Posted on 12/15/2009 12:02:57 PM PST by jazusamo
A House Democrat from Connecticut said Tuesday that Sen. Joe Lieberman should be recalled from office over his opposition to the Senate health care bill.
"No individual should hold health care hostage, including Joe Lieberman, and I'll say it flat out, I think he ought to be recalled," Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) told POLITICO.
Connecticut has no recall law for state officials, and the Constitution does not authorize states to recall members of Congress since each house has the authority to police its own members.
But DeLauro’s comments speak to concerns running through Democratic circles in Connecticut and in Washington after Lieberman exerted his will on Democratic leaders and the White House, saying he would join a GOP filibuster if the bill included either a public insurance option or a provision allowing people aged 55-64 to buy into Medicare.
Now it appears that the leaders will drop those plans to win the support of Lieberman and the rest of the Democratic caucus.
“There’s huge concern that borders on frustration,” Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) said of Lieberman’s position.
“It goes beyond frustration in Connecticut in terms of the way people feel,” Larson said. “I have a great deal of respect and I have long admired Joe Lieberman. This goes against the grain of most of what he’s fought for and stood for all of his life. It’s thoroughly frustrating and disappointing for so many of us.”
Lieberman spokesman Marshall Wittmann denied that the senator was trying to block health care legislation.
“The truth is that Sen. Lieberman is seeking to pass a health care bill as soon as possible that will provide coverage to millions of Americans who lack health insurance.”
Lieberman told reporters Tuesday that he’s been working to get a bill through the Senate that enjoys majority support in the public.
In a statement, Lieberman denied flip-flopping on the Medicare buy-in proposal, saying that his support for the plan during his campaign for vice president in 2000 came at a time when the national debt was less than half what it is now – and when Medicare was not on the cusp of going broke and when there was no “viable” proposal like the one being considered on the floor.
He said comments he made to the Connecticut Post in September endorsing the idea were “before we had a bill for consideration on the Senate floor that contains extensive health insurance reforms, including limiting how much more insurance companies could charge individuals based on age and providing subsidies that would specifically help people between the ages of 55 and 65 to afford health insurance.”
He added: “I look forward to passing a bill that will give the American people genuine health care reform without impeding our recovery from the current recession or adding to our exploding national debt.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro is a dim bulb, doesn't know the law.
Ask how he can vote to cut Medicare for seniors, VA benefits for Veterans and INCREASE fees for retired Military under Tri-Care for Life....pound on the three issues as effecting the ENTIRE country. Ask it of your OWN senators too.
Quote: “I have a great deal of respect and I have long admired Joe Lieberman. This goes against the grain of most of what he’s fought for and stood for all of his life. It’s thoroughly frustrating and disappointing for so many of us.
Sure you do. I am sure you had a great deal of respect for him when your party showed him the door and campaigned against him.
All of this Dem Grandstanding is sickening!!
Joe should swing back with accusing him of being antisemitic!
Delauro should resign over that statement. She called for a recall because Lieberman wouldn’t vote by the party line. She is the one who should resign.
See how democrats do things? The party of the people? More like stalinists brought back from the grave.
Lieberman has put himself between a rock and a hard place.
The Democrats do not like what he has done.
The Republicans do not like what he has done.
Since he won the last election opposing the Democrats, it seems old Joe ought to jump 100% in the Republican ship now.
Anything else means these are his last days as a senator and his legacy as a senator.
Not a good way to finish a career.
Is that John Kerry in drag???
He’s not a Democrat. He’s a former Democrat. Joe Lieberman got kicked out of the party because he supported the troops and the war on terror.
Hey Rats. Go screw.
Typical dimwit democrat.
1. Only 18 states allow for recall. Connecticut isn’t one of them.
2. Senators (or Representatives, for that matter) cannot be recalled as they are considered federal officials. Courts have ruled on this issue before.
3. No member of Congress has ever been recalled in the history of the United States.
Lieberman should call the guy and laugh in his face.
"I'm NOT Spock!"
860-549-8463, 203-562-3718, and 202-225-3661
The photographer did her a favor in cropping her broom out of the pic.
Thank you both for posting phone numbers.
“MOM!”
(Not really. That’s Perry Farrell, best known as the lead singer of the band Jane’s Addiction. But the resemblance is striking, isn’t it?)
OMG
My reaction is the same as Bluto’s when they projected Flounder’s mug up on the basement wall
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