Maybe a little William Hickey when he was younger and had darker hair...
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.”
Joseph Isadore “Joe” Lieberman (born February 24, 1942) is the junior United States Senator from Connecticut. First elected to the Senate in 1988, Lieberman was elected to a fourth term on November 7, 2006.
Joe will be 70 years old in 2012. This could be Joe’s last term as a Senator. We do not know his intentions.
Well said and you’re correct about the intimidation. It’s never reached this level that I’ve seen, the radical RATS have been emboldened by Obama and his Chicago thuggery politics.
Maybe a little William Hickey when he was younger and had darker hair...
Aaaah! What an abomination !
Ironically, he’s not a member of the party that they want him to vote the line on. They kicked him out and ran against him! NOW they want some sort of loyalty from him?
Sheesh, they don’t have bigger balls than the GOP, they just have no shame.
if the electorate in CT are frustrated and dont like his vote then by all means vote him out - when he runs for reelection in 2012. until then live with it. the man is doing his job he is voting or not voting on legislation.
Yep, and it’s evident that the Dems that are so upset with him are the ones who forced him to run as an Ind in his last election.
Spock? I thought it was this guy, Know what I mean... Vern?
So this whacko Democrat calls Politico to complain, and we’re all supposed to get excited? Wow, what news!
Congress has a 20 something percent approval rating. Can we recall all of them?
exactly
they kicked him out of their party (effectively) so now he is not beholden to them at all
i really hope that Simmons wins Dodd’s seat and that in 2012 Jodi Rell runs and wins Liebermans.
i would LOVE it if two R Senators came from Blue CT - RINOesque or not it would be a big slap in the face for the Dems
And yes, she is a dim bulb & and ugly one at that!! But New Haven has a large welfare population that she caters to so she keeps getting re-elected!
(202) 224-4041 Voice (of course the DC one is full
(202) 224-9750 Fax
For TTY Call 711
Rep. Rosa DeLauro is a dim bulb, doesn’t know the law.
She is close enough to MA and NJ to realize that Democrats don’t NEED the law! (they just make it up as they go along)
Right, Health care is designed to keep the individual hostage.
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