As expected by some here the story posted yesterday that Lieberman is not going to fillibuster the current Senate healthcare bill is porved to be wrong.
Greg Sargent contacted both Reid and Lieberman offices and both denied that Lieberman will not fillibuster the bill. In fact Liberman office was very clear that Lieberman was going to allow a debate on the bill but he will fillibuster a cloture to vote on the bill if it contains the public option.
From Greg Sargant article:
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/...
Hate to be the bearer of this news, but aides to both Harry Reid and Joe Lieberman are adamantly denying an explosive report this morning that the two men have a private "understanding" to the effect that Lieberman won’t join a filibuster on a health care bill.
Reid spokesman Jim Manley emails me:
There is no such understanding. We hope to have his vote in the end but we are not there yet.
Meanwhile, Lieberman spokesman Marshall Wittmann emails a strong denial, too:
If you believe this story is true, you will also believe that I am replacing A Rod in game six of the series. There is absolutely no "private understanding."...Senator Lieberman’s unambiguously clear position, both in private and in public, is that he will vote for the motion to proceed to the health care bill because he supports health care reform that will control costs and insure people who don’t have it now, but will oppose cloture on a final bill if it contains a public option.
The two spokesman were denying a report in this morning’s Hill in which anonymous sources claimed that the two Senators had reached "a private understanding" that Lieberman "will not block a final vote on healthcare reform."
Judging by Manley’s statement — "we are not there yet" — private discussions are underway. But no deal.