DAMNING JOE LIEBERMAN

Look at the entire picture. Concentrate on the bottom line. Those gems of advice are not mutually exclusive, but Senator Lieberman is acting as though they were. So here is another piece of advice. Focusing so hard on the bottom line can result in losing your bottom. A few days ago I sent an email to Senator Joe Lieberman. It was a very strongly worded statement in which I expressed my displeasure over his threat to join a filibuster against any bill that includes a public insurance option. The reply I received was a form letter. His reply politely thanked me for my input. He then went on to say that since I do not live in Connecticut he does not care about what I think. Okay, Senator, but you might want to consider the fact that Senator Harry Reid and the other members of the Democratic Party with whom you caucus do not live in your state either. I might add that millions of people who do not live in your state are also very likely to contribute to your next opponent’s campaign. I know I will.

The Democratic Party’s diversity and tolerance of dissent has always made me proud to be a Democrat. We do not want to act like Republicans and start purging our party of dissenters for the sake of ideological purity, but there is a line the dissenters must not cross. Tens of thousands of people suffered an early death this year because they could not afford health insurance. Millions more had to declare bankruptcy because they could not pay their medical bills. A robust public insurance option would solve the problem of cost. And the cost of health care coverage is literally a matter of life and death. Voting against the public option is bad enough. Joining a filibuster to prevent the bill from coming to a vote on the floor is intolerable. The filibuster has always been considered an extreme measure. In this case it means defying the will of the majority of your party and the will of a large majority of the American people. If you are going to do that, you had better be prepared for the consequences. There shall and should be a severe penalty for being an obstructionist, particularly when there is so much at stake.

Senator Lieberman has made himself the lightning rod on this issue. The Democratic senators generously took Lieberman back into the fold when he lost the primary and won the general election as an independent. Senator Lieberman showed his gratitude by campaigning for John McCain. He then joined the opposition on such absurd things as criticizing the President for appointing czars to oversee programs and regulations. If Senator Lieberman carries through with his threat to join a filibuster against the public insurance option, it must be his last betrayal! He must be expelled from the party, its caucuses and all positions of leadership in the Senate. The penalty for letting dissent degenerate into the role of the obstructionist must be severe for all other blue dogs as well. A message must be sent. There is a limit to what we can tolerate. Now is the time, and the need is urgent. The days when the top insurance company executives are being paid millions of dollars at the expense of people who have to choose between starving to death and dying of treatable conditions must end now. We must loosen the stranglehold the insurance industry has on the health and well being of our citizens!