Herding Senate Cats

TW: When folks lament the Dems forward progress despite having "60" votes in the Senate, I respond they do not have 60 lock-step votes they have maybe 40 and a plethora of competing interests- Blue Dogs, egomaniacs and Joe Lieberman who bridges both cliques. Mr. Lieberman epitomizes the challenge of herding 50 cats, 9 blue dogs and one Lieberman pinscher.

At this point in his career, Lieberman has his own agendas and really could care less about the Dem Party. He walked lock-step with the neo-cons with the Iraq War, follows a rabid Likudnik foreign policy relative to the Middle East, wanted to keep Terry Schiavo on a ventilator in perpetuity and campaigned for McCain/Palin across the country etc. His presence in the Dem caucus is practically ceremonial. He was meant to be a Dem ally on domestic issues now he is applying the knife there as well.

Slow walking health care reform is directly equivalent to killing it, which he knows full well. He brings out the tired old excuse of lets wait until the recession over. Right Joe.

He knows any actual reform (and costs) will not truly kick in for at least a couple of years when the recession will be past (if not reform will be the least of our problems). He knows maintaining enough political momentum to pass reform is precarious now and with looming elections and Obama's natural declines in support the odds of that momentum being better next year or the year after are slim to none. He knows not getting reform done this year would be a huge political victory for the Republicans and a corresponding defeat to Obama. In other words, he is functionally a Republican now.

Please Connecticut get a good Dem to run against him next year.