Lieberman Pledges To Filibuster House Bill "As A Matter Of Conscience" (VIDEO)

Joe Lieberman showed no sign of dropping his filibuster threat on Sunday morning, when he pledged to help kill any health care reform that includes a public option.

The Hill reported last week that the Connecticut senator had reached a "private understanding" with Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to let the bill pass. Both he and Democratic leadership denied the report, and publicly Lieberman is only increasing his commitment to the filibuster.

"A public option plan is unnecessary. It has been put forward, I'm convinced, by people who really want the government to take over all of health insurance," he told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday." "If the public option plan is in there, as a matter of conscience, I will not allow this bill to come to a final vote."

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[RKTesq]

Everyone should watch the Frontline episode entitled "Bigger Than Enron," (2002) available through Netflix. It chronicles how, prior to the Enron debacle, Lieberman blocked passage of two key accounting regulations that would have prevented the Enron looting, and likely the 2007 financial industry collapse.

Acting at the behest of the public accounting industry, centered in Lieberman's home state of Connecticut as is the health care insurance industry, Lieberman blocked regulation that would have: 1) prevented corporations from hiding executive stock options by not reporting them in stock market disclosures; and 2) prevented public accounting firms from performing consulting work for their accounting clients, a practice which created incentive for the firms to ignore their duty to objectively report to the public in order to share in profits gained from unethical accounting practices. Without such regulation, all the major accounting firms engaged in counseling Wall Street financial institutions regarding how to bend accounting rules and avoid compliance with SEC regulations.

In other words, Lieberman was instrumental in enabling the Enron travesty and likely the financial industry collapse. Now he's unethically wielding his power for health care insurers.

[Havingfun100]

The house bill is a disaster for small businesses. Do you all realize that an appointed commission will decide on the standards for the healthcare plan a small business owner must provide his employees. And the basis of deciding who is a small business is decided by its payroll, not its profits. My husband has delayed hiring to see how much higher his expenses will be. He can't afford to give away any more than he already has.....he is already working 7 days a week. The amount of paperwork that will added to his business will be mammoth.

THanks al ot Congress, this will really help to stimulate the economy.

[BunnyX]

Indeed, it is a shame that there is not public option that would take the pressure off small businesses. If business had thought about the benefits of no longer having to provide health care for employees and gotten behind the public option, we might actually have one, elected officials tending to listen much more to businesses than their constituents.

[RKTesq]

While you were busy fighting change for the sake of fighting change, you forgot to consider that your REAL nemisis is the health insurance industry, not the government. As a businessperson, consider for a moment how you would act if suddenly you had no competition, or only a handful of competitors with whom you could agree to fix prices. Would you consider the best interests of your customers?

Over the past ten years, just like the financial institutions, health care insurers consolidated their industry through mergers and acquisitions to such an extent is is effectively now a cartel, with the major competitors agreeing on rates and claims approval. UNLIKE financial institutions, health care insurers are not even subject to antitrust law. Over the past seven years, industry profits increased 500 percent, while your premiums also increased 300 percent. Do you believe the health insurers have your best interests at heart? Economists predict that, under the status quo, within 10 years US citizens will spend 40 percent of GROSS income on health care. Do you believe THAT will not affect your costs and profitability?

So what do you prefer: 1) ignore the relative success of health care systems in, e.g., England, Japan, Taiwaan, Germany, and Switzerland, none of which spend more than 50 percent the US spends; or 2) continue to pay 25 cents (and rapidly increasing) of our every health care dollar to health care insurers THAT ADD NO VALUE, BUT MERELY TAKE AN EVER LARGER CUT?

[Havingfun100]

The Democratic Party is beginning to splinter. It appears there is no room for a moderate (which the majority of the people are). Should be an interesting election in 2 years. It is fascinating to me that if Lieberman can't go all the way with the Progressives then he needs to get out of the party. Liberal?Progressive intolerance.

[azind]

That's really rich, I suppose the Republican Party is just filled with moderates. False moral equivalency doesn't work here. The Democrats are only asking that their members allow the Bill to come to a vote. Over on your side they tell their members how to vote. If they don't fall in line then they pay the price. It's not even close to being the same thing.

[Havingfun100]

Love you, Joe!

[TXeagle]

Lieberman does not represent America he has no business being in the US senate: his rightful place is in the israeli kenesset.

[cornelison]

Joe is not just unhelpful towards the Democrats but he appears as if he's committing political suicide. Maybe one of the health insurance companies has offered Joe a job. Health care reform is a moral issue. Has anyone checked Joe's pockets for 20 pieces of silver?

[Jude Nagurney Camwell]

I believe that Senator Lieberman, a cunning political animal, is deliberately using the same fear tactics as actor Jon Voight (whose Teabagger speech in DC last week made Cokie Roberts cringe). He scares off the uninformed and consoles the government hating dittoheads by raising the fear of that dreaded buzzword "socialism." He misleads them about what the public option, as put forward by the House, really is. No full blown Canadian style government insurance, the US government would expand the privatization of health care, ensuring more citizens coverage, while providing the only REAL competition in many healthcare markets. Not remotely like the plan that single payer proponents envisioned or desired. Rep Kucinich voted NO because of it. Lieberman puts politics over concern for the welfare of any particular uninsured American.There are almost 40 million and the ranks are growing. Pick any one and I would bet that Lieberman doesn't care as much about that individual as he cares about the dream of his own reelection in 2012. For all his talk about what is morally right over these many years, he might as well be wearing a neon flashing sign saying HYPOCRITE now. It is morally right to care about tens of millions of economically vulnerable Americans without a health safety net. It is not morally right to use fear to claim you have a conscience about a political speculation with such remote basis in reality while you know darn well you're leaving millions of vulnerable Americans behind.

[supertim]

http://www.fuckjoelieberman.com/

[FACTISFACT]

The person threatening because of his egoistic nature against this government because the democrats got him out of the party and he had to beg to retain his name in the party he actually though he no longer is a democrat yet because he has people of the same feather in the party high up was retained. His main intention is to take revenge. It is on record that he had been a long undercover spy working for the Republican when ultimately got caught during Bush's period. Political analysts are of the strong that people who all are responsible to retained him in the party now seems to have dual allegiance and may be working for the Republicans behind the screen.

Political analysts are of the view that people of such nature as this person should have never been in the US congress, particularly those who intentionally work with motive against the national interest.

Recently it is revealed the defense and the state department had serious problem with regard to appointing contractors with motive by the previous government which because of some interested quarters their contract could be terminated. Like black water contract in state department and some contractors in defense arsenal producing contractors known to the chairman of the committee. An Inquiry should be ordered against departmental IG's of both these two departments for not submitting corruption report up to date to the government.

[Demarcus Jackson]

"A matter of conscience" my ass! Joe Lieberman is so full of it. I would probably have more respect for his position if he were honest with the American People and his voters back home that his real reason for blocking health care reform is because of his desire to protect the bottom-line of health insurance companies and ensure that such companies continue to nickel-and-dime the American People. It is clearly obvious that Lieberman doesn't give a damn about the people he represents and only cares about his own treacherous self-interest as well as the interest of the health insurance companies that dominate in his state.

[gvscmr]

The Two Buddies who are fighting Health Care Reform

Joe Lieberman - Senator CT
10 ALSTON AVE
NEW HAVEN, CT 06515

Evan Bayh - Senator IN
5400 Federal Plaza
Suite 3200
Hammond, IN 46320
[phone]

http://wp.me/pwdev-5Q

[Havingfun100]

What are we supposed to do with this information?

[StillAmused]

When does Tedi0usDr00py get relieved of his committee chairmanship and airmailed to the GOP?

[Homonculus]

He talks about costs and debt as being prohibitive for him to support a public option. However, he was and still is all about continual deep pocket funding of military costs in the Middle East at the tune of nearly $1 Trillion in 7 - 8 years. According to the CBO, the House bill would actually reduce federal budget deficits by $104 Billion in roughly the same amount of time. http://mediamatters.org/research/200910300032 There would also be a number of peripheral savings by the bill due to preventative health measures and interventions for the currently uninsured (many laborers) that would lower eventual likelihood of acute and critical care, as well as lower unemployment rates, and sustain corporate and industrial profit (whee!) by lessening attrition of labor force and subsequent costs.

Joe is taking the TOTAL narrow view, and is interesting that he continues to be highlighted on FOX while most other democrats and Pres Obama have decided to not participate in the spin zone that is FauxNews.

[Havingfun100]

Never a good idea to boycott a news organizati­on.....dem­onstrates fear.

[Tom Payned]

Israel has mandatory universal health care, which, by giving them aid, (note, not loans despite the fact we have to borrow the money to give them) we the American Taxpayer are funding their socialist ways.

Israel ranks 28th in the world in health care, in large part because of the American taxpayers debt.

Where's LIE-Bore-Man's conscious on his unwavering support for the only elected socialist regime in the Middle East?

[thepoliticalcat]

What conscience? He doesn't even have a consciousness, let alone a conscience. Emperor Palpatine must've been modeled on Sanctimoanious Joe.

[1laingirl]

You're right, he doesn't appear to have a conscience. I think he is trying to be "mavericky, but is really a poopie del pollo, as my friend Susan would say.

[LonesomeThunderbolt]

No doubt financial ties keep Lieberman in the insurance industry's pocket. But deeper motives lie behind his treachery. Lieberman has been a GOP Trojan Horse since he was Al Gore's running mate in 2000. Remember his "debate" with Dick Cheney that was widely described as a lovefest.

During the Florida recount, Lieberman undercut the Democrats by supporting GOP claims that overseas military ballots for Florida (likely to benefit Bush) were not being counted. Even before the Supreme Court ended the recount, Lieberman made known his intention to be in Washington to be sworn in as Senator. (Connecticut law allowed him to run for vice president and for re-election to his Senate seat.)

Lieberman believed being the vice presidential nominee entitled him to be the 2004 presidential nominee. Out of step with most Democrats on the Iraq war, his campaign was a dismal failure. He went on to lose the Senate Democratic primary in 2006. Because Connecticut allows "sore-loser candidates" to run as independents, and after the Bush White House appealed to Connecticut Republicans to dump own their weak and discredited candidate, Lieberman held onto his Senate seat.

Despite Lieberman's massive betrayal in endorsing John McCain, Democrats thought they could still do business with him. Surely now they know the truth. Lieberman's threat to filibuster Obama's most important domestic political goal is clear evidence that he intends to bring down the Obama presidency. The Democrats need to move against Lieberman--and do it now.