No Men: The Most Ornery, Obstructionist Senators

The Daily Beast:

When Sen. Joe Lieberman issued fresh threats to filibuster any health-care reform proposal including a public option, he did more than just blunt the momentum generated by the House of Representatives' passage of a bill this weekend. Lieberman also took his place in a venerable line of legislators bent on using parliamentary procedure to hold up the works. The deans of delay have already been hard at work this Congress, blocking Obama's nominations for the federal bench and slowing the appointment of the U.S. ambassador to Iraq. It's all becoming too much for Majority Leader Harry Reid, who let loose on the GOP for obstructionist tactics last week after Republicans held up a bill extending unemployment benefits for weeks, even though it passed unanimously after they relented.

Read the whole story: The Daily Beast

Comments

[SmartladyDem]

Don't forget, he has skin in the game, his wife has millions of dollars in health insurance company investments. I can't believe confict of interest is legal.

[tempting]

Everyone please call the faith based groups who are defending people like this and scaring off votes for health care in God's name. today I was checking channels and heard the CTN channel constantly harping on how bad the HR bill is and asking folks to call [phone] to sign a petition to stop the bill. Well I called and told them that they should be ashamed of using their faith to lie to the public. These people are with out guile.
The playing field is not level and there are hardly any outlets for those of us who are progressive in MSM.

www.ctnonline.com

[gakabani]

This is not the American dream my children will inherit. Joe is truly a demagogue and politically decadent as he supports not an idea but a pathetic policy based on exploitation of the masses and suffering. Joe the "pathetic" is just pathetic.

[Kevins]

Joe might be getting paid by the Insurance lobby,
but he ain't worth a dime.

[Greg Petty]

He is not obstinate,he is a plain liar

[NeoconGal]

Glad to see Israeli Joe got on the list.

[goodpyr]

Lieberman is the Chairman of the Senate Committee On Homeland Security.He was given that
Committee when he was still a Dem.He was allowed to keep it while he caucuses with the Dem.
Once he votes to filibuster with the RepugniCAN'Ts,he will be stripped of his Chairmanship and
be replaced by a Dem. No more big checks from Aetna.The Senate dems will use reconciliation
to pass the bill as it is a Budget item.

[DimBulb2]

ornery
adj : having a difficult and contrary disposition; "a cantankerous
and venomous-tongued old lady"- [syn: cantankerous,
crotchety]

[MakeAWish]

Joe, how can you call yourself an American citizen?

[bluemike]

Ornery ? You must mean un-American.

[dre7861]

I've said from the very beginning of the Health Care debate let the GOP [and that includes their lap dog, Lieberman] fillibuster but make them do it the old fashion way. The most a fillibuster does is delay a bill going to vote by around 24 hours and it causes the Senators to sleep on cots. The media won't show the person doing the actual fillibustering making impassion arguments about why the Health Care Bill is bad but rather they'll show the reading of the phone book or other such nonsense. THis will further cement the public's image of the GOP as obstructionist and as the Party of No. If one looks back at the history of the fillibuster it has not been an effective tool to block legislation. If Reid did this I'm certain his future as Majority Leader would be assured and would be a lot easier because the GOP would think twice about threatening the fillibuster. It will also show that the Democrats have a spine and will not be backed down. This is a Win-Win situation for Democrats and we should really stop looking at it as this scary monster.

[OneLiberalLady]

What you say makes a lot of sense. It would be interesting to hear the response from Senate leaders, but at this point it's hard to imagine that forcing the filibuster is a bad idea. Seems like there's nothing to lose as the obstructionists can't get any worse.

[MOCONSERVATIVE]

Your argument is seriously flawed, in that it is based on the assumption that there are democrat senators with spines. I have seen no evidence of that, at least in the progressive caucus.

[Kevins]

That's funny. It looks like the Progressive Caucus got Health Care Reform with the Public Option in the US House....

[Littlewords]

The GOP will not back down on the filibuster, instead they will maintain it indefinitely, but Reid can invoke reconciliation to bust both the filibuster and Lieberman down to size and move this forward irrespective of their obstinance. The GOP seems to be forcing reconciliation by grandstanding with filibuster threats wanting an optic to look like the legislation was bullied through unfairly.
However, the GOP already greased the skids on reconciliation by using it themselves previously to slam through legislation when they were the majority.

The problem for the GOP is that, other than Cao in the House, they are all in on blocking this at all costs. They want to run in the mid terms against Dems that were ineffective with getting things done even when they hold a majority. They feel that is a better position for the GOP than the backlash of blocking health care (they assume the avg American doesn't look deeply to see the partisan play, only the result).

This is why they are A) the party of NO B) spinning up teabaggers and hate C) creating as much disruption­/dysfuncti­on/chaos as possible. Desire is to undermine the president and Dem majority running congress. Their self proclaimed strategy is: demonize your opponent's strength (Obama = Gov't so demonize him and the Gov't ability to do anything). Then demonize and block all legislation Obama promised. They're doing similar to the Dem majority congress.

This is the GOP its self admitted strategy to attack opponents.

[Kevins]

I think you're right. If they're mouthing off about filibustering, make them actually filibuster.

Make them actually argue against doing anything for the American people, and let those clips of them jabbering instead of fixing Health Care be used in the next elections against them.

If they want to play games, make them play games in public. Let the public watch.

[haval2]

This whiny irrelevant man should be ignored. His hypocrisy qualifies him for lifetime membership in the GOP.

[littlepuffycloud]

I don't think the headline should use the word 'ornery'. ORnery makes me think of some cranky-but-kindly old prospector in some old western, not a slimy obstructionist that is liebermann.

[OneLiberalLady]

Not ornery....evil, manipulative, self-aggrandizing, egotistical, corrupt,na­rcisstic..­.
So many adjectives, so little time.

[Lisette]

Spit on the sidewalk, that is Joe

[MOCONSERVATIVE]

I love Joe the stealth conservative. He takes advantage of the dems for all the perks, and then when it comes down to something important, his conservative values come through. Go Joe!

[wagthedog1001]

Conservative values: Nomination for the oxymoron of the day!

The only thing conservatives want to do is delay, obstruct, and destroy the functioning of the Government of the United States of America. And they do this all in the name of Values.

What CRAP!

[zeezan]

You have that right!

[Manhattanite]

Conservative? Lieberman is a major league opportunist. He'll do and say anything that's good for Joe Lieberman and Joe Lieberman only.

[MOCONSERVATIVE]

The only thing they obstruct is the progressive agenda to destroy this great country. If it were up to progressives, we'd all be working for the government by now.

[michiganms]

The only thing Lieberman is for is Lieberman. He's got to go.