Lieberman on Health Care in 2004:

[mb7588a]

GRIFFITH: This one came to me and has repeated to come to me from rockthevote.com.

We hear about health care coverage issues involving older voters, particularly prescription drugs, but young people also have serious challenges getting adequate health coverage.

How would your plan improve health insurance coverage for this new generation?

LIEBERMAN: Yes, a very important question. Let me say that there is a scandalous fact — really, a morally scandalous fact — which is that 43 million Americans don't have health insurance, 2 million more than when George Bush became president.

I must say, as I go around New Hampshire, I've learned a lot. People tell me that their number-one concern — middle-class families who have health insurance, how are they going to pay for it? And this goes for young, middle-aged and older.

I'm proposing to create a national health insurance pool from which — like the one that members of Congress get our insurance from. And we would say this: If you don't have insurance now, you'll be able to get it, probably free, if you're among the low-income working poor. If you're a child, you will be covered by insurance at birth. If you are fired from your work or lose your job, you will not lose your health insurance.

MediKids is part of my program. Every child born in America will become a member of MediKids, and it will cover them from birth through 25. Why 25? Because young adults have a hard time affording health insurance, and a lot of them think they're not going to get sick, but they do, and we need to cover them.
Source: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=74351

So, let me get this straight... Four and a half years ago, Lieberman favored health care reform that included a national exchange with insurance available, for free, to the poor and unemployed. Just how would that have been provided? Probably not by the government with tax dollars, but I'm guessing by a self-sustaining entity like the public option Obama proposed in his speech to Congress. Unless he was dreaming.

[HughMoran]

1. Fucking Republican hypocrite

Lieberman is no less of an ass hole than the worst back stabbing Republican.

Fucking Benedict Arnold - at least we know where Republicans stand.

[Skittles]

2. he is disgusting

[Jane Austin]

3. Did you find that?

It's a great catch.

Hope it gets spread around.

[mb7588a]

6. Yeah.

I was looking for legislative history, but his debate words are much more useful.

[Jane Austin]

7. Bravo!

For some great research!

[liberalpragmatist]

4. To be fair, he wasn't calling for a "public option" per se

He was calling for a national exchange. I gather that he meant the coverage would be subsidized for the poor or they'd be on Medicaid.

That being said, he IS being a hypocritical ass. One of his rationales for opposing the public option is that it's "a new entitlement" and "costs too much" or is "too much big government."

However, as part of the same health care plan, he proposed a universal single-payer plan for everyone under 25 called MediKids. That would have been far larger and more of a "big government" plan than the somewhat limited opt-out public plan being included in the Senate bill.

[Maru Kitteh]

5. That man has absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

[mb7588a]

8. Here's the other 2004 Democratic presidential candidates debate:

BROKAW: Senator?

LIEBERMAN: Tom, I wanted to respond first to what was said earlier by saying, again, that I'm the experienced moderate in this race. The experienced centrist.

And part of what that means is that I have the capacity not only to unite Democrats, but to get independents and disgruntled Republicans to come together so I can actually get elected and defeat George Bush.

But beyond that, it means that I have the capacity -- and my record over my career shows it -- to bring together people across party lines to get things done.

I'm sick and tired of the partisan reflex politics in Washington. The president's State of the Union, half the people stand up in Congress, half sit down. That's not good for America.

And one of the things we will do when we're one nation is to end the moral outrage of 44 million people without health insurance in the richest country in the world. Nine million children whose parents can't take them to the doctor when they get sick because they can't pay the bill.

I'm going to do that, and also help the millions who have insurance and can't pay it by creating national health insurance pools, like the one's members of Congress get our insurance from.

Promises when you're born a child in America, you get a membership card in MediKids, covers your insurance.

Two, if you lose your job, you will not lose your health insurance.

Three, underemployed, self-employed, small business, you can buy into this plan, it'll cost you a lot less, and, incidentally, you'll get drug benefits with it.

That's the kind of centrist leadership that produces results. And that's the kind of president America needs and I'll be.

Source: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=75118