Monday, November 23, 2009

The Senator From Aetna

Joe Lieberman recently said that no one really believes health care reform will pass as the bills in Congress are currently written. Of course no one believes it; Lieberman, the senator from Aetna, has the power to stop it all by himself! He can filibuster it all by himself, and President Obama is inexplicably content to let the process work itself out.
The overwhelming majority of Senate Democrats, who are the majority overall, supports a health care reform plan with a strong public insurance option, as does the President. Yet even if Nebraska's Ben Nelson, Arkansas's Blanche Lincoln, and Louisiana's Mary Landrieu were to suddenly support this bill (don't hold your breath!), Lieberman can still stop it on his own with a filibuster that 58 Democrats and an independent can't stop.
The federal government is a system of checks and balances. The health insurance establishment gives Lieberman a check, and Lieberman adds it to his campaign fund account balance.

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