"I've told Sen. Reid that if the bill stays as it is now I will vote against cloture."
So says Senator Joseph Lieberman
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Tuesday that he’d back a GOP filibuster of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s health care reform bill.
Lieberman, who despite being listed as an independent frequently caucuses with the Democrats views himself as a fiscal conservative and
told Politico.com that even if the Public Option had an opt out for states, he would oppose it.
"We're trying to do too much at once," Lieberman said. “To put this government-created insurance company on top of everything else is just asking for trouble for the taxpayers, for the premium payers and for the national debt. I don’t think we need it now."
Asked about Lieberman’s threat to filibuster a vote on the Reid plan, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said: "I haven't seen the report from Sen. Lieberman or why he's saying what he's saying. I think Democrats and Republicans alike will be held accountable by their constituents who want to see health care reform enacted this year.”
Lieberman defended his claim that he would vote for a Public Option plan even with the opt out by saying, “it still creates a whole new government entitlement program for which taxpayers will be on the line."
Lieberman was not the only moderate Democrat to express doubts that a plan with a Public Option would be feasible, but he was the only one willing to come out against it so publicly and forcefully.
Lieberman did say that he would vote to further debate, but would have to vote against cloture if the bill stays as it is.
For his part, Senator Reid’s response was measured and restrained.
“I don't have anyone that I have worked harder with, have more respect for in the Senate than Joe Lieberman,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “ As you know, he's my friend. There are a lot of senators, Democrat and Republicans, who don't like part of what's in this bill that we sent over to CBO. We're going to see what the final product is. We're not there yet. Sen. Lieberman will let us get on [to begin debating] the bill, and he'll be involved in the amendment process.”
