Dear Senator Lieberman,
I know we haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but I need your help. I’m confused. I thought you were supposed to be hawkish on foreign policy and Israel, moderate on social issues, and liberal on economic issues. That seems to be the conventional wisdom. But if you’re so progressive on economic issues, why are you trying to hold up health reform? You must realize that if health care is going to get done, it’s going to have to be this year—2010 is an election year.
The Republicans have been all over television talking about how if they can just delay health care past October, they can “break” President Obama. So why are you signing letters urging the President to “resist timelines”? Just because you think it would be better for things to move slower doesn’t change the political reality. The longer this takes, the less likely it is to happen. You used to be a Democrat: you know, the party that’s been trying to give Americans universal health care since Harry Truman’s presidency. It’s been over sixty years. Haven’t Americans waited long enough? Progressives might disagree with you about Iraq. But that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t love to see you leading on health care. Do it.
-Nick Baumann