The filibuster:  It's the Senate's equivalent to a formally sanctioned temper tantrum in which dissenting senators can prevent any piece of legislation from reaching the floor for a vote by doing what many of them do best -- talking out of their asses.  This legislative manuever allows any senator or group of senators to block any piece of legislation by giving long winded speeches until:  1. They run out of air; 2. There are 60 votes to bring it to the floor for a decision.  Arcane and anti-democratic are just a few of the adjectives that have been used by many to describe this procedure; and in fact, they are some of the very same adjectives that have been used to describe it by one of its biggest advocates today:  Senator Joseph Lieberman, an "Independent" from Connecticut.

Just fifteen years ago as a freshman Democratic senator, Mr. Lieberman, along with Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), introduced legislation that would have barred the filibuster from use in the Senate, describing it as "arcane," "unfair" and "an obstacle to accomplishment."  So, why is Mr. Lieberman, who once fought so fiercely against the usage of this procedure, threatening to block health insurance reform with it now?  Well, that's a good question, and it's answer boils down to one word:  money.

Lieberman has taken $65,200 from the insurance giant AETNA during this election cycle alone.  That doesn't include the money he's taken from other insurers in the past, and it certainly isn't representative of the money he plans to take from them in the future.  Although to be fair to Mr. Lieberman, he states that he is simply concerned about the direction in which our country would be headed with a government funded public insurance option -- a direction that doesn't include his pocket book with which he hopes to fulfill his own political ambitions.

So, my message to Mr. Lieberman:  If you're going to stand on the wrong side of history; if you're going to try and prevent this monumental opportunity for reform; if you're going to have the gall to deny the chance to extend health insurance coverage to millions of Americans who so desperately need it, then at least have the moral courage to do so in a manner befitting a statesman and let the fate of reform be decided on the floor of the chamber with a vote.