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Lieberman Shows the Way For Northeast Republicans

3:59 PM, Oct 28, 2009 • By MICHAEL GOLDFARB
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An interesting story from the Republican primary in Connecticut, where the front-runner has flip-flopped on the public option in the wake of Joementum's announcement that he would vote against cloture on any bill that has a public option like the one currently being pushed by embattled Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid:

Former Rep. Rob Simmons (R-Conn.), who is considered the top challenger to Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), last week said the public option should be "on the table."

Earlier today, though, Simmons applauded Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) for opposing the public option, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) included in the final version of healthcare reform legislation.

Lieberman supports card check and holds a bunch of positions that are anathema to the conservative grass roots, but Lieberman isn't a conservative -- and conservatives love him anyway. He got huge support from Republicans in 2006 -- a brutal year for the party -- and Republican candidates in the Northeast could do a lot worse than following his lead.

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