Lieberman's Such a Jerk

Lieberman Rules Out Voting for Health Bill: "In a surprise setback for Democratic leaders, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, said on Sunday that he would vote against the health care legislation in its current form. The bill's supporters had said earlier that they thought they had secured Mr. Lieberman’s agreement to go along with a compromise they worked out to overcome an impasse within the Democratic Party. But on Sunday, Mr. Lieberman told the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, to scrap the idea of expanding Medicare and abandon any new government insurance plan or lose his vote."

Welcome to the Lieberman Administration: "Looks like Joe Lieberman decided to try for the old double-cross and say he now opposes the Medicare expansion compromise he'd hinted he would support. Lieberman wants no public option, no trigger that might create a public option, and no expansion of existing programs as a substitute for a public option. And he doesn't care about expressing that view in misleading ways, timed to cause embarrassment to the Democratic leadership. And, frankly, unlike some other troublesome Democratic Senators one can hardly be all that surprised that he's making problems for the Obama administration's #1 domestic priority. After all, Lieberman took the view that John McCain would be the better President."

Lieberman at It Again: "What's most telling about Lieberman isn't his positions, which are not that much different from Sen. Nelson's and perhaps Sen. Lincoln's. It's more that he seems to keep upping the ante just when the rest of the caucus thinks they've got a deal. If it happened once, a misunderstanding might be a credible explanation. But it's happened too many times. Sen. Nelson has driven Dems to distraction on this bill. But his demands have been fairly consistent over time. Lieberman just doesn't seem to be negotiating in good faith. He keeps pulling his caucus to some new compromise, waiting a few days and then saying he can't agree to that either."

I hate to say "I told you so," Dems, but I told you so.

In an administration where "bipartisanship" and "compromise" are prioritized above good ideas, it was always going to be a given that a bloke like Joe Lieberman would have too much power. That's what happens when you play the game-players' game.