Word: liebermanically
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...LIEBERMAN, CONNECTICUT...
...That will be the gut check, particularly for four wavering centrists who voted with Reid on Saturday: independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and Democrats Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. All have said they have serious objections to the bill in its current form, and particularly to the government-run health care plan that would be among the options available to the uninsured. "We have a health care system that has real troubles, but we have an economic system that is in real crisis," Lieberman said Sunday on NBC. "I don't want...
...Lieberman is by no means the only Democrat who is not happy with the public option, though he may be the only one who comes from a relatively liberal state. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, for example, all have strong reservations about a government-run alternative to private insurers. But Lieberman is the only one who has stated flat-out that he would join a GOP filibuster of the bill to prevent it from getting an up-or-down vote. And unlike his other moderate Democratic colleagues, he has claimed...
Pressuring Lieberman, however, might prompt him to leave the party, a move that would deprive Democrats of their 60th vote, not just on health care but on other issues like global warming and financial regulatory reform. That has led most of his colleagues to soft-pedal their persuasion. "I've talked to Joe several times," says Maryland Senator Ben Cardin. "I think he's interested in getting a bill done...
Then again, Lieberman would be wise to remember that the 2010 midterm elections are coming, and some election watchers are predicting the Democrats could pick up one or two more seats. That would be enough to lessen Lieberman's pivotal importance to the party - and his appearances on the Sunday talk shows as well...