Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Hypocrisy) is on the cusp of having the last laugh in the great health care "reform" effort of 2009.
As we approach the final denouement, Joe's strategy and last minute tactics (histrionics) appear to be paying off big time.
According to the NY Times ...
The measure, which had been gathering momentum among Democrats, was suddenly derailed on Sunday when Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, the independent from Connecticut who caucuses with his former Democratic colleagues, went on national television and threatened to join Republicans to defeat the health care measure, President Obama’s top domestic priority.
On Monday night, Democrats emerged from a tense 90-minute closed-door session and suggested that they were on the verge of bowing to Mr. Lieberman’s main demands: that they scrap a plan to let people buy into Medicare beginning at age 55, and scotch even a fallback version of a new government-run health insurance plan, or public option.
With that, Senator Lieberman said Tuesday that he may now be ready to vote for health-care legislation. "We’re heading in the right direction," he told reporters.
Over the fold for the salt in the wound ...
In addition to scuttling a public option, super Joe can't resist a swipe at progressive's favorite congressman ...
he was particularly troubled by the overly enthusiastic reaction to the proposal by some liberals, including Representative Anthony Weiner, Democrat of New York, who strongly endorses a fully government-run health care system.
"Congressman Weiner made a comment that Medicare-buy in is better than a public option, it’s the beginning of a road to single-payer," Mr. Lieberman said. "Jacob Hacker, who’s a Yale professor who is actually the man who created the public option, said, ‘This is a dream. This is better than a public option. This is a giant step.’"
Without a doubt the man is a menace, an affront to human decency and a disgrace to the progressive traditions (as embodied by my father, a WWII veteran, Single Payer supporter, proud jewish humanist, former Brooklynite, now Floridian, and Joe Lieberman antagonist) of American Jewry.
However, he is also be a potential ally (though whether or not we can trust his vote is certainly open to debate) on several measures progressives want enacted.
My own sense is that there are few good options for progressives at this point. Opportunities have certainly been missed or squandered. We need to reflect on what mistakes were made so we don't make them again, but the question before us is what to do NOW?
Who wants to put their full throated support behind a watered down health care bill?
On the other hand who wants to let the opportunity for some reform (around the edges - NOT deep or systemic) slip away?
Is it worth some modest improvements to the status quo (my son will likley be able to buy more afforable insurance with this legislation) that may also give a progressive HOUSE and WH a potential political win for the midterms?
I tend to think so, but can be convinced otherwise.
My sense is that at this late stage the junior senator from CT appears to have progressives over a barrel. We can and should take him out in 2012, but until then it seems he is holding most of the cards and has played them very well.
We (really the WH and Reid) have not.
What is our next move?