A Tin Foil Perspective About Joe Lieberman's Latest Shenanigans

[Vinnie From Indy]

It could all be planned. While it is certainly a tin foil idea, it could be that the Joe Lieberman incident is political theater designed to provide political cover for Democratic Senators that never wanted a decent, workable health care bill passed. Ol' Joe puts himself square in the middle of it all and threatens to halt the bill with a filibuster if the Senate does not do what he wants. Ultimately, he backs down or the bill is done in reconciliation without him. What matters is that a message is sent that there was a real high stakes battle that took place at the end and Democrats fought long and hard to get a bill done. What gets lost is that the bill that gets done after this battle is still the same piece of unworkable crap that has been discussed as the latest compromise bill.

Joe Lieberman could be doing a big favor for Democratic Senators like Evan Bayh. Bayh has tried desperately not to state a position on health care legislation beyond saying there is a problem. Now, he will be able to go back home and talk about what a great battle he fought at the end to help Americans without health care. The insurance companies that pay his family so well get what they want and he gets to campaign on his tough stance against Joe Lieberman to get health care legislation passed.

Joe Lieberman doesn't give a shit what people think of him. He has a few more years to sell his influence under the table and a lifetime thereafter to rake in millions above the table as an industry lobbyist.

Regardless of the wild speculation about this latest kerfluffle, it will be interesting to note how many of the Democrats in the Senate and in Obama's Admin. crow long and loud about fighting ferociously to get us the "compromise" bill.

[FrenchieCat]

1. Yep! Joe who supported John McCain last year,

is now in cahoots with some Democrats who supported Barack Obama last year.

Could be that those Democrats want to see the end of their party, one way or another.

Yep! that's the ticket! :sarcasm:

[elocs]

2. Occam's Razor: the most simple explanation is preferred.

The old, when you hear hoof beats think horses, not zebras. Unless you are on the plains of Africa and that is surely not the case here.

[ixion]

3. it is ALWAYS theater, IMO

without exception.

What the "official message" is and what the Truth is are normally two entirely separate things.

[Mz Pip]

4. Simple explanation

Joe Lieberman is an ass, a selr-absorbed egomaniac who has on overblown opinion of himself. I doubt he cares about Bayh, Lincoln or Nelson.

Bottom line is that the people want reform and a handful of Senators don't want to lose their cash cows.

All of this theater, if that is what it is really pisses me off. We got a call from the DNC a couple of weeks ago asking for donations. I told them to call me back when a decent health care bill passed. As an after thought I told thme to kick Lieberman out of his chairmanship.

I don't care about Republican support or whether Haddasah Lieberman keeps her job. I care about the 40,000 people a year who are dying because they don't have insurance.

So until that is fixed, Lieberman and the DNC can kiss my ass.

[Demoiselle]

5. Doesn't sound all that tin foil to me, Vinnie.

You're right about Toadface offering cover. Plus, they've all been keening and moaning about 60 votes to get themselves off the hook. Fact is, they could end the filibuster threat tomorrow if they really wanted to And then they could tell Joe and as many as 9 conservadems to go to hell. 50 votes and Biden is all they really need. They just have to have the will to do it. Sigh. The rest is just a charade.

[Individualist]

6. That's my opinion as well; it's political theater.

Nothing but a dog and pony show from the get go.