Washington — On a recent Saturday afternoon, after completing his Sabbath morning prayers, Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut braved a four-mile, snowy walk to the Capitol building from his Georgetown synagogue.
“I have a responsibility to my constituents, really to my conscience, to be here on something as important as health care reform,” Lieberman told the congressional newspaper The Hill, describing his wish to combine his Jewish beliefs with his duties as a lawmaker.
By walking to a special Saturday Senate debate on health care reform, Lieberman was complying with the traditional religious ban against driving during the Sabbath. But Lieberman’s many critics in the Jewish community claim that the Connecticut independent is missing the broader Jewish concern.
“Health care reform is the key moral issue facing the country right now,” said one of those critics, Rabbi Charles Arian of Beth Jacob Synagogue in Norwich, Conn. “I will be personally disappointed if it stops dead in its tracks because Senator Lieberman invokes a filibuster.”
Lieberman has vowed to vote against ending a Republican filibuster of the health care reform bill that the Senate is now debating if it includes a government-run insurance program. Due to the Senate’s current balance of forces, that would effectively kill a historic effort to reform the country’s ramshackle health insurance system, which now excludes millions of people from obtaining health coverage.
Democrats are confident that they can pass the bill itself, which requires only a simple 51-vote majority. But with Senate Republicans united in opposition to the measure, the 60 votes needed under Senate rules to end debate and bring the bill to a vote require support from every non-Republican.
Lieberman’s threat is being met with harsh criticism within the Jewish community in Connecticut, where public-opinion surveys show that strong general majorities support a government-sponsored insurance option.
Widely seen as the key domestic cause for American Jews right now, health care reform has several national Jewish groups actively lobbying for it. Among them is Jewish Federations of North America, the umbrella organization for the nation’s local Jewish philanthropic federations, which are deeply involved in funding health care. But national Jewish organizations are not, by and large, focusing on Lieberman.
For some activists in Lieberman’s own community, however, the willingness of one of the most prominent Jewish lawmakers to bring down the legislation is especially painful.
Arian stressed that he does not expect Lieberman to represent the views of only the Jewish community — “just as I wouldn’t want a bishop to tell a Catholic congressman how to vote.” But he said it was Lieberman who has often “put himself out there” as representing religious values.
A similar sentiment was the driving force for another Connecticut rabbi who has gone public with his opposition to Lieberman’s approach. Rabbi Ron Fish from Congregation Beth El, a Conservative synagogue in Norwalk, decided to write an open letter to the senator. “For him to say that the public option is weighing on his conscience is a misuse of the term ‘conscience,’” Fish said.
Seventy clergy from different faiths have signed Fish’s letter, which states that “anyone who argues that faith and religious tradition should direct our actions, such a person must stand for universal healthcare in America.” Fish and other co-signers joined some 500 other Connecticut residents for a November 15 prayer vigil outside Lieberman’s apartment building in Stamford. “Because he invokes his Jewish identity and Jewish values so frequently, we, as a community, should speak to what he is saying,” Fish said.
Others in the community tried a quieter approach. Several local rabbis have been collecting signatures on a private letter to Lieberman stating their appreciation of the senator’s concerns but urging him to reconsider his all-or-nothing position. “Maybe he is looking for a way out of the corner,” said one local rabbi, who asked not to be named for fear of jeopardizing the outreach attempt. Organizers of the initiative are hoping to get 25 of the 50 pulpit rabbis in Connecticut to sign the letter.
Some of the more liberal rabbis in the community have refused to sign on to the private letter, arguing that it is too moderate in its language. Meanwhile, other leaders of the Connecticut Jewish community have been quietly trying to arrange a meeting with the senator. Though they are his constituents, as of yet he has not responded. These activists also declined to go on record for fear of jeopardizing their effort.
“There is a good cop, bad cop routine,” one rabbi said. “On the one hand, there are demonstrations outside his home; on the other, there are people trying to reach out behind the scenes.”
Most active on this issue are Reform and Conservative local leaders. Orthodox rabbis are generally refraining from joining in the criticism. But what appear scarce in Connecticut are any Jewish leaders who voice support for his stand. Lieberman’s rabbi, Joseph Ehrenkranz, rabbi emeritus of congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, did not return calls requesting an interview for this article.
Lieberman’s office also did not respond to several requests from the Forward for interviews or comments.
The Connecticut senator, caucusing with the Democrats, has been adamant in his refusal to compromise on the public-option issue, even as pressure has mounted from both Democratic leadership and the White House. He has argued that the public option was never part of the original health care reform and that it was added by liberals who see it as a step toward a single-payer system.
Lieberman was also noncommittal on a tentative compromise reached November 8 that would eliminate the public option in favor of a non-profit insurance program.
Lieberman rejects an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which concludes that adding the public option to the health care bill would be deficit-neutral. He believes that eventually the government will have “unlimited liability” to debt incurred by the public insurer, thus defeating attempts to deal with the growing national debt.
Synagogues and religious leaders in Connecticut have been leading the pressure campaign on Lieberman on their own, lacking public support from secular Jewish communal bodies. “We support health care reform, but stay away from the details of legislation,” explained Laura Zimmerman, director of the Hartford Jewish Community Relations Council. “We don’t have a consensus in the community on the public option.”
National Jewish organizations have also steered clear of the public-option debate, which they view as an argument over the details of the bill, not over the principle of reforming health care.
“There is no Jewish aspect for public option,” said Rabbi Steve Gutow, executive director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, “but there is a Jewish aspect for making health care affordable and available.”
Sammie Moshenberg, Washington director of the National Council of Jewish Women and a strong supporter of public option, said that her group is not targeting Lieberman specifically. “I don’t think we’d be more effective with him because we are a Jewish organization,” she said.
But Mark Pelavin, associate director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, said his group is focusing on battles where it can make a difference, and winning over Joe Lieberman is one of them. “Senator Lieberman is looking at the same Jewish texts that we are, and reaching opposite conclusions,” Pelavin said. The Connecticut Independent Democrat, he said, can be one of the toughest obstacles on the way to passing the legislation: “I’ve spent a lot of time in talks with Senator Lieberman, and he is not an easy person to sway.”
Contact Nathan Guttman at guttman@forward.com.
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Don't confuse healthcare reform in the political arena with charity, goodwill, or aid for people who need medical help. Senator Lieberman has to weigh the bill currently in the Senate on the basis of how well it will actually function to provide healthcare vs. its overall cost to society. It is not a moral question, or a question of faith. It is an operational debate, about how well this bill will perform. The intent, of course, is noble; to provide high quality medical care to all Americans, regardless of their economic position. But noble intentions can fail, and their inertia wasted, if their practical application is ineffective. I say support Senator Lieberman, he is weighing the bill on its merits, to see if it will do more harm than good for society as a whole. "First, do no harm."
If you would like to take a stand against the open corruption of our government please join us in requesting that our Senators return the millions they have accepted from the health care industry before they vote on this tainted bill. Lean more here:
http://www.votingbloc.org/Give_It_Back.php
Fawn Liebowitz of "Animal House" has become a thoughtful commentator. Who knew?
"Widely seen as the key domestic cause for American Jews right now": yeah, by a bunch of leftist Jews who long ago walk away from their faith and their people (even if some of them purport to be rabbis.
You write:
===================================================== Lieberman has vowed to vote against ending a Republican filibuster of the health care reform bill that the Senate is now debating if it includes a government-run insurance program. Due to the Senate’s current balance of forces, that would effectively kill a historic effort to reform the country’s ramshackle health insurance system, which now excludes millions of people from obtaining health coverage.
Democrats are confident that they can pass the bill itself, which requires only a simple 51-vote majority. But with Senate Republicans united in opposition to the measure, the 60 votes needed under Senate rules to end debate and bring the bill to a vote require support from every non-Republican. ================================================================
Senators are supposed to represent the constituents who live in their states. Senator Lieberman represents a state which has tens of thousands, perhaps more, of its citizens employed in insurance industry careers.
A government option might put many or most of them out of work.
You make no mention of this.
The Nutmeg State's senator has also said that he is against a health care bill which would drive a nail into the heart of this nation's economic engine. (I am aware of the mixed metaphore, but still.)
You make no mention of this.
You write, "Rabbi Ron Fish from Congregation Beth El, a Conservative synagogue in Norwalk, decided to write an open letter to the senator. “For him to say that the public option is weighing on his conscience is a misuse of the term ‘conscience,’” Fish said."
You ask us to assume that the conscience of Rabbi Ron Fish is superior to the conscience of Senator Lieberman. Yet other than the five letters preceding Ronald Fish's name, you offer no justification.
I have not always been a fan of Senator Lieberman. In this case, however, I am impressed by his cautions that the United States not allow the pressures of a new trillion dollar entitlement to cripple the nation's economic strength.
Even including Israel, this is the most remarkable and laudable nation which the planet has ever produced. Had it not been for the United States, World War II might have gone in an entirely different direction. There has been more opportunity and more achievement available for the Jewish people here than anywhere else in history.
If Sen. Lieberman believes that layering a trillion dollars of new entitlement expenses on what is already a burgeoning deficit, and national debt, why is that unconscionable?
Here, from his Senate web page, is what Lieberman has to say about health care reform. Funny you were incapable of stating his position:
=================================================== “I am encouraged by the progress toward a consensus on proposals to send to the Congressional Budget Office to review. I believe that it is important to pass legislation that expands access to the millions who do not have coverage, improves quality and lowers costs while not impeding our economic recovery or increasing the debt.
“My opposition to a government-run insurance option, including any option with a trigger, has been clear for months and remains my position today. ====================================================
ps
You entitle the above article "A Senator at Odds with his Constituents".
Pls note the following from Politico.com:
============================================================ Most ominously for Dems: Nearly two-thirds of registered voters polled said extending coverage to 30 million-plus people will result in a decline in the quality of their own health care. That gives plenty of room to the GOP to personalize attacks on the plan, Obama and Congress. =============================================
What justification do you have for the assertion that Sen. Lieberman is at odds with constituents? It is you that seem to be at odds with them; or at minimum, unaware of the widely disseminated polling of voter sentiment.
So, are you ignorant of the polling data, or are you aware of it but attempting to use these columns to foster a piece of legislation which all agree carries a price tag which could harm the nation?
There are many Jews opposed to the current Congressional Health Care proposal!
Because of the increased costs, the increased national debt, the governmental limits on treatment options in the bill and the general increase of governmental intrusion in individual life decisions, there are many good reasons to oppose the Obama Democratic Health Care bills.
The activists who are critical of Lieberman are mixing their political biases with their Jewish identity and claiming that their way is the Jewish way. This is nonsense!
There is no Jewish position on this particular proposal and to claim otherwise is the height of chutzpa - but the politically intolerant seem to have this chutzpa.
Lieberman represents a state which is home to medical insurance companies? I just wonder how much gelt they have donated to his campaigns.
Jewish people needs the public option. Health overall is vital for the Jews.
Din Rodhef to Mr. Joseph Lieberman.
Meilekh a moves zol zikh in dir libn, Mr. Lieberman, - The Angel of Death will fall in love with you!
The Joe Lieberman of old, perhaps the 2000 Democratic VP nominee, and most definitely, the promoter of Civil Rights in the Sixties would have sought the high ground and voted for a public option. But today we have a different man, a curmudgeon, who supported McCain (despite the fact Obama went to bat for Lieberman in 2006) and is married to a woman who worked for the Pharmaceutical lobby.
More often than not, the more religiously traditional the practitioner, the more conservative the politics. Religion plays little influence in an individual's ethics and moral compassion. Bernie Sanders strikes me as a secular Jew but his voting record reveals a decency Lieberman cannot match.
You write:
====================================================== Most active on this issue are Reform and Conservative local leaders. Orthodox rabbis are generally refraining from joining in the criticism. But what appear scarce in Connecticut are any Jewish leaders who voice support for his stand. Lieberman’s rabbi, Joseph Ehrenkranz, rabbi emeritus of congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, did not return calls requesting an interview for this article. ====================================================
This is particularly deceptive.
1. Most active on this issue are Reformed and Conservative. Of course, since Reformed and Conservative Jews are more likely to be Democrats. 2. Orthodox rabbis are generally refraining from joining in the criticsm. Isnt it fairer to say: 'Orthodox rabbis are generally refusing to comment'? 3. There could have been any number of reasons why the rabbi at Agudath Shalom didn't return your call.
The Society of Professional Journalists has a Code of Ethics, which includes in part
==================================================== Make certain that headlines, news teases and promotional material, photos, video, audio, graphics, sound bites and quotations do not misrepresent. =============================================== Your headline certainly misrepresents.
====================================================== Examine their own cultural values and avoid imposing those values on others. ===================================================== You certainly seem to be imposing own values on others.
=============================================== Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. ================================================ I would call this advocacy.
and finally ===================================================== Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond ==================================================== The Senator's views were/are generally available on his web site yet you conveniently chose to brush it all off with a statement that he was unavailable to your call.
As you appear to be violating several points of the Code of Ethics, don't you think you can try better next time?
Another indication it may be yourselves who are "At Odds with Your Constituents":
December 10, 2009 Jewish support for Obama continues to fall Rick Moran
A key Democratic party demographic - the Jewish vote - is continuing to fall away from the president.
A new Quinnipiac poll shows that Obama's support among American Jews has fallen to 52%, after a high of 83% last January.
Link: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/12/jewish_support_for_obama_conti.html
Who cares what a bunch of self-proclaimed representatives of the Jews claim? The Qunnipiac poll shows only 49% of Jews support the Democrats' health plan. Pelavin says that Jewish texts require support of a particular version of health care reform? That's completely absurd! Apparently, the RAC thinks that the Torah was given at Har Sinai to FDR, and that Obama is now the Cohen Gadol.
Thank G-d for Joe Lieberman!!! Nothing in our religion mandates that we support legislation that will bankrupt our country.
It is hardly a surprise that the man who held hands with Sarah Palin as he openly denounced the Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, is taking these positions now. It is impossible for me to say, as a Floridian, whether or not he accurately represents the people of Connecticut. It is also impossible for me to gauge the "Jewishness" of his position. I can only say that I find him to be a particularly traitorous, smug, self-righteous little weasel, and nothing he says or does surprises me.
At first glance, the idea of a public option sounds quite attractive. When you start thinking about it, though, you have to ask a serious question: How do we know that the government will run this program well? Answer: We don't.
Think about it. The government has been raiding the Social Security Trust Fund for years, and its long-term solvency is in doubt. Congress has also misused funds from the Highway Trust Fund. Finally, let's not forget all of the waste, fraud, and mismanagement in Medicare. Seldom discussed is its long-term solvency.
I can just see it now. The government will get its hands on millions of dollars in health care premiums. Congress will then divert part of this for other purposes, and issue IOUs to repay the fund. Eventually, the taxpayers will be left holding the bag because the U.S. Treasury won't be able to repay all of the IOUs, and a bailout or big tax increase will follow.
Thank G-d for Joe Lieberman! In England, the government run health system is a disaster. Let's not forget that a significant factor in the current economic mess that we're in was the misguided, soft hearted, foolish idea that banks should be forced to lend money to people who are unable to repay the loans. Likewise, we can tweak the system and legislate tort reform and buying insurance plans from other states----but that would take $$ out of the hands of the lawyers. Having government drive private insurers out of business and mismanage our health care system in NOT a Jewish value.
I'm an American who has lived most of his adult life in England. I also spend part of most years in the States. Any politician who suggested replacing our National Health Service with an American style private insurance scheme would be unlikely to get even one vote ! The British NHS has its full range of problems, as you are well aware, but at least every person is fully covered. Every Western country aside from the USA has a national insurance scheme and spends less than the USA while producing better results. In longevity of life Americans come number 47 -- yes forty-seven !!! According to a published study by Johns Hopkins about 30% of medical expenses in the USA are a waste on admin and unnecessary tests, and patients as often as not are still misdiagnosed. You may not be aware, but in England we also have private medical insurance from various non-profit groups, for those who want the extra luxury.
To: Joe Feld
Your posting in favor of publicly funded healthcare for all is duly noted.
What you fail to address is the point of the above article. Forward writer Nathan Guttman maintains that Sen. Joe Lieberman is "at odds with his constituents and some say his faith."
However, recent opinion polls suggest that the senator is reflective of rather than at odds with his constituents. Especially since many of his constituents stand to lose their insurance industry jobs in the event of a single payer system.
Furthermore, the article includes no support to the thesis that the senator is at odds with his faith. Suggesting that this is the case is the worst kind of journalism, in violation of the SPJ's Code of Ethics, and reprehensible.
It may be that Reformed rabbis and some Conservative ones disagree with the senator's position. Yet what can one expect from a denomination that has been described as "the Democratic party with music?"
If you choose to favor a single payer system, you are completely entitled to do so.
But surely you would agree that it is an issue with both costs and benefits. This article makes no attempt to define those costs nor benefits. Senator Lieberman has said, publicly and on his web site, that he fears an entitlement of this size might put the national balance sheet at risk. There is no mention of that in this article.
Whatever your view on public health delivery, you have to admit this to be a very one sided presentation.
You might even agree that just as there are awards for community service in journalism, there should be penalties for scurilous works such as this one.
Like it or not, health care may be the issue of the day for the Democratic Party, but the fact that heterodox clergy claim that it is a Jewish issue hardly makes it so, especially when the main basis of financing the same is rationing care to the elderly and infirm.
Go Joe!!!! Don't believe the propaganda that all Jews are lockstep Obamabots. The current Democratic "all or nothing" plan to reform healthcare is a giant diaster. I have to laugh at those who accuse the Senator of acting for insurance companies. It is plain and obvious that the Democratic Party is a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Bar Association. Even Howard Dean has acknowledged that the Dems will never support Tort Reform - without which you will never lower health care costs - while they get so much money from lawyers. The latest plan (still secret...I love the open government that Obama brought to Washington... I never knew the definition of "open" was "closed door") from Harry Reid to throw millions more people into Medicare, a plan already on the verge of bankruptcy, is being given thumbs down by no less than the Mayo Clinic, doctors, hospitals and will end up costing most in the middle class more money!
A note on the UK system...all my British relatives agree that they wouldn't trade it, but they ALL ALSO have private insurance. Hmmm... so if its so great...? Not to mention that their death rates from many forms of cancer are much higher than in the US.
Joe Lieberman has the strength of character to call a terrible plan what it is. the Democrats in both houses are drunk on spending and whores to unions. I wonder how many people supporting the bills have read them? As a registered Democrat I am sickened and appalled by the actions of my party.
simpler way to do it - start by going after all the fraud and waste in Medicare and Medicaid NOW. Pass Tort Reform so doctors don't have to perform tests to protect themselves from lawsuits and their malpractice insurance costs can go down. Pass laws to make it possible to purchase health insurance across state lines so it will be more competitive, like car insurance, etc. Just starting on these points will get us going.
Go Joe!!!! Mazel Tov!!!
OMG! Do none of you read? Both Lieberman and his wife take millions from Health Insurance companies and his wife sits on the board of one of them. They are bought and sold. There is no moral imperative to his obstruction, just the insatiable desire to stay in power. A pox on he and his family.
I don't think I've ever posted a comment here before, but this article is very disturbing. Nothing in Jewish law or tradition requires support for either a conservative or liberal position on specific approaches to health insurance.
I don't want to get into the details of the merits and flaws of a public option or the approaches of other countries. The issue of importance in this article is the profoundly stupid claim of some Jews that Judaism requires a specific position on whether there should be an option to purchase health insurance from the United States government.
I am appalled that any group would take this position or that The Forward would consider it newsworthy. Though the nearby editorial suggests that The Forward may also have a misconception that Moses brought the Democratic platform down from Mount Sinai.
Back in 2000 when Joe Lieberman was nominated for Vice President with Al Gore, universal health insurance was a major component in their campaign. Al Gore stressed its' necessity in his acceptance speech. Back then Lieberman was 100% behind Gore regarding national health insurance. Why the 180 degree turn about?
this is not a news article, this is a stupid editorial. The Senator is a great man, who reconizes the danger to Jews from the left, who falsely call themselves "Liberals". Wake up Foward...!
I could understand if Sen. Lieberman would simply vote against health care reform w/ public option, but I can't fathom him standing in the way of bringing the vote to the Senate floor...Wow, I'm disappointed in him.
It appears that JR Lewis doesnt understand how the Senate works.
Other than feelings being expressed, and realities of politics, I don't see the nexus of this issue expressed above.
What is the righteous choice -- AND WHY (with data and a Torah reference or two).
This might give some insight into Joe Lieberman's values.
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cycle=2008&type=I&cid=N00000616&newMem=N
Top 20 Contributors to Campaign Cmte
Rank ↓ Contributor ↓ Total ↓ Indivs ↓ PACs ↓ 1 United Technologies $189,000 $174,000 $15,000 2 Lehman Brothers $154,650 $147,150 $7,500 3 Purdue Pharma $138,600 $123,600 $15,000 4 Sempra Energy $131,850 $116,850 $15,000 5 UBS AG $108,000 $93,000 $15,000 6 Bear Stearns $103,260 $103,260 $0 7 Citigroup Inc $91,450 $81,450 $10,000 8 Aetna Inc $86,950 $71,950 $15,000 9 Hartford Financial Services $77,200 $62,200 $15,000 10 H&S Ventures $75,200 $75,200 $0 11 DKR Capital $74,900 $74,900 $0 12 Kleiner, Perkins et al $69,600 $69,600 $0 13 Irell & Manella $69,200 $69,200 $0 14 International Specialty Products $65,100 $65,100 $0 15 Goldman Sachs $62,850 $62,850 $0 16 Forest City Enterprises $60,400 $60,400 $0 17 Duty Free Americas $58,200 $58,200 $0 18 Schiffrin & Barroway $56,550 $56,550 $0 19 AIMCO $56,300 $56,300 $0 20 Credit Suisse Group $55,500 $50,500 $5,000
Kindly allow the opinion of a non-Jew on Senator Lieberman: Is it not true that in his many years as an Orthodox Jew and in line with those traditional and accepted beliefs this same man was strongly opposed to abortions? Is it further true that upon being nominated as Al Gore's running mate in the 2000 presidential election, candidate Lieberman had suddenly managed to morph himself into a pro-choice candidate for Vice President? Based on the foregoing, would it be appropriate to call into question the very character of this public man? I should be pleased if someone could enlighten me on this question.
The idea that Lieberman is acting on any principle here, other than the principle of rewarding your contributors, is risible.
Our bold American experiment with private health care insurance has failed the public miserably. Thank you, Nixon. Now, will the government do it even worse? quite a challenge! And if so then I guess every other industrial nation has a better government than ours.
Bernie Sanders is technically Jewish, ( his father was my grandfathers lawyer and the real name was Bergman) but I digress. I'd be interested to see when the forward runs an editorial about him and his sellouts.
Hymie, You really need to tone down your vitriol. You are not acting very "Jewish" You do not own Judaism or the Jewish people. You might be better off in the Occupied Territories with the other off kilter Chosen Folk.
"A Senator at Odds With His Constituents — And, Some Say, His Faith" Has The Forward become the self-appointed (and possibly self-deluding) arbiter of what is good and "proper" for American Jews? Is the editorial board of your publication the "some" who say that the senator is somehow "not true to his roots?" Is it possible that you and your fanatical supporters who are out of step, and that your interpretations put through the seeve of your are outdated political visions, no longer relevant to the current reality? Possible.
The missing part of this "health care" nonsense is that there is NO HEALTH in the health care proposals. It is just a medical insurance bill that deals only with paying for drugs and surgery. It does NOTHING to reform the highly unhealth living habits of so many Americans and which cause chronic illness. It also excludes insurance coverage of alternative therapies that are less dangerous and less costly than mainline medicine. How ironic that we Jews, with all our doctors and psychologists, are at least as sick and nutty as everyone else. All the intellectuals in the country fail to notice this colossal omission. And the Jews are as dumb as everyone else and we argue and bicker over total nonsense. There is also good health advice in our Torah but both the secular and religious Jews are united in blindly ignoring it all. Oy gevalt!!!
It is my personal opinion that it is time for Senator Lieberman to retire or withdraw from public service.His view that a public option should not be in the medical overhaul is simply idiotic. What does he think Medicare is, chopped liver? The Democrats should remove him from any seniority positions in the senate and oppose him if he runs for re-election.
Senator Lieberman has very publicly come out in support of Health Reform. That does not mean, however, that he must past a bill at all costs, regardless of its content. We have already seen too much legislation fast tracked in the past year, where party pressures rushed through laws that neither our congressional representatives, nor the constituencies they served, had an opportunity to read, let alone digest, content. Lieberman is showing the greatest respect for Judaism and its sense of morality. He is simply refusing a public option that may not be well written or in the best interest of the citizens of our country.
Perhaps, rather than condemning the legislator we could listen to the causes for his objections, and do something to improve the proposals that he will not approve. Maybe then even a public option would be acceptable to all, Democrats, Republicans and independents.
Good article, Nathan Guttman.
I think you accurately portray the main issue here: Jewish senator, from a place where most Jews would like to see a health care system that covers everyone, threatens to kill any bill that isn't precisely to his liking. And a good number of rabbis and others resolve to do something about it, if they can.
I wish them luck. But Senator Lieberman does have a big ego, an ego that long predates his being a senator. And most of the strokes to that ego of late have come from the Republicans. I hope I'm wrong and their appeal is successful.
I just cannot imagine Jewish doctors en masse supporting a health plan that would undercut their income by so many thousands of dollars, just to prove some point or another. As far as Leiberman is concerned, I hope the readers of the Forward realize that spending so many trillions of dollars eventually will lead to the collapse of this nation. The end result will be the destruction of Jewry and the American experience.
It is interesting that all the letters in support of health care and this article attacking Senator Lieberman are insults and other forms of character assassination. No one has a rational argument for supporting this foolish bill. We have a government run by socialists trying to grab power and bring us one step closer to world government. This way these do nothing elites can decide how to run your life using your tax money.
Liberalism is not a religion even if many Reform & Conservative rabbis think so. Tikkun Olam does not mean Liberalism. Liberalism is a mental disorder.
Senator Lieberman was rejected by the Democratics voters of Connecticut and only won with Republican support. He is not in the same position he once was, he has to straddle the fence or he doesn't stand a chance in the next election. Most of those who criticize him also didn't and won't vote for him. So, how do you expect to influence him. Judaism is not synonymous with supporting a specific health care plan or a specific political party. There is room in Judaism for Republicans and for less liberal Democrats.
I wonder whether the Senator represents himself or does he represents the people in Connecticut!!
To John; I guess his reelection answers your question!
It is a trick of editing to crop down the face of a subject to be ridiculed, but to expand out to a full setting the form of one whose positions the editor favor.
The boxing pic of Salita, for example, includes the entire ring and other folks. Zero Mostel's pic is full face. J.J. Goldberg's characterization is more or less full face.
The editors' dislike of Senator Lieberman was in evidence before a single word was reduced to print.
It would have been more appropriate to cut down to Nathan Guttman's yellowey teeth, and to have chosen any of these for the senator
http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4GGLL_en&q=senator+lieberman+pic&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=yeUkS-aTH5W3ngfmncHzCQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBQQsAQwAA
I am for health care reform, but not what is being pushed through congress. I support Senator Lieberman's objections. To those that say he is not listening to his constituents--it is not true--he is listening to me.
To John; I guess his reelection answers your question!
Joe Lieberman of the "Connecticut for Lieberman Party" fails to reflect Jewish values in his public policy preferences.
As a fully owned servant of the insurance industry, he is a slave to secular power.
He of all people, an observant Jew, should have known better than to have sold his soul to the highest bidder.
He is beyond redemption. People, Jews and non-Jews, will die because of the choices he is making.
I suspect he sleeps well at night, as only a man without a conscience can do.
Their many words and many opinion, and know alls....but have any of you given up your words and concerns to G-D, I pray you do. Pray that All that are in leadership are lead to do what is good for the people.
To lead, or serve people, this is not easy. And if he has a eggo, pray for that to go.... We can do nothing good in our selves, only G-D is good, for we all fall short. It is through G-D working in our lives that good can come.
So Sanator Lieberman if it is true about your big ego, that Joe Buckwald Gelles states...give it to G-D, and been seen by G-D and mankind to be more humble. our prayers are with you
Izzy, Lieberman will have a more difficult time getting reelected the next time around. Republicans and plus some residual Democrats who tipped the balance in the last election. But the proof is in the pudding after this recent term. He abrogated his commitment to moral issues and the majority of moderate and liberal voters in Connecticut.
I would not worry about Joe in defeat. He can always find a high paying position with the Insurance lobby or perhaps AIPAC.
To: Mike (who is ashamed to put up his real name)
You write
======================================================================= Joe Lieberman of the "Connecticut for Lieberman Party" fails to reflect Jewish values in his public policy preferences.
He is beyond redemption. People, Jews and non-Jews, will die because of the choices he is making. =======================================================================
Joe Lieberman represents the citizens of the State of Connecticut. They have elections there, and if the folks don't approve of his actions, they will vote him out. He is not elected to "reflect Jewish values in his public policy preferences."
To say, as you do and without justification, that folks will die because of choices the Senator is making, is talking nonsense.
I could suggest that you consider a colonoscopy to clean up the logic you bring to this discussion, but that would make about as much sense as your posting.
There are costs and benefits to any decision a nation makes re health care, or any other major sector of the economy. You make no assertion re either, other than that the Senator doesnt reflect Jewish values and that people will die.
Sen Lieberman cautions that a trillion dollar plus expansion of health care entitlements at this point could damage the nation's balance sheet, could trash its currency, could impair its standing in the world. And you say?
Sen. Leiberman barely was able to retain his office when these "Liberal" Democracts abandoned him in their Liberal Democract Primary. Other more Traditional Jews and Gentiles show him as a man of stolid moral and personal values and the majority of the Connecticut voting public still found him to be their representative, in spite of the "Liberal" Jewish disaffection.
These same self-serving Liberals Jews still toss toxin "liberally' around when someone disagrees with them. A shanda upon them and their cursing tongues. Do they think their profane utterances will actually "scare" anyone. It reduces their statements to those of the same ilk who curse us all and threaten us all. It those who have declared war on us and continually threaten us with the fury of the Ummah.
After all these years and in spite of the personal and political risks that Lieberman has taken - he is still the paradigm of independence and caretaker of Traditional Jewish Values.
Does any other Jewish Senator still observe the Shabbat as closely as Sen Liberman does ? Or is their observance as flexible as their values ?
I say to Sen. Lieberman, retain your values and maintain your personal stance regarding both politics and honor.
Zay gesunt!
Thank God for Liberman, Its Obama who has no clue as to what is going on in this cou8ntry. All you ever see him do, go to dinner parties, make speeches, his wife does Florance nighting Gale act. In New york city there will be another 3000 people out of work on Dec 31 in the service sector, more on wall street. Wall street is not coming back. There are no new jobs created. They are cutting school kids bus passes out to save money. A family , on unemployment, or no money will have to shell out for there kids go to school. What ever happened no chiold left behind. Bloom berg and Obama, and Patterson, shelton silver . are full of themselves. Re Liberman, you know where he stands. no healtcare fix. it is fuzzy healthcare, like 3 card monty have to guess, get an attorney to read fine print. A bandaid for a big wound. Liberman is smart to block it, he knows the plan is a phoney one to shut the people up, say , yes we have a plan, where there is only a stealth plan, that does not exist.
"He is not elected to "reflect Jewish values in his public policy preferences." "
He was elected along with the rest of us at Sinai... (or shall we say we elected ourselves? you can have it either way)... and his command was to reflect Jewish values in every choice he makes, public and private. As an observant Jew he knows that even if you don't, or don't believe it.
His obligation to do the right thing exceeds, supersedes, ANY obligation to follow an unethical path, even if it is mandated by a political majority... but of course polls now show that he doesn't even have a political majority for his position on health insurance and health system reform. He couldn't be re-elected today. He represents only his home state insurers.
Senator Lieberman's party was created to be devoted to one thing and one thing only, the personal interests of Senator Lieberman. He's the only Senate member in history that I can recall that had the hubris to name his political party after himself. I mean really, this in itself, tells you everything you need to know about the man. He didn't even bother with "Lieberman for Connecticut"... oh no... it's "Connecticut for Lieberman". It's all about Joe. Ewww.
We spend more than most countries on health care and get far less. Lieberman's approach will cost money, not save it. A single payer plan or a strong public option that would gradually take market share from the insurers who own his soul, control costs, and could begin to solve the problem, and begin to save the 44,000 lives that are lost in this country each year due to lack of health insurance.
Lieberman is in bed with the blood suckers, the health insurance companies of America. He can't talk or explain his way out of that spot.
There will be an accounting, if not in this world, then in the next.
There WOULD be an accounting at the next election too, but he won't run because he knows he'll be toast.
To: Mike
You write: "A single payer plan or a strong public option that would gradually take market share from the insurers who own his soul, control costs, and could begin to solve the problem, and begin to save the 44,000 lives that are lost in this country each year due to lack of health insurance."
You apparently believe that a single payer plan...would gradually take market share from the insurers.
In other words, it will vaporize thousands of Connecticut insurance jobs.
You apparently believe that such a plan would "control costs and begin to solve the problem.
You probably agree that uncounted numbers of patients endure too many medical tests because doctors are practicing defensive medicine. Yet you make no mention of tort reform, which could reduce costs.
You seem to think that more competition would reduce costs, yet you make no mention of making it possible to buy health insurance from out of state underwriters.
Instead you would fire massive numbers of Connecticut financial service employees, transfering their work to some kind of Federal civil service for health care.
Even the President's own party leaders are suggesting that a Value Added Tax may be necessary to cover the costs of health care 'reform'. If what is essentially a federal sales tax takes money out of the hands of most Americans, consumer demand will fall. Economic growth will diminish.
You make no mention of this. You are like a child at Toys R Us, looking at merchandise on all the shelves, saying, "I neeeeed it." Paying for it? Doesnt cross your mind.
Yours is not a cost-and-benefits world. Yours is a benefits-and-someone-else's-costs world. And if those someone elses include insurance workers in Connecticut, you don't care. If the economy shrinks, the dollar falls, the nation is weakened, you don't care.
Health care reform that doesn't bankrupt the country and reduce medicare benefits to over 65's is the key moral issue facing the country, contrary to what this Reform rabbi and the rest of Obama's Left-wing constituency are pushing.
"In other words, it will vaporize thousands of Connecticut insurance jobs."
Cry me a river.
Medicare pays 97% of every dollar for actual care... and due to cost controls, it gets that care at a lower price.
Those private insurers pay 85% or less of each dollar on medical care... the rest pays for all those nice middle class insurance jobs and insurance company profits. Sure, there's a nice constituency for those jobs in Connecticut, but you do understand that it's blood money don't you? And Connecticut for Lieberman is all about defending that blood money, and channeling it to server Joe's personal career interests?
Those jobs are actually part of the insurance companies' strategy for maintaining their stranglehold on the system, making themselves politically necessary. Wake up. What are insurance companies? They are a system for extracting 20% of each dollar for profits, big executive salaries and a middle class insurance jobs program. I think the US economy has plenty more good that it can accomplish with those dollars.
"Paying for it" is exactly what health reform is all about, and it requires a strong federal government operating in the public interest, at a near 100% loss ratio (97% wouldn't be bad), and forcing cost savings on the health care system in all the ways that a monopsony buyer can and should do with a public service like roads, the military or health care.
You've got one thing right. I don't give a damn about middle class insurance jobs. I feel for the disruption that career changes create for individuals, but we can't get people out of the health insurance industry fast enough. This is a sector that produces NOTHING of value and constitutes an anchor on US productivity, which is the real engine that needs to work to pay for health care for all.
Getting rid of jobs like those is a critical part of reducing the percentage of GDP devoted to health care to a level that will make our economy competitive with nations that have a modern health care system that enables them to be internationally competitive.
The insurance agency,underwriter are middlemen just passing the cost along to consumer.We need to look at why providers be it a hospital or drugmaker is charging such high prices in the first place.
Connecticut should be ashamed of itself for electing Liberman to the senate. Re-call him already!
Kellis, my friend, scripture, I know well, Healthcare, Iam lost. I just pray a lot about it.
But having Liberman in senate, I do know it is the best thing that could of happen to us all.
So, big deal he wallks on Saturday,....he tinks it is ok and I do not. But do I think he is not the man for office....I do not! He should run again...think bigger.
The man is navigating the storm. Lieberman is looking not a Christmas to give the people a Christmas gift. No, no, no, he is looking more down the road and your tax money. He does not want a bill that will in future years put us further into deficit. I liked what he said, "The bill itself does a lot to bring 30 million people into the system. We don't need to keep adding onto the back of this horse, or we're going to break the horse's back and get nothing done."
Yes, heard it before, an old saying....but ...so true.
Leaders, must be strong...Lieberman does not back down when he believes something must be done. He demands they resolve intraparty disputes over insurance coverage for abortion.
He faces reality looks deep, stated he has not read it yet! He is in the spotlight and is still following a true course. He a strong leader you want les than that.
He goes on offense and focus on winning now and down the road. He wants to set a standard that will make it work stronger over time.
Lieberman is a forward-thinking a strong leader, Christmas to Lieberman looks like their looking at -any-cost----"A QUICK FIX" in attempting to save face. And he is not backing down to them..
You get what you pay for when you go for the "QUICK FIX'!
Connecticut picked the right man...he will save us down the road.
Sen. Lieberman & the entire Republican apparatus did not come to the rescue of a failed healthcare system. Instead, they have become the naysayers of a plan to make healthcare affordable to all citizens of the land. The Dems have always tried to improve on this failed, barbaric, special-interest, insurance-driven system. Insurance companies must get out of the healthcare & well=being of America.Senator Lieberman ought to join the party of : Guns, Abortion amd unregulated jungle economics.
I fail to see how you have been ordained by God, Karl Marx, or anyone else to decide what an matter of conscience is. In this country we pretend to honor those who act on their beliefs, while we reserve the right to determine which beliefs it is ok to act on. Right On
Dear Joe - The American people should have access to the same - no more, no less - health care (paid for by American taxpayers)that their elected officals have, so drop the phony concerns and obfuscation.
We should either get rid of the filibuster, which gives the minority veto power - not influence, veto power - which is undemocratic to the core, or get rid of the senate, which is an outdated institution that gives undue influence to states that have more sheep than people. My recollection is that the framers of the Constitution understood that "majority" means 51%, not 60%. The empowerment of Joe Lieberman by the Senate shows how far abuses can go under the current system. Whatever you think of health care reform, we are looking at a tyrannical structure in the Senate.
Senator Joe Lieberman's Liberal-leftist critic's should be the ones to pay for this Gov't sponsored health care train wreck! I believe the Senator believes in whats right for America, not what's the popular PC alternative. IE; another wel fare state edict from Dee Kongress of Tax & $peeeend! Yeah, Yah Gots Dat Rite, Baby! Jus U Axe Me Now! Yessah King Kongress Gots Mo Dollahs Dan Dee Crips & Bloods, HA HA Ahmaryca! Zip Dee Doo Dah!!!!!!
Regardless of what anybody thinks about Joe Lieberman, we all have to admit that he is right in thinking that a Healthcare System run by the government, would allow the government to screw it up as badly as they have done Social Security, which has been Broke since that Dunce Ford was in Office ... What we need, is a Healthcare System that guarantees every Citizen the Finest Medical Care available in the world, No Pre-Existing Conditions Escape Clause, No Waiting Periods, No Co-Pays, and No Limits ... that is PAID FOR by the government, but Administered by each State, individually ... Uniform in application, but fully independent insofar as how their Money is spent and their part of the System is operated Full Accountability to the Voters,but NO FEDERAL CONTROL or MEDDLING ... Easily paid for by abolishing the still UNConstitutionally Illegal Personal Income Tax, and the Gestapo-IRS along with it(what DOES an Accountant need with a gun ???)and going to an across the board, Value Added Tax of 20% on every Consummable item ... That may seem high, but Income Taxes already start higher than that ....... NO Personal Income Tax, but VAT ... everybody Pays, on what they consume, so it shouldn't bother them that there is a 20% Tax on things which they don't consume ... NO Collection difficulties, NO, "Enforcement" by the Jack-Booted Fourth Reich, and none of the costs of maintaining those illegal Agencies ... There IS NO Constitutional Provision for an Internal Revenue Agency We need to return to the Founders' Original Concept of NO Strong Central Government(Monarchy) STATES' RIGHTS ... DC was meant to be a meeting place for "Representatives" so that they could share News and learn from one another, and share in the development of the country ... Not for Congress to become a Star Chamber, violating God-Given and Constitutionally Guarantee'd RIGHTS at every turn ... Joe Lieberman is a True Conservative, an Intelligent and very Reasonable man ... All of his work has been predicated upon the Values he was raised with, and those Values are as much a part of him as his name ... We all need to let him know what we want, and support him, whether we are constituents or not ...
HAPPY CHANUKKAH !!!
DOC Z
Comment pro and con re: Joe Lieberman might give us clues to mindsets of commentators. Lieberman's detractors semingly can't digest majority of voters re-electing him last time around, running as an independent candidate against a millionaire opponent. And virtually ignored by most hysterical commentators are reasons and purpose for Senator Lieberman's opposition to presently constituted healthcare legislation.
In it's present form it can bankrupt the nation, scuttle Medicare and raise costs of reduced medical coverage for 95% of Americans.
I don't doubt President Obama will eventually realize these unsettling side effects as well.
Lieberman calls it like he sees it, probably always will, and that's not going to ever be acceptable to some frenzied individuals, who nonetheless will benefit from his wisdom, courage and sincere religiosity.
Thank you Senator Leiberman for saving Medicare to the 65+ population.
Medicare is in financial trouble and the Democrat leftists were ready to dilute it even more.
As a life-long Democrat, the current batch of ultra leftist Democrats in Congress do not even listen to their constituents. They just jam through legislation without even giving us a chance to see the final document. Winning is more important than what they are jaming down our throats.
H!N1 vacine distribution has already demonstrated the incompetence of distribution by bureacratic hacks. Seniors with prescriptions for the vaccine are refused shots even though they have weak immune system from cancer radiation.
The Democrats were once the peoples' party. Now they are no better than the Republicans. God Bless Leiberman.
I made a mistake in Yiddish has to be Meilekh a moves zol zikh in dir FARlibn, Mr. Lieberman, - The Angel of Death will fall in love with you!
Senator Joe Lieberman is a real mensch, we need more men that stand, and will not move when they believe it is wrong. We have too many followers.... A free-thinker....Senator Joe Lieberman. Even if he is wrong about the bill, I like the way he looked at it and would not push something because of the pressure---for that Christmas gift....that may cost us a lifetime to pay and pay and pay and then leave it to our children to pay.
Lieberman is a disgrace to the Jewish people. Over the course of his career the insurance companies have given him one million dollars (NYTimes, 11/16). The majority of voters in his state support a public option but of course he does not represent his constituents. He is a bought and paid for agent of the insurance companies. He fuels the fires of anti-semitism.
And the Right-Winged Bushies called him a "Liberal" when he was running as the Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee...
You all seem to forget one thing, Lieberman was all for the war in Iraq, guess what this is why we have a big deficit. He is all for sending soldiers to foght as lond as the area is near Israel.Yesterday on CNN he is also open to running as a Republican in 2012. That dinner he had last year with McCain was worth it.Two idiots in one room
What ever our views are...do you think, what was done to his wife was all right? To strike him back to plot and revenge on his wife, her job were she works.
We must not let our feelings simmer in bitterness.
To all of the writers who are calling Joe Lieberman a traitor to his faith as a Jew. Joe Lieberman understands that somebody has to pay the bill for the proposed health care. The poor people that lost their jobs, the poor people that lost their house, the poor people that lost their sons and daughters in defense of safety, they are being asked to foot the bill. THEY CAN NOT AFFORD IT. We are going slowly to the poor house. Look at the model for Universal Health Care, Sweden, you work five days a week, and work four of those days to pay your taxes. Is that what we want here. Think about this. Let's improve the public county hospitals so the poor can be taken care of, forget about insurance. Joe Lieberman is trying to keep the model simple for health care reform.
I greatly admire and respect Senator Lieberman (I-CT)as a courageous and dedicated human being and a truly fearless US Senator. Those who write or speak of him disparragingly should hang their heads in shame. The current healthcare reform "bill" is a deeply aggrieved and terminally flawed piece of legislation. I cannot and will not "stand by" while a band of renegade revisionists in Washington hypothecate the futures of my children and grandchildren for the sake of public relations and a few potential votes!
It is as though the behavior condemned itself and will carry the verdict to many future generations.
Walter H. Steinlauf, my friend, we can now see the hand of G-D was holding Senator Lieberman back. They did not even get to read it in full....they just wanted this passed....at any cost. The Whys we the people will see....in the future generations. Lieberman said ...we don't need to keep adding on to the back of this horse, or we're going to break the horse's back and get nothing done.
He needs to run...again...but think bigger.
Very nice site!
American Jews are still living in the dark ages of F. D. Roosevelt and his socialistic policies for curing all our (US) ills.
I am a card carrying born American Jew (both parents and sets of grand parents were Jewish). I am also a very proud Jew. I am am also very pro-Zionist. I voted for McCain/Palin and regret their loss (as we are now witnessing his policies).
I can say this much, many of my former classmates in both high school, college and (even) Hebrew school, are NOT proud Jews, married interfaith, or have children who care less about Judaism, whether Reform or Orthodox, or in-between. A few even converted. I know no one who converted to Judaism.
Please everyone read, Why are Jews Liberals, by Norman Podhoretz former editor of Commentary and still a writer. Certainly, in a few hundred pages, he tells why we (US Jews) are being fleeced by the Tikkun Olam crowd and the tax and spenders (with your money, fellow Jews) and importantly, more and more disdain.
During the Madoff scandel, I heard people say, "Hitler was right in killing the Jews, they even swindle the swindlers".
Lieberman was right about defanging Saddam..and paid for it politically. But considering how 6 ounce of explosive almost brought down an airliner last week, what 911 intended, the fighting in the M.E. and ( the killing of 75 volleyball enthusiasts ) and Iran's nuke ambitions, was he that wrong?
On health care, we Jews vote approval for same sex, yet we are a diminishing people. Something seems lopsided here. Someone will pay for all of this..and typically, it will be we Jews. The health care system is NOT broken. You pay for what you get, Most Americans have insurance..The 10% that don't, dont' want it, or haven't planned well enough, both their families, AND their own health (smoking, weight, etc.). Lieberman IS the Senator of Conn, with it's liberal but diverse interests. He represents all his constituency, but has to make a moral decision about policy. Not everything is in the Talmud folks.
Or as one historian said, we earn like Methodists, and vote like Puerto Ricans. This is not exactly true, but there is a point to it.
I am against religious involvement in politics, whether from the Jewish, Christian or Islamic perpective. What is good for the goose as they say. I mean, for some, Sharia Law and bible study in schools is where it's at.
In England, yeshiva heads are having problems with discrimination lawsuits from Jews who say they are Jewish, but are not considered (full) Jews, thus not Jewish. Get it. Yet in Israel, half-Jewish children go into the army and fight for their country.
Just another paradox of being Jewish I suppose.
Perhaps if we follow Mosaic laws, we might all be better off, but keep socialized medicine out of it.
"A miracle on Christmas Day that this device did not explode." - Joe Lieberman
Hmmm... a devout Jewish man who believes in Christmas miracles? How could anyone possibly question Joe's integrity?
Geoph, my friend, I do not believe Joe Lieberman, believes in Christmas, where it is seeded in pagan rituals and customs. But, G-D does tell us not to be dismayed by it. Jeremiah 10..Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with a axe. They deck it with silver ans with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? The miracles, would be it the world in truth looked at what they hold up higher than G-D, and turned away form it. We are to hold nothing up higher than our G-D of All Mankind. G-D tells us Jew and Christian that G-D does not mix. We say we worship one G-D and get, we do not walk...so G-D turns to us. We must look at our walk and if the roots that we bring into worship is dipped in pagan worship, do not bring it in your worship to the Most High.