In 2000, Joe Lieberman ran alongside Al Gore as his Vice Presidential candidate in the Presidential election. At that time, some eyebrows were raised, as it was believed that Lieberman was chosen for his ability to deliver the eastern seaboard, as well as his appeal to more conservative Democrats. But it was also Lieberman’s position as President Clinton’s most vocal Democratic critic that made both perfect sense, and caused one to scratch his head in confusion. If you recall, at that time, Clinton has just escaped his sexual scandal, and was basically retreating into silence in the last year of his Presidency. Democrats needed someone like Lieberman to help win New York and Florida, and to grab some of the conservative Independents from the Bush Campaign. Lieberman made perfect sense in that respect. His criticism of Clinton over the Lewinsky sex scandal made him more appealing to Americans who saw Al Gore as four more years of a Clinton White House.
Since that time, Joe Lieberman has been a Republican. Oh, I know he ran as a Democrat and then as an Independent, but he is a Republican through and through. He is also an egomaniac, repeatedly drawing attention to himself as the only Democrat to vote against many domestic liberal agendas. His most recent foray into the spotlight has shown Lieberman to support any health care reform that does not include a Public option; only to backtrack and tell Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that he also won’t support a health care reform bill that has a medicare buy-in included.
Basically, that’s the stance that Republicans have taken for the last seven months. No Public option! No to ending insurance rejection based on pre-existing conditions! No to ending rescission! Yes to forcing every American to buy bad health insurance!
Why? Why does Joe Lieberman support the health care status quo? If you look closely, he has always supported it. Under the so-called “party of the people,” the Gore-Lieberman ticket supported globalization, the death penalty, limited expansion of health coverage, and the allocation of federal resources for debt reduction rather than to rebuild inner cities or reduce black infant mortality. His position today against health care reform should be no surprise to Liberal Democrats. He is, in most respects, a Republican masquerading as an Independent.
Amongst his top ten contributors for the last five years are Purdue Pharma and Aetna. Also in that top ten were Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers. Simply stated, Joe Lieberman is in bed with the two industries that have either killed more Americans or cost more jobs than any other. Maybe he comes off as the apologetic father in Alf, (he certainly sounds and looks like him), but make no mistake; Joe Lieberman is as anti-American- small-guy as there exists in Washington today. He can frequently be found on the side of big business and corporations, and rarely votes in favor of issues that would benefit the little guy; you know, you and me.
All of this leads us to ask, why? Why, Joe? Why are you against health care reform? Why are you for giving favorable treatment to corporations that allow Americans to die, or kill their jobs? Why are you always for the big guy, and rarely for the little guy? Why are you an almost total sell-out to big insurers, Pharma, and Wall Street? Why are you against basic health care for all Americans, but for gigantic Wall Street bonuses? Why are you for Aetna, and against every other American’s healthy life? Why are you sleeping with Purdue Pharma while everyday Americans become sicker or die because they cannot afford the skyrocketing costs of medicine? Why, Joe Lieberman, why?
Why have you sold the American people out? Why have you sold your old party out? Why are you so hellbent on giving Independents a bad name? Why are you for Socialized Medicare for yourself while you leave the rest of America to fend for itself? Why are you against the same type of health care plan for all Americans that you received for free as a Senator?
Why, Joe Lieberman, did you promise to support a Public Option in your 2006 campaign if you had no intention of keeping your promise? Could it be because since the beginning of 2005, you have received over $1,000,000 in campaign contributions from the health insurance industry? Did you know, Joe, that most Americans won’t earn $1,000,000 in twenty years of hard labor? Yet you accepted more than that amount in the last five years from health insurers who use shady practices to withhold basic health care from all Americans while retaining very healthy profit margins.
Why, Joe Lieberman, why? What does that look like, Joe? Does it look like you have been bought by the health insurance industry? Does it have the appearance of outright bribery? Why, Joe Lieberman, why? Why have you put yourself in a position to look as corrupt as you do? Why does your stance against health care reform appear to be a position that health insurers had to give you more than one million dollars to purchase? Why, Joe, why?
POLITICAL PARTY POOPER 