The Big Picture: Joe Lieberman is Exhibit A for The Need to End the Tyranny of the Filibuster

I'm pretty concerned about health care despite the victory because of the goddamn Senate. And there was a lot of attention given to the 39 Democrats voting no. A huge thing is that the completely erroneous line that "this is too much spending given the deficit" has been allowed to continue. That has got to be disproven. Although, would that even matter? Lieberman and Nelson and the other idiots would make up some new reason. Is there any more despicable quote you've ever heard in your life than "The big problem is the deficit. If the bill includes a public option, then as a matter of conscience, I will not let the bill come up for a vote." Every single thing about that sentence is deeply wrong. The ultimate "FIRST of all". Let's break it down:

1) The deficit: a) the bill will reduce the deficit. b) NOT passing reform is the surest way to increase the deficit to unsustainable levels. c) You, Joseph Lieberman, were perfectly happy to spend TRILLIONS of dollars on reckless tax cuts to the wealthiest estates and on military occupations that have cost more than 5000 American lives and made us far less safe. c) the deficit right now is necessary and actually a good thing as the government makes up for the loss of private demand with sound investments in health care and education and putting people to work. d) even if the deficit was a problem and this bill increased it, both of which are the OPPOSITE of true, it would still be a moral imperative to cover the uninsured and make health care affordable because it is a BASIC HUMAN RIGHT!

2) The public option: a) it's a weak public option, with opt-out provisions, that is only open to a tiny percentage of the population, not possible for people to get on the public rolls easily, so it's ludicrous to make that your focus. b) the inclusion of the public option brings down health care spending and the deficit, and the more people it's open to and the more robust it is, the more it brings down health care spending and the deficit, which SUPPOSEDLY are your biggest concerns. c) You, Joe Lieberman, specifically said that you were in favor of a strong public option when you were running for re-election. So in other words you flat-out lied to your constituents.

3) Matter of Conscience: Clearly stating that you are morally superior to these other legislators. What gives you that moral superiority, Joe? Your treachery to your party, your background, your religion and your constituents? Or is it your stupidity in advocating the Iraq War? What about your McCarthyite smears against real patriots by accusing them of supporting terrorism when they oppose wars and torture regimes that increase terrorism?

4) I will not let the bill come up for a vote: Think about how ridiculous that sounds on its face, even if you didn't know what he was talking about: "as a matter of conscience, I will not let a bill COME UP FOR A VOTE". You can vote against a bill as a matter of conscience, but how is it a matter of conscience to prevent a vote from even occurring, to deny majority role, to deny democracy? Although here what we're objecting to is much bigger than Joe Lieberman, it's the outrageously undemocratic filibuster that lets a minority prevent anything from even being voted upon. The Strike and I have seen how our home state of California has sunk from the pinnacle to the muddy ditch thanks to Prop 13 forcing 2/3 majorities to pass budgets and raise taxes, and in recent years the filibuster has served the same purpose for the federal government. The Democratic Party of Obama, Biden and Pelosi WON the election, and we won it with sweeping majorities, and there are massive problems to confront, and we have plans to help solve those problems. What a terrible system to directly deny the will of the voters and prevent government from solving pressing problems, all so the despicable likes of Joe Lieberman can feel really important and morally superior.

Good point by you about how Obama has handled Fort Hood far better than McCain would. Get an indication of how McCain would have handled it as the great Joe Lieberman said, "We don't have all the facts yet" (so why don't you just shut up then???) "but it seems clear that this was motivated by Islamic extremism, so this was a terrorist attack." UGGGH. Unsubstantiated, leaping-to-conclusions fear-mongering Muslim-bashing by Joe Lieberman? That's worked out well so far! God I hate him.

It seems clear to me that in order to pass health care, we're going to have to bust the filubuster. Which we have to do at some point anyway. I think Obama has to take it on, head-on. It is a completely ridiculous practice, totally unbased in the sacred Constitution that Dick Armey and Co. talk endlessly about, and we just can't have it. I'm not sure how you would go about doing this but when you control the freakin' Presidency and I think a majority of Senators would be on your side, you've got to play some serious hardball. I think a number of moderate Dems who are in that 44-53 category, more loyal than the traitors but still not assured, would actually be OK with this because it would actually seriously increase their power and leverage. Now they're taken for granted, every bill needs those last 5 Democrats. But if we just had to get to 50, then all the leverage would go to those who could put it over that threshold.

THE STRIKE: I think it is long past time to take on the filibuster. If Obama wages a hard campaign against the filibuster, and Senator Reid makes Republicans actually filibuster bills (have them stand there for 25 hours before they collapse), then the Obama agenda has a far greater chance of succeeding, our country has a far greater chance of improving, and the Democratic party has a far better chance at electoral success. The question for some Senate Democrats (the 44-53 crowd The Big Picture referred to) is whether it’s worth it to do away with the filibuster now knowing that we some day may have a right-wing President and a right-wing Senate. The answer is yes, it is worth it. Democrats will NEVER have lasting electoral success without significant legislative accomplishments, and won’t have legislative accomplishments unless they do away with the filibuster.

Especially because, while we can push for a total end to the filibuster, in the end we'll be happy to settle for some sort of compromise that is in keeping with the Senate's tradition of more deliberate debate, can't just jam things through.

But we gotta start the drumbeat for the end of the filibuster. We should e-mail Ezra - who obviously is on our side and has been saying this repeatedly - to really start pushing it. If we get the "End the Filibuster" movement to catch on like the public option did, get the netroots fired up, MSNBC pushing it hard. I think we should also set up a Facebook group. The biggest obstacle to all this - and the very reason that the filibuster is allowed to work - is that nobody knows it exists. How many people who aren't political junkies know that you need a 3/5 majority to pass anything in the Senate? But in that is also an advantage - the public has no sense of connection to the filibuster.

Of course the typical people will whine and raise a hue and cry about abandoning American tradition and being too partisan and on and on, but the point is, THEY'RE GOING TO SAY THAT NO MATTER WHAT WE DO. This is what Rachel Maddow said yesterday on Meet the Press, a great point, that no matter what we do, Democrats will be accused of being big taxers and spenders, so we can either face that accusation AND have double-digit unemployment, or we can say, well we're going to be accused of it anyway, so let's at least put millions of people back to work! Same thing with the filibuster. Nothing will do more for Democrats' approval ratings than ending the filibuster so we can actually accomplish our agenda, and not look weak and ineffectual. And Obama has got to do it, because otherwise his agenda and his Presidency will be failures.

The Daily Strike-10/27/09-Lieberman in the Dog House and Other Health Care Shenanigans

Good evening and welcome to the Daily Strike. This health care reform saga is getting too tumultuous for even a political junkie like myself. But it's my duty to inform of you what's going on, so here we go.

LIEBERMAN: The grassroots progressive community has found a new enemy. Actually, it has rediscovered one of its oldest and fiercest enemies. Today, Joe Lieberman, who promised when he ran for reelection in 2006 that he would support universal health care, said that he would vote to filibuster the Senate health care bill as it is currently written. He says he is inclined to vote for the cloture motion on the motion to proceed, so that the bill can come to the floor, but he is reserving the right to vote against shutting off debate on the bill itself. In other words, Lieberman is making no distinction between a procedural vote to move the bill forward, and the bill itself, a distinction he was happy to make in 2005 when he voted to cut off debate on a bankruptcy bill that he opposed.

Lieberman's reasons for opposing the bill are absolute baloney, and I say that with all due respect for the man. Here is his exact quote:

"I think a lot of people may think that the public option is free. It's not. It's going to cost the taxpayers and people who have health insurance now, and if it doesn't it's going to add terribly to the national debt...there's so much in this health reform legislation that is so good, that I think they're just putting an unnecessary burden on top of it by creating another Washington-based entitlement program."

Does Joe Lieberman know what the public option is? It will not cost the taxpayers one DIME because it will be funded like any other insurance plan, with customers paying premiums. Secondly, the Congressional Budget Office projects that the public option actually saves the government money, as much as $100 billion if it is based on Medicare payment rates. Finally, this is not an entitlement program! I can't even believe he said that. Again, people who use it will have to pay for it, and it will only be available to those who don't have health insurance through their employers, some 10% of the population.

Either he is just plain ignorant, or he's lying on behalf of the health insurance industry that is so prevalent in his state. Perhaps its both. Ezra Klein and others seem to think that once Lieberman is pushed around a little bit by members of his caucus, he won't get in the way of reform. I think there is some merit to that. He may just be positioning himself as an opponent to win whatever concessions he wants. Or he's still bitter about losing that primary to Ned Lamont in 2006. The bottom line is that the Democrats have such a small margin for error on health reform, that they have to rely on loons like Joe Lieberman. We shouldn't have to water down a perfectly good bill to win the support of people like Lieberman who have no clue what they're talking about.

Nate Silver sums this all up very well.

HEALTH CARE: Despite Lieberman's idiocy, Senator Reid is still planning on introducing the full health care bill in the next couple of days after he gets a cost estimate from the CBO. Over in the House, Majority Leader Hoyer said that Democrats will be ready to unveil their health care bill by Thursday. The caucus is still determining whether to include the "robust" public option, based on Medicare rates, or the watered down public option. Various reports indicate that Democrats don't have the votes for the former, and will therefore have to choose the latter, which won't make the liberal members happy, but probably won't cause many of them to vote against the bill. Either way, we're hearing that a decision will be made by the end of the day Thursday. Even if a bill comes to the floor late next week, a final vote may be pushed off members have enough time to debate the bill (or so we can save ourselves from Republican complaints about the process). We'll keep you posted.

THE WHITE HOUSE: The President made an unheralded by important announcement today in Florida that he is investing stimulus money into grants for smart electric grids (grids that produce "clean" electricity.) The President promised to create a "smarter, stronger and more secure electric grid" – and pledged to make clean energy "profitable." This may seem like an insignificant announcement, but it is the biggest investment ever in clean electricity grids. It's a reminder that however frustrated we can get with President Obama, he's still doing a lot of good things.

This evening, the President campaigned for Virginia Gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds who appears poised to get his clocked clean in next week's election. It makes you wonder whether Obama really wants to be a part of this likely political train wreck, though it seems like he made arrangements to campaign for Deeds before Republican Bob McDonnell surged to a large lead.

THE SENATE: The Senate today finally voted to proceed to consideration of a bill to extend unemployment. Democrats have been trying to pass this bill for weeks, but Republicans have held it up because they want to consider a bunch of unrelated amendments, including one dealing with ACORN (again!!). The Senate voted 87-13 to cut off debate on the motion to proceed to the bill. This means, that if Republicans are still bent on delaying action, we'll have to wait to vote on the actual motion to proceed to the bill, a motion to cut off debate on the bill itself, and then the bill itself. That could take the rest of the week if Republicans don't agree to any sort of time agreement. That agreement can only be reached through unanimous consent, which is impossible to get with so many crazy members on the Republican

The Senate is supposed to consider several other bills this week, including a continuing resolution.

THE HOUSE: Not much action in the House today. Members did vote for a Republican motion to instruct conferees on the Department of Interior Appropriations bill. No word on what this motion stipulated, but it's non-binding, so I tend not to occupy myself with it too much. The House also disposed of a few suspension bills. They'll move to more serious business tomorrow.

That's it for us tonight. Leave us some comments!!