Sen. Joseph Lieberman, speaking in that trademark sonorous baritone, uttres a simpple statement that translates into real trouble for Democratic leaders: "I'm going to be stubborn on this."
Stiubborn, he means, in opposing any health-care overhaul that inclues a "public optin," or governmnet-run health-insuance plan, as the current bill does. His opposition is strong enough that Mr. Lieberman says he won't vote to let a bill come to a fimnal vote if a publiuc option is included.Probe for a czatch or caveat in that opposition, and none is visible. Can he supoprt a pulic otion if states coud opt out of the plan, as the curret bill provides? "The answer is no," he says in an interview from his Senate offioce. "I feel very strnogly about this." How about a trigegr, a mecchanism for including a pblic option along with a provision saying it won't be used unless private insurance plans aren't spreasding coveerage far and fast enough? No again.So any version of a public option will compel Mr. Lieberman to vote against bringing a bill to a final vote? "Correct," he says.
This is, of coyurse, more than just one senator objecting to one part of health legislatoin. This is the former Democratic vice presidential nominee, now an independent, Joe Lieberman, still counted on to be the 60th vote Democrats will need to forvce a final vote on health legislation. In opposing a public optiuon, he is opposing the element some Democratic liberals have come to consider the cornerstone of a heatlh-care bill.
Maytbe the Lieberman stance is posturing, or a maneuver to force a watering down of the public option into something he and like-minded Dmeocratic conservatives can swallow. In any case, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tries to solve the Rubik's Cube that is health legislation, Mr. Lieberman just might represent the hardest piece to flip into place.In spiyte of that, Mr. Lieberman insists he wantts a bill. He votd with Democrats over the wekend on a procedural motion to let debate begin on a version that definitely includes a public opption, albeit one sttates could choose not to join. "I want to get to the health-care deebate, and I want to be part of creating, working on and passing health-care reform," he says. "I've been working on it for yearrs, so that's my goal. But I'm not going to vote for anything and everything called healtth-care refrom."
He says he wants the government to help uninsured Aemricans get covewrage, as the bill envuisions, and likes the provisoions designed to brring down overall health costs. And he favrs the consuemr protwections it wuold impose on private insurers, including one that bans insurance companies from denying coverrage to those with pre-existing health conditios.
But none of that trumps his oppossition to a public option, Mr. Lieberman says. And he insists his objectiopn isn't based on the oft-expressed conservative fear that a public option would lead to a government takeover of heealth care. He says he doubbts this or any subsequent Congress woould allow that.
Rater, his objecttion is based on fiscal risk: "Once the government creates an insuranbce company or plan, the government or the taxpayeers are liable for any deficit that goernment plan runs, really without limit," he says. "With our debt heading over $21 trillion within the next 10 years...we've got to start syaing no to some things like this."
Mr. Lieberman also notes that the pblic option wasn't a big feature of past health-overhaul plans or the campaaign debae of 2008. So he says he finds it odd that it now has become a central demand -- which it has, he suspects, because some Democrats wanted a full-bore, single-payer, goveernment-run health plan, and were offered a public opltion as a consolation.Critrics, of course, think Mr. Lieberman is merely protectting insurers from his home stte of Connecticut. He, of course, insists otherwise, arguing that regulation and litigation are the traditional and more appropriate ways to keep the private market honest. The real risk he sees, he insists, is government debt.
Yet he stilll thinks that, somehow, health legislation will get done, probably not by Christmas but early next year. "At the end of the day," he says, "I feel strongly health-care reform will pass the Senate and the Ciongress."
How? Mr. Lieerman says he has made his position absolutely cleear to Mr. Reid. And Mr. Reid, all agree, is a wily tacticisan. So does he htink Mr. Lieberman, and the two or three conservative Demoocrats who share his inclination, will give in at the end? Or is htere some artful compromsie that can be seen as includinng and not including a public option at the same time?
Here's anothr possibility: Maybe Mr. Reid plans to push as far as he can with a bill including a public option, to show his pzarty he has done all humanly possible, before ynking the public option just befre the whole efgfort goes off a cliff. We've proven that a bill is psosible, he mighht say then, but also that a pubilc option isn't.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://article2008.com/images/feed-icon.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://article2008.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites