They're Really Surprised
by digby
... thus proving that they're really morons:
Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) informed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in a face-to-face meeting on Sunday that he will vote against a health care bill that includes a public option or a provision that would expand Medicare, a Democrat Senate aide tells the Huffington Post.
The two Senators had a discussion in Reid's office shortly after Lieberman appeared on CBS's Face the Nation Sunday morning. The Connecticut Independent discussed with Reid some of his concerns about the legislation, elaborating on issues he had raised during the show. According to the source, who was briefed on the exchange, Lieberman punctuated the discussion by telling the majority leader directly that he would vote against the bill if the Medicare buy-in and public option provisions remained in it.
"Leadership was definitely a bit surprised with the lines being drawn in the sand the way they were," said the source. "We expected that he would say critical things about [the bill]. But he is not even giving us a chance to get it scored.
When Reid said "Joe Lieberman is the least of my problems" he was waving a red flag in his face. It's all about him. And he will not be ignored. And he will not vote for anything that liberals want, period. I don't know why they thought it would be any different. He's a sanctimonious, petty, vindictive egomaniac. But then, he always has been.
They might not get a bill at all at this point. If they go along with what Lieberman is demanding, the liberals can't vote for it. And President Snowe is pretty much with him, so there's not much help there.
If Obama and Reid actually formed their strategy around the idea that "Lieberman will come around," if the bill fails it's their fault. After what that man did during the presidential campaign there was no doubt that he had become a member of the opposition. He has been a trojan horse for the past year --- and everyone in the country but the head of the party could see it, apparentl
y.
There's still reconciliation, but that's a very unlikely path. We'll see.
Update: Ezra's got this exactly right. And since he writes at the Washington Post some of Holy Joe's Villager peers might read it and recoil just a little bit when they find themselves in the toxic Senator's presence.
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