Heh - Let the Stare-Down Begin!
By Dafydd
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT, 85% Dem) insists he can never vote for a version of ObamaCare that includes any kind of a public option or government-run health insurance.
And now Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL, unrated) swears that he can never vote for an ObamaCare bill that does not include a public option or government-run health insurance.
Lieberman cannot be intimidated by the Democratic leadership, because (a) he has a huge fan base in Connecticut, and (b) they already read him out of the party... and he won reelection anyway as an independent. Meet Mr. Immovable Object.
Burris cannot be intimidated by the Democratic leadership, because he is an appointee; as an appointee, he must run for reelection in 2010, if he is to stay in the Senate; yet despite having signed a candidacy statement, Burris later announced that he will not run for reelection next year. He is stepping down. Meet Mr. Irresistable Force.
I still suspect that somehow, somewhichway, one of the two will yield; but this may take longer than the few days remaining before Congress breaks for the rest of the year. When they return, it will be in an election year; and who wants to pass a massive tax and Medicare cut in an election year?
Burris may just be the tip of the ice cream; there are other very, very liberal senators in the Democratic caucus, and not all of them may be aboard the Chris Dodd express.
Keep watching the skies... |
