The Scariest Halloween Monster of them All!

Sen. Joe Lieberman, flagship of his personal party the “Independent Democrats”, has announced that not only will he lead a filibuster against a public health option, but he will also campaign for some members of the GOP against Democratic opponents. Well, well, well. Say it ain’t so, Joe!

Now, Joe did campaign for John McCain, basically stating that they had been friends for many years. Maybe, deep down, some teeny-weeny part of me understands loyalty to your friends. However, at this point it seems to me that most of Joe’s friends sit either on the other side of the Senate aisle, or comfortably in the plush offices of the health care peddlers.

Or, maybe his loyalty lies with his spouse, Hadassah. In and of itself, loyalty to one’s spouse is quite commendable, particularly today where marriage vows are tantamount to singing a McDonald’s jingle: “Two all beef parties, special sauce, lettuce cheese and you will be my main squeeze”. The Liebermans have made one hell of a team: Hadassah works and lobbies for insurance and pharmaceutical interests, and Joe introduces legislation which would benefit them. The ethics of such an arrangement are questionable, but no one has ever complained. Many Senators have reaped many dollars from these concerns, and this has been a minor inconvenience at worst. C’est la guerre.

When Joe lost to Ned Lamont in the Connecticut Democratic primary, he pulled himself together and ran a vigorous campaign as an independent. He promised the voters of Connecticut that he was and would remain a Democrat in every aspect other than his support for the war. The voters bought into that, and Volia! Independent Democratic Senator Lieberman was born, and became an overnight sensation in the Senate. He insisted on maintaining all of his committee appointments/chairmanships, et al, as a condition of his presence in the Democrat Caucus. Harry Reid granted his wishes, and the Joe Lieberman blackmail show was born. Any time anyone brings up anything that discomfits Joe, he rumples his brow and mumbles something to the effect that he could change caucus positions, and the Democrats back down.

If this doesn’t do it, I have to wonder what will. The peculiar aroma is coffee, Harry. Wake up and smell it soon. You do not have 60 votes, at best you have 59. Between Mrs. Lieberman and all of her clients, many of whom have home offices in Connecticut, anything that costs Big Pharma/Insurance their profits will not fly with Joe. His campaigning for Republicans should frost the coffee cake. Just let him go.

This is an open thread.