Sen. Joe Lieberman’s use of his swing vote to help quash a proposed expansion of Medicare marked the latest act in his deteriorating relationship with the Democratic Party.
Cheered nine years ago by Democrats as their vice presidential nominee, Mr. Lieberman left the party in 2006 after losing in the primary, then won reelection as an independent. He calls himself an Independent Democrat, but in recent months has increasingly won scorn among many in the Democratic base because of his opposition to liberal positions on health care.
The News Hub panel tackles why Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman is taking a stand against a public health-insurance option and expanding Medicare coverage.
Before with forcing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) to drop plans to expand Medicare to people ages 55 to 64 this week, Mr. Lieberman and a handful of others also kept a government-run insurance plan out of the Senate health-care bill, to the dismay of liberals.
Mr. Lieberman’s positions have infuriated Democrats in a way that those of wavering Democratic senators, such as Nebraska’s Ben Nelson and Arkansas’s Blanche Lincoln, haven’t. Those senators come from conservative states and appear to be searching for ways to support revamping health care while reflecting their constituents’ views.
Mr. Lieberman, in contrast, comes from liberal-leaning Connecticut and has announced his opposition in unusually absolutist terms — and at critical moments. He has said he is speaking out to ensure the bill is sound. Liberals accuse him of kowtowing to the insurance industry concentrated in his state and of seeking to gratify his ego.
Republicans see Mr. Lieberman as a voice of conscience. "I’m proud of him for standing up for what he believes in," said Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.), whose presidential campaign Mr. Lieberman supported.
On Tuesday, a day after Senate leaders jettisoned the Medicare expansion, the liberal group MoveOn.org held rallies outside the White House and Mr. Lieberman’s Hartford office. "It is absolutely absurd that after months of work, President Obama and the Democrats are letting one senator, Joe Lieberman, gut the health-care bill," said executive director Justin Ruben.
Mr. Lieberman’s Democratic Senate colleagues are more genteel than the liberal activists, but many are equally angry.
"I’m not impressed by anyone — Republicans, Sen. Lieberman or anybody else — who is impeding the progress of providing comprehensive, cost-effective health care to all Americans," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, a liberal Vermont independent who caucuses with the Democrats.
Mr. Lieberman appeared a bit chastened by the criticism Tuesday, telling reporters he is closer to supporting the bill. "I’m getting toward that position where I can say what I’ve wanted to say all along, that I’m ready to vote for health-care reform," he said.
Mr. Lieberman seemed open to expanding Medicare when senior Democrats agreed on the idea last week. But the proposal raised concerns, including from hospitals in Connecticut worried about Medicare’s lower reimbursement rates. Mr. Lieberman ultimately said the expansion would be costly for the government and for participants.
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Sen. Joe Lieberman
Critics note that Mr. Lieberman supported a Medicare expansion several years ago. "There is a large level of frustration among activists who have worked very intensively on health care…because of the startling and breathtaking leaps he’s capable of taking," said Roger Hickey, co-director of the liberal Campaign for America’s Future.
Mr. Lieberman said circumstances were different when he supported a Medicare expansion. "There wasn’t a bill on the floor, such as the one on the floor now, that would extend very generous subsidies to those 55- and 65-year-olds," he said. And he denied being influenced by the insurance industry, saying, "I’ve never hesitated to take on the insurance companies."
Mr. Lieberman’s journey has been a curious one. As Al Gore’s running mate in 2000, he was hailed by Democrats as a fresh face, a moral voice and the first Jew on a major-party ticket.
But his own presidential bid fizzled four years later, and by 2006 he faced a challenge from the left over his support for the Iraq war, prompting his departure from the party. In 2008, he pushed Democrats’ tolerance to the limit, endorsing Mr. McCain and speaking at the Republican Convention.
This year, many Democrats wanted to retaliate by stripping Mr. Lieberman of his Homeland Security Committee chairmanship, but the senator made an emotional appeal to his colleagues, and Messrs. Obama and Reid argued that punishing him would only hurt the Democrats.
Mr. Lieberman, 67 years old, doesn’t face re-election until 2012, and it is unclear how his health-care positions will play in his home state. As an independent, it may be more important for him to attract centrists than satisfy liberals.
—Greg Hitt contributed to this article.
Write to Naftali Bendavid at naftali.bendavid@wsj.com and Patrick Yoest at patrick.yoest@dowjones.com
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