The Vindictive Viper of Voluntown

There is an old Russian tale of a peasant who was walking down a path in the woods. Suddenly, in a flash of light and a burst of smoke, a genie appeared before the peasant. "Do not be afraid," pronounced the genie, "for I am here to grant you one wish. But before you tell me what you desire, I must also tell you that your neighbor, Boris Pavelevich, will receive twice of what you ask.

The peasant thought for a minute and then made his wish: "I wish that you would remove one of my testicles."

That story came to mind when I read this one:

[Sen. Joesph] Lieberman had supported the Medicare buy-in proposal in the past — both as the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee in 2000 and in more recent discussions about the health care system. In an interview this year, he reiterated his support for the concept.

But in the interview, Mr. Lieberman said that he grew apprehensive when a formal proposal began to take shape. He said he worried that the program would lead to financial trouble and contribute to the instability of the existing Medicare program.

And he said he was particularly troubled by the overly enthusiastic reaction to the proposal by some liberals, including Representative Anthony Weiner, Democrat of New York, who champions a fully government-run health care system.

It takes a pretty small-minded and pathetic excuse for a human being to change one's mind and oppose something which one had supported for years all because that person is holding a grudge against the people who now support the same thing.

So it is clear, now: Lieberman's obstructive tactics are not about what is best for the people of this nation or, for that matter, the people of Connecticut. He clearly does not give a rat's ass about that. He does not give a shit about anything other than smacking around his political enemies. He is motivated, above all, by vengeance. Lieberman will have his revenge on those who voted against him in his run for the presidency in `04 and his failed bid to be re-nominated in `06, no matter what the cost to anyone else in this nation.

If the stakes were lower, I might even pity Joe Lieberman for devolving into such a vindictive shell of a man.