The Lieberman-Dean Imbroglio
As the Obama administration’s dream of a health care reform bill faces zero hour, two new obstacles stand in its way. Let us call it the Lieberman-Dean imbroglio. Lieberman vowed to vote against the Senate bill, unless it abandoned both the public option and the Medicare buy-in. Sure, he changed his position on the latter over the years, as his detractors have pointed out. But desperate for his support, Harry Reid caved—and Lieberman is close to publicly announcing that the Democratic caucus now has his vote.
Yet, the vitriol heaped on Lieberman has been not only excessive, unprecedented and verging on the anti-Semitic, but has exceeded the levels of nastiness we have come to expect in our political culture. The first of the vicious political screeds came from the website of The New Republic, on which Jonathan Chait in effect called Lieberman the equivalent of a mass murderer. Am I exaggerating? Here are Chait’s words: “He seems to view the prospect of sticking it to the liberals who supported his Democratic opponent in 2006 as a goal potentially worth sacrificing the lives of tens of thousands of Americans to fulfill.” If that was not enough, Chait went on to write that “I suspect that Lieberman is the beneficiary, or possibly the victim, of a cultural stereotype that Jews are smart and good with numbers. Trust me, it’s not true.”
Lee Siegel, also a TNR graduate, goes way beyond Chait’s attack. Siegel writes that Lieberman uses his status as an Orthodox Jew to prove that he is a good man. As he puts it, in a bit of vile hyperbole, “And if you get a big fat check from the insurance lobby on the one hand, and the Israel lobby on the other, well, this the tribute that reality pays to virtue.” Lieberman, Siegel says, is the victim of “fundamentalist sickness.” No one, in his eyes, can have a position opposed to the current health care bill for any valid reason. Then, Siegel says Lieberman comes close to being the model of an anti-Semitic caricature. Why? Because “Lieberman is greedy, arrogant, venal…vindictive” and , if you can believe this, “ritually unclean.”
Ironically, on “Morning Joe” today, it was left to the old anti-Semite himself Pat Buchanan to defend Lieberman, pointing out that if the Obama administration has any chance of gaining back independents, centrists and moderates who have been deserting Obama in droves, it is because Joe Lieberman’s forcing of a compromise against a disastrous bill that is not popular. So Lieberman’s toughness may be the one thing that keeps them in the Democratic column.
The other problem facing the administration is that accepting Lieberman’s demands means that the left-wing of the party is now threatening to pull the plug on their support of their health care bill. Howard Dean has openly called for defeat of the bill, arguing that it should be sent back to Congress, and that it is worthless without both the public option and the Medicare buy-in. Calling it a “bigger bailout for the insurance industry than AIG,” Dean went on to say that the current bill is “an insurance company’s dream.” To get what he wants accomplished, Dean favors going back to the House and starting the reconciliation process- a technique that would give them victory with only 51 Senate votes rather than 60, and would force an unpopular bill on the public through an undemocratic and thoroughly partisan course of action.
That’s all pretty typical democrat anti-Semitic hate speech it’s just usually not said in public. All of the under forty democrats I know are openly anti-Semitic, and I don’t mean anti-Zionist. If anyone doubts that, just strike up a conversation by asking about one of the conspiracy theories espoused by the democrat leftist crowd and you’ll be hearing all about how evil the Joooz are within minutes. Again, I don’t mean you’ll be hearing about how evil Israel is, it’s all encompassing and not just directed at Israel and those who support Israel.
I don’t really see why anyone would expect the democrat party, a party controlled by those who want to remake the US into Europe, since the vast majority of good Euro citizens are ardently anti-Semitic.
Regards
Very few members of the body politic muster the courage to oppose the folly of their peers at a crucial time. Even if the climate was not polluted by antisemitism, Joe Lieberman would receive omnidirectional opprobrium, while being the most influential Senator of the week, if there was such a prize. My gratitude to him from one who is not quick to praise a man of the left.
Howard scream Dean’s constantly puffing out his cheast is getting old. When someone suffers this badly from Short Man’s Disease, and hasn’t responded to repeated strong doses of therapy (being shunned) then nothing is going to pry the chip off that whiners shoulder. No one liked working around him in Montpelier, no one like being around him on the campaign trail, and no one wants him around in D.C. Unfortunately one media outlet is taking him seriously. I expect to hear he was on FAUX NEWS not NPR. There are so many reasons Team Obama didn’t want him around, Dean still feels the need to be spitefully detrimental, and is hurting our nation. For a quick study on racism google Howard Dean and Abenaki.
“…would mean that the bill is likely to not pass, despite the desperate pleas of the President.”
I said over seven months ago that Barack Obama is a marginalized president unable to get any serious domestic bills through both houses of Congress. The dynamics, if carefully looked at, were always against him. Most Americans oppose his radical agenda, and purple and red state legislators are worried about their reelection prospects. Obama simply lacks the political capital to get anything done. In 2010 we will have to worry about him seeking revenge against the citizenry for betraying his vision. Obama has had a relatively easy life. He is not used to failing—and will blame others for his lack of success. And if some sort of reconciliation process is used to pass any health care bill, the Democrat Party is literally risking its very continued existence as a national political entity. Only the blue state areas will likely remain within the fold.
The left’s hostility towards Joe Lieberman is the norm for any ethnic or racial minority who strays away from the leftist reservation. He has long been perceived to be something of a Jewish Uncle Tom. Lee Siegel is merely uttering publicly what is said behind closed doors. Why the surprise? I’m not getting it.
Ron, claiming that lives are at stake in a bill about payments for health care is not the same as calling your opponent a mass murderer.
Part of the invictive Ron quotes has it’s roots in what Reid decided to do about Lieberman after the election. The left wanted his head on a platter – to take away his chair and obliterate him. But unlike Pelosi with her vast majority, Reid had a slim majority relative to the Senate Filibuster. So Joe got a few harsh words in public and otherwise largely a pass. Because the Dems need him.
Reids weaknesses as a majority leader is what makes idiot pundits in left field go off with the histronic displays.
How can it be that the insurance industries closest and most reliable ally holds so much leverage and attention at this vital moment?
What is more responsible for the publics dwindling support for a dubious comedy of errors from day one – the fact the Left is going ape #$%^ that Lieberman is a crucial negotiator with a finger on the guillotine when it comes to their precious public option – or BUYING OFF Mary Landrieu for 200 million? The entire display has been a laugh out loud joke – from Ben Nelson’s abortion gambit to Snow & Lincoln’s girlie shows. (maybe I will maybe I won’t but don’t touch me there!)
Besides the valient Tea Party & Town Hall erruptions, the president addressed the nation directly in a joint session – where besides an until then relative unknown congressman reflexively shouting out what Joe the Plumber instinctively responded to naturally during the campaign – now the public has had six months of focused content to weigh Obama’s choices.
It was this prez who decided everything depended on Health Care. He told the nation why, and declared it would be so. And HIS PARTY HAD THE NUMBERS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN WITH OR WITHOUT THE OPPOSITION. Period.
Now here we are in the 11th hour of HIS SECOND DEADLINE – by Xmas or else. Not only don’t people want it – THEY DONT KNOW WHAT THE HELL IT EVEN IS!
This from the most ‘popular’ prez (some pundits still claim his personal poll numbers approach 60% – they only tank below fifty when SPECIFICALLY ASKED ABOUT SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE ON SELECT ISSUES – LIKE HEALTH CARE) – AND – a congressional majority rivaling Carters.
Harry Reid is history. AS leader he can’t herd cats! For all the grief disgruntled conservatives throw at Mitch Mich McConnell he has consistantly bested Reid. In this showdown Reids shot off every appendage he has and rendered Obama more like FDR than polio ever could!
The only way he gets re-elected is if he steps down as Majority Leader(baring a second coming by Brigham Young). I wouldn’t be surprised if the Nevada Dem party forces as much.
LBJ must be literally spinning in his grave. The country might yet be spared this fiscal and political disaster.