public option ping pong. lieberman intercepts.

by: los anjalis

Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 08:00:00 AM PDT

As always, a pleasure to see both of these brilliant women talk this out.  And yes...

Jed Lewison shared that the people of Connecticut don't agree with Lieberman's assault on the healthcare reform bill:

From a Research 2000 poll, taken in Connecticut last month:

Do you favor or oppose creating a government-administered health insurance option that anyone can purchase to compete with private insurance plans?

        Favor     Oppose   Not Sure

All       68         21         11

For interesting non-healthcare related recent background on Lieberman, Hamsher mentioned one of Rachel Maddow's previous clips wondering what he was really doing for the Dem party (and that he was probably weakening the important Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs):

"The risk of leaving Lieberman there [homeland security chairman] is that we continue to have a wussy premier executive branch oversight body in Congress" -- Rachel Maddow

And when Rachel Maddow mentioned that the only investigation Lieberman has entertained conducting was one into why Obama's administration has so many 'czars'.  Hamsher answered that well -- with how an investigation into the war criminals Blackwater -- a company that our government continues to contract with -- should have been a target of a homeland security investigation instead.

One has to wonder how Lieberman is still chair of that committee, how he is still a powerful figure in the senate, and how Obama and the senate dems haven't taken him aside and kicked him in his knees yet.

UPDATE 10/29: The Progressive Change Campaign Committee has over 90,000 signatures on a petition asking that Lieberman be stripped of his committee chairmanship. check it out:

PETITION TO SENATE DEMOCRATS:

"Any Democratic senators -- including Joe Lieberman -- who support a Republican attempt to block a vote on health care reform should be stripped of their leadership titles. Americans deserve a clean up-or-down vote on health care reform that includes a public option."

Over 90,000 signatures and growing...