Purple People Vote

I have a tendency to like politicians who buck their party, and there is no greater example of that right now than Joe Lieberman. Democrats are furious with Senator Lieberman for not supporting the current version of health care reform. They’ve already told him they don’t want him in their party, but expect him to follow their lead anyway. Karma is coming back to bite them, and I love it.

Good for Senator Lieberman for standing up for what he believes in, and for making solid points about the cost of going forward with this health care bill. He’s shown repeatedly that he sticks to his guns regardless of the scorn he faces, and even with the fact that these decisions are likely to hurt his future in politics. There is so little of this type of personal conviction in today’s politics, and even if I’m the only member, he yet again has won me over to be a member of the ‘Joe Lieberman Fan Club.’

Lieberman Health Care Quote from Politico…

“To be as explicit as I can be now, if as it appears to be happening, the so-called public option, government-run insurance program is out, and the Medicare buy-in—which I thought would jeopardize Medicare, cost taxpayers billions of dollars over the long haul, increase our deficit—is out, and there’s no other attempts to bring things like that in, then… I am getting to that position to where I can say what I wanted to say all along, that I’m ready to vote for health care reform.”

Lieberman, Health Care, MediCare, and the National Debt

“In a statement, Lieberman denied flip-flopping on the Medicare buy-in proposal, saying that his support for the plan during his campaign for vice president in 2000 came at a time when the national debt was less than half what it is now – and when Medicare was not on the cusp of going broke and when there was no “viable” proposal like the one being considered on the floor.”