White House orders capitulation to Lieberman

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to give in to all of Joe Lieberman’s demands.

So Reid did. We have a “health insurance reform” bill with no public option, no trigger, no Medicare buy-in. And it will probably continue to get worse from here.

There is no point in pretending that President Obama wanted any comprehensive bill to pass. There was zero pressure on Lieberman to cave, no talk of using the budget reconciliation process–only pressure on Reid to give Lieberman everything.

Emanuel didn’t just leave it to Reid to find a solution. Emanuel specifically suggested Reid give Lieberman the concessions he seeks on issues like the Medicare buy-in and triggers.

“It was all about ‘do what you’ve got to do to get it done. Drop whatever you’ve got to drop to get it done,” the aide said. All of Emanuel’s prescriptions, the source said, were aimed at appeasing Lieberman–not twisting his arm.

Organizing for America will get a rude awakening when they try to round up canvassers and phone bankers. All the volunteers and donors and voters who brought Obama where he is turned out to be less important than one senator from Connecticut who campaigned for John McCain.

Yes, you early Obama supporters out there have every right to be furious. My candidate before the caucuses turned out to be a jerk in his personal life, but he was right to warn against replacing “a group of corporate Republicans with a group of corporate Democrats.”

UPDATE: Darcy Burner explains why the Senate bill is worse than doing nothing on health care.

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desmoinesdem

  • Nothing will happen to Lieberman...he knows it.

    As I’ve mentioned before, not voting for the public option is not the pinnacle of treason, campaigning for McCain was…and even then, nothing happened to Joe.

    It would be absurd if:

    Joe wasn’t punished (chairmanship) for helping and voting for McCain, and actively campaigning against Barack Obama, but his desire to continue to a filibuster would be the tipping point, that would make Democrats say, oh…now it’s on!

    Oddly enough, I think I see more anti-Lieberman diaries over at kos now than I ever did in the Fall of 2008.

    I think everyone could (and would) make fun of the Democratic leadership for making this “No” threat on cloture their hill to die on with Joe.

    • frankly

      I wouldn’t be surprised if Obama used Lieberman to get out of keeping his campaign promises. There’s no evidence whatsoever that Obama tried to move Lieberman.

      Obama promised to cover everyone, control spiraling costs of health care, not impose an individual mandate, offer Americans a public health insurance options, let Medicare negotiate for lower drug prices, support reimportation of drugs from Canada, and not tax insurance benefits the way McCain wanted to.

      This bill will break almost every campaign promise Obama made on health care. And the president’s chief of staff wants Lieberman to get his way on everything.

      I am amazed that anyone tries to defend Obama’s conduct.

  • Ned Lamont

    People want to focus on Republicans helping Lieberman get re-elected again, but I have a feeling it was more about Ned Lamont not really knowing or seeming to care about some of the local issues.  Thanks Ned.  

    • it was also about

      the DSCC deciding not to get involved, because either way we would supposedly have a Democratic senator. Thanks DSCC.

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