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Harry Reid tells inside-the-Beltway liberals that he has Joe’s vote and they should stop worrying about the health care reform vote in the Senate. Outsiders not so trusting.
According to The Hill:
Sen. Joe Lieberman has reached a private understanding with Majority Leader Harry Reid that he will not block a final vote on healthcare reform, according to two sources briefed on the matter.
Who believes Harry?
But sources said Reid’s staff is telling liberal interest groups that Lieberman (Conn.) has assured Reid he will vote with Democrats in the necessary procedural vote to end debate, perhaps with intentions to change the bill.
“Lieberman keeps assuring Reid that he’s OK,” said one source. “But he’s one of those characters — you never know with Joe.
“Maybe he’s talking tough to get the public option watered down or he’s trying to get some stuff for himself on other topics or on other sections of the legislation,” the source added. “He’s basically trying to be a senator.”
Bull Moose tells The Hill nothing has changed!
“Sen. Lieberman has made it clear that he will vote for the motion to proceed to the healthcare bill but will oppose cloture on a final bill if it contains a public option because he believes that it would worsen our national debt problem,” said Lieberman aide Marshall Wittmann.
How’s this working out for the left-of-the-left?
As a result, well-connected liberals inside the Beltway who are in touch with Reid’s office have taken a more optimistic view of Lieberman’s position, while activists and bloggers outside the loop have seethed over his statements from last week.
All you need to know until the final, final, final vote (shorter RGJoe):
"Look at MEEEEEEE!"
"Talk about MEEEEEE!"
"Pay attention to MEEEEE!"
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Were this true:
“In exchange, Lieberman would become chair of the Judiciary and Finance committees, his campaign contribution conflicts would be grandfathered into actual law, and Harry will bring network cameras along to wash Joe’s new Benz limo every Saturday morning, during which Reid will, in broken-record fashion, recite this mantra: Joe is with us on everything…”
I don’t know which is the bigger liar – Harry or RGJoe, but I know who is the bigger fool.
With the Democrats it is so are to tell. Is it corruption or incompetence? The Republicans are so much easier to parse. With them, it is always about corruption. The incompetence is just a natural consequence.
I say we should never leave Joe alone. We should pound on him every day. He will still do what he wants to but I just want him to know that he is not loved, respected or admired. He’s just a loser.
Harry may be whistling past the graveyard, but it should be noted that assuming he could get Lieberman’s vote was a prerequisite for his decision to go ahead with the trigger-less PO in the merged Senate bill.
My first snarky reaction back when Obama allegedly balked at Reid’s strategy was to think, “They’re worried about what Lieberman will do if he realizes he’s the 60th vote.”
And I guess Reid — and Schumer — told Obama and Rahm that RGJoe would be okay.
So we’ll see. Remember all the Schumer babble about “what a good vote-counter Harry Reid is” at the time? And it was just after the disastrous Doc-fix vote on the floor of the Senate that Harry lost so badly?
♫ ♪ I en-joy being a churl ! ♫
How’d you do that? — ♫ ♪♫ — oh, I see.
♫ ♪♫
In view of Rachel Maddow’s reporting that none of the Conservadems will be joining the weasel, it’s possible that Miss Connecticut “has assured Reid he will vote with Democrats in the necessary procedural vote to end debate.”
But these well-connected liberals
inside the Beltwayin the veal pen – who are so optimistic because Reid’s staff whispers sweet nothings into their ears – are missing the point.Joe Lieberman, a.k.a Miss Connecticut at the beauty pageant who, craving attention, whips off her top and parades around the pool in front of the judges, wants it both ways.
On the one hand, Miss Connecticut wants – all very publicly – to dance around topless for the judges while trying to entice a Senate Democrat or two to join her and then to confuse everyone by saying that she’ll take it all off by allowing debate on the Senate floor, but preventing a final vote.
While on the other hand, Miss Connecticut winks at Reid and privately assures him that she’s saying “no” publicly, but really means “yes” and that they should meet up later, after she’s done dancing for the judges.
Totally unacceptable.
First of all, if Lieberman were a serious leader who sincerely cares about doing the right thing for the American people, shouldn’t he be doing the opposite, i.e. threatening Reid privately and working hard behind the scenes to get Lincoln or Nelson to join him, while publicly not committing one way or the other about blocking debate or allowing a final vote?
These well-connected liberals
inside the Beltwayin the veal pen are so needy that they’ll optimistically take any crumb they’re given.They need to step out of the veal pen and look at the big picture.
Reid has all but proven himself to be far too weak as Majority Leader and Lieberman has to go asap. I think that once the bill is voted on in the Senate and goes to conference, Lieberman should unceremoniously be removed from his chairmanship.
Hear that Miss Connecticut? You thought you’d get some attention running around topless at the pageant and it’s too late to put your top back on.
Okay guys, forgive me for laughing, but all of us at FDL know how much our Joey likes to get down in the dirt with the likes of Karl Rove and roll around in it particularly when he feels people are being mean to him. I mean really. Take that as a given, and then we proceed from there. There are new ads playing in CT. They are telling us to call Lieberman and tell him we don’t want government-run healthcare. Or just thank him and tell him he’s a healthcare hero.
There really aren’t very many likely suspects in CT who could or would run primetimish aired ads like that. But every once in a while there is a little insanity. And where there is insanity, anything associated with Lieberman is a likely suspect.