Thank you Joe Lieberman (will Obama learn his lesson)

So after campaigning on universal health care, Lieberman (the second largest recipient in the senate of money from the insurance and medical industries), Lieberman insisted the public option be taken out of the Senate Bill. The Dems went along with him.

In its place they put in a provision that would lower the eligible age for Medicare to 55, something Joe was also in favor of. Now he has killed that provision as well.

Thank you Joe Lieberman for showing the voters of America your true colors (obstructionist lying Republican). Now that the Health Care Bill is completely gutted of anything that will lower costs for consumers the Republicans in the Senate are STILL united against it! Once again, thanks, this also allows the voters of America to see where the Republican party stands - against the American public.

So if Joe Lieberman or any Republicans still have their jobs after they come up for re-election, well then the voters are to blame, for it can not be more clear that they are not interested in helping the American people. This also applies to the "blue dog" democrats that have been working on behalf of the insurance industry throughout this process.

I agree with Howard Dean that this bill should now be killed. It, in fact, requires people to buy private insurance (with tax payer subsidies for the poor) while refusing to offer any option. This, in fact, will drive up costs and actually benefits the insurance companies that were the problem in the first place!!!

Now for Obama. He of course is proving to be quite a corporatist (unlike the socialist the Right tries to make him out to be) so maybe he is happy with this bill. But with that being said he needs to learn his lesson from Joe Lieberman! Joe campaigned against Obama in support of McCain. Then when there was talk of stripping Joe of his committee chairmanship Obama stepped in and said, we need to work together and not hold grudges. Obama has gone out of his way to get Republican support for this Health Bill and other legislation. Even though the Republicans went on record as saying they want this issue to fail in order to take out Obama.

So when will Obama learn the lesson that these Republicans (Joe included) are not to be worked with, much less catered to. Obama and the Democrats need to push for strong legislation, allow the Republicans to filibuster it if that is what they choose, and then make the point to the voters that the Republicans are obstructing progress and they need to go.

I want to see a strong, principled Obama, not a weak compromising Obama. I do realize that the latter is probably his true political self but it is proving ineffective against the united Republican front against the American People.