So it comes as no surprise that the left, given who, and more to the point, what they are, have turned to more coercive tactics to strong arm the holdouts. Senator Joe Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, made himself a visible target very early on when he pledged that he would not vote for a health care bill which contained any semblance of a public option. Lieberman has been playing the political game with the big boys for a very long time and since he was a Democrat, was surely aware of the type of attacks which would be leveled at him. And until recently, the attacks he has endured have been of the typical nature. Now, some on the left have begun to take the attacks into vulgar and unethical territories, calling into question Lieberman's fidelity to his Jewish heritage and taking aim at his wife. Neither of which surprised me very much, as they are both very good examples of the left being true to what they are, 'rat bastards'.
Despite all of the audacity, treachery, and deceit from this White House in the last eleven months, I can still be surprised, however, by the depths to which Obama will stoop to advance his agenda. Like this from the Weekly Standard.
Playing politics with our strategic national security goes way beyond the typical parameters of dirty political tricks which have become a familiar feature of American politics, it is nothing less than treason."While the Democrats appease Senator Lieberman, they still have to worry about other recalcitrant Democrats including Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson. Though Lieberman has been out front in the fight against the public option and the Medicare buy-in, Nelson was critical of both. Now that those provisions appear to have been stripped from the bill, Lieberman may get on board, but Nelson's demand that taxpayer money not be used to fund abortion has still not been met. According to a Senate aide, the White House is now threatening to put Nebraska's Offutt Air Force Base on the BRAC list if Nelson doesn't fall into line."
"Offutt Air Force Base employs some 10,000 military and federal employees in Southeastern Nebraska. As our source put it, this is a 'naked effort by Rahm Emanuel and the White House to extort Nelson's vote.' They are 'threatening to close a base vital to national security for what?' asked the Senate staffer."
"Indeed, Offutt is the headquarters for US Strategic Command, the successor to Strategic Air Command, and not by accident. STRATCOM was located in the middle of the country for strategic reasons. Its closure would be a massive blow to the economy of the state of Nebraska, but it would also be another example of this administration playing politics with our national security."