"Is there a more hypocritical figure in American politics than Joe Lieberman? The Connecticut senator declared Tuesday that he would support a filibuster of any health care reform bill that has a public option—even the version with the “trigger” compromise accepted by Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe—because it might cost money. “I think that a lot of people may think that the public option is free,” said Lieberman, one of the Senate’s big spenders, in a suddenly frugal mood. “It’s not. It’s going to cost the taxpayers and people that have health insurance now, and if it doesn’t, it’s going to add terribly to our national debt.”" - Steven Perez from Bookmarklet

Saturday Night Live just got few tons of new material to work with. - Roberto Bonini

We need to reserve more trillions of dollars for more Mideast wars -- Lieberman has had Iran in the crosshairs for quite some time. Those wars take precedence over the health of Americans. - Sean McBride

+1 Sean. - Cole Jolley

Putting government in charge of health care is like putting the coyote in charge of the hen house. Good for Lieberman. ^^ - David C. Cooper

We already have that setup, David. We call the coyotes now guarding the hen house "insurance companies". - Steven Perez

Dang, Lieberman just lost the last shred of his integrity. He doesn't even stay bought. - Michael R. Bernstein

That's funny, Steven. Because rational people call the insurance companies the hen house. The coyotes want us to believe that we don't need a hen house anymore because they want us to think the coyotes will protect the hens for us. - David C. Cooper

Wow. In the annals of messed-up analogies, David, that one takes the cake. Insurance companies ***are*** the hen house? That's one alternate reality I'm not sure I ever want to visit. - Steven Perez from IM

I'm noticing an interesting pattern: pro-Israel militancy in the United States (Joseph Lieberman-style) seems to correlate strongly with a defense of health insurance billionaires and oligarchs. Why is that? Are there significant links between the two lobbies? Doesn't Israel itself have a fairly good health system, with the government playing a major role? - Sean McBride

Lieberman lost his last shred of integrity long before this. I admire "independence" when it is based upon adherence to a principle greater than one's self and one's own interests, but Lieberman has demonstrated clearly that he will contradict his own stated principles at the drop of a hat, when sufficient money is involved. For him it clearly isn't about principle, it's about "wearing whatever coat" serves him best at the moment. I have no fear that he'll take another self-contradictory stand before long. - Mark J Severely Inert

Sean, perhaps the link is simpler. Defense contractors and health insurance companies both shell out a lot of lobbying money. - Andrew C (✓)

Andrew: good point: always follow the money. It's almost always about the money (although with Lieberman, ideological fanaticism looms large in his behavior). - Sean McBride

Plus just generally being a monumentally egotistical asshole, aided and abetted by the Senate Democratic culture of catering to party dissidents. (And anyone who wants to get on my case about not wanting a big tent had better never have used the term RINO.) - Andrew C (✓)