Lieberman Rejected Filibusters On Other Bills He Opposed, But Not Health Care
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/27/lieberman-rejected-filibu_n_335744.html Sam Stein
First Posted: 10-27-09 03:01 PM | Updated: 10-27-09 03:24 PM
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) announced on Tuesday that he would vote to sustain a filibuster of health care legislation unless changes were made to the final product. The senator did say he would allow the measure to be debated on the floor of the Senate. But his unwillingness to ultimately support a cloture motion would likely result in the removal of a national public option from the legislative language.
By positioning himself as a major parliamentary hurdle to Democratic leadership, Lieberman is, undoubtedly, inviting an avalanche of admonishment from the party that made him a vice presidential candidate just nine years ago. He's also opening himself up to charges of political hypocrisy.
On at least three previous occasions, Lieberman has voted to stop a filibuster attempt on a bill that he ultimately opposed.
In March 2005, the senator joined 55 Republicans and 13 Democrats in backing cloture on a bill that made several significant changes to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, chief among them making it more difficult to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act ended up passing the Senate by a vote of 74 to 25, with Lieberman in the opposition.
In September 2006, Lieberman did the same thing. The senator voted to invoke cloture on The Secure Fence Act, which would have used advanced technologies -- including unmanned aerial vehicles, ground-based sensors, satellites, radar coverage, and cameras -- to create "operational control of the borders." The bill would pass by a vote of 80 to 19, with Lieberman joining many of the Democratic Party's more progressive members in voting nay.
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