From Fox News, October 27, 2009.
“Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democrat-turned-Independent from Connecticut, said Tuesday that he will not vote for a healthcare reform bill that includes a government-run insurance plan.
This means that as things now stand, Democrats will not have enough votes to pass healthcare reform with a so-called public option unless Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) can pick up unexpected GOP votes.
Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine), the only Republican to vote for the Senate Finance Committee’s healthcare bill, said Tueday that she would vote against bringing up a bill that included a government-run insurance program unless the implementation of such a program were set to a trigger.
Lieberman said he would vote with Reid and other Democrats on a motion to begin debate on a healthcare bill because he believes it is an important issue that needs to be considered. But he said he would not lend his support to an effort to cut off debate on a bill including a government-run insurance program.
Lieberman said he told Reid of his position in a recent conversation and that the leader “respected and understood.”
“We’re trying to do too much at once,” said Lieberman. “To put this government-created, government-run insurance company on top of everything else is just asking for trouble for the taxpayer, for the premium payer and for the national debt. I don’t think we need it now.”
Lieberman said he was not placated by allowing states to opt out of the public option “because it still creates a whole new federal government entitlement program, for which taxpayers will eventually be on the line.””
Read more:
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/64981-senator-lieberman-not-backing-public-option
Citizen WElls 
Liebermann is bein cool….
This is very good news CW. The only way not to pass any health care bill is for just a few to stand firm.
Of course they can always fall back on their marginally acceptable tactics, by bringing an old rule (can’t remember the name right now), that would allow passage of the bill with 51votes, but that would not look good. God knows, Obama cares about looking good, until he realizes he can only get what he wants by exposing his fangs.
It looks as if the state ‘opt-out’ option isn’t fooling any senators, we hope and pray:
From Michelle Malkin’s site:
Doug Powers takes a closer look at Harry Reid’s state opt-out sop.
There’s no there there:
I haven’t seen this section of the bill, but one thing is certain: It will be easier to get Michael Moore through the eye of a needle that for states to opt out of Obamacare.
There will be countless additional funding measures attached so as to ensure that if states opt out, they’ll go even more broke than they already are.
Technically states can opt out of federal education guidelines and run their own public schools any way they see fit — as long as they don’t mind losing millions in federal funding that states have come to depend on.
Technically states can opt out of the federal drinking age and set their own legal age for the consumption of alcoholic beverages — as long as they don’t mind losing millions in federal highway funding.
Hospitals also receive plenty of federal money. Guess what’s going to disappear if your state “opts out” of Obamacare?
Caution: Read The Fine Print.
Good news. Let’s see more of them do this!
Lieberman has set himself up as a privileged politician. Seems he has most of his political career. He is neither a steadfast lib, nor a repub. Clever, this way he can be nimble in his footwork.
Lieberman just joined Palin…he went ‘rogue’.
I’d like to initiate a movement to require all politicians to wear patches identifying their owners…er…sponsors. You know the ones. NASCAR drivers wear them all the time and paste them all over their multi-million dollar cars. I guess it helps NASCAR fans decide which spark plugs to use (“Well, number 28 used ‘Sparklite’ and his car won!”) or which oil to avoid (“hmmm, 16 uses Valvoline and crashed in the third turn. Better not use THAT!”)
In fact, I think patches would serve better for politicians than they do for NASCAR drivers. Wouldn’t it be great if whiney Joe Lieberman had to wear patches representing all of the health care industries that pull his strings? He’d come out sniveling that he’s only trying to watch out for Americans “best interests” in preventing them from obtaining medical care, but it would be obvious from his patches he’s just lying scum in the pockets of those from whom Americans need protection.
For the “Health Care Patch” I think they should dipict an HMO CEO throwing a poor person from a third-floor hospital window. I think that might perfectly capture the sentiment of America’s medical establishment of the 21st century…
(read the rest of this blog at The Bacon Press)
Mark Bacon