. His position on that definitely was well received by the Catholic hierarchy.
State Sen. Regina Smith, who conducted the pro-life poll for the archdiocese, arranged for Lieberman, then the state AG, to meet with Catholic prelates before the election to lay out his support for Catholic pro-life positions.
The strategy worked. Lieberman convinced the archbishop he favored pro-life positions and would vote differently than Mr. Weicker, thus winning Catholic support that pushed him to a narrow 10,000-vote victory — the only Democratic Senate upset of that year. Lieberman's winning margin was less than 1 percent of 1.4 million votes.
Written records of a meeting between Lieberman and top officials of the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) two months after the 1988 election quote Mr. Lieberman as saying he "thinks there are too many abortions," and promising he would not "apply a litmus test" against pro-life judicial nominees.
Liar Lieberman today, of course, denies any of this ever happened.
Can’t wait to get these liars out of office.
If Lieberman weren’t on board, the people of CT would tar and feather him after her had been quartered.
I didn’t know Holy Joe had lied on abortion, but Al Gore, Jr., probably didn’t know that either. He knows that the people of CT favor abortion in all forms plus generous public financing.
These Democrats “have” to vote for the medical “de-bill” to please their liberal bases, who really think this will free them from medical bills in the future.
LIEberman’s office needs a little visit on Thursday after high noon. I hear there will be quite a few patriots paying their respects. ;-)
Joe should really be blasted for this turncoat deal with Harry if it is real. The GOP should also pressure Joe to actually stop this baloney and join the GOP. Keep your enemies close.
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