Two Senators representing just barely one percent of the American population are holding hostage health care options for millions.  

First we have Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT), who was for a Medicare buy-in before he was against it, and who first demanded removal of the public option and then more recently the Medicare buy-in from the health reform bill, threatening otherwise to withhold a vote to end a Republican filibuster of the bill.

A post on the Women’s Media Center campaign website NotUnderTheBus, states:

In a battle between
big insurance, big government and abortion, it seems that Senator Joe
Lieberman has become the ultimate broker of all three. It has been
reported by the New York Times
that Senator Lieberman said he will not vote for the health care bill
in it’s “current form” with an expanded Medicare package. So, how does
a Senator from a state with the population representing 1% of US – get
to decide?

While Lieberman had previously suggested he
would vote for the bill, says WMC:

it is clear that he has switched gears
after his Sunday morning appearance on
CBS’ Face The Nation with Democratic Senator Ben Nelson. 

Why?  The Wall Street Journal suggests exactly what is likely behind his position:

Another issue often raised by Lieberman critics is his relationship
with the insurance industry, which has a big presence in Connecticut.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Mr. Lieberman received
$688,344 in contributions from the insurance industry during the 2008
election cycle, though there were several industries with bigger
contributions.

Mr. Lieberman responded by saying "health insurers didn’t influence his stands."   Uh-huh.  Perhaps writing a return check for $688,000 would prove that point?

As has been noted by various news organizations, Lieberman’s role as late-in-the-game spoiler has infuriated both health reform advocates and many Democrats alike, and has only fed into the Republican effort to kill, or seriously disable, health reform.

Last night on National Public Radio, for example, Senator Sherrod Brown, attempting (it seemed) to stay within the "old boys club rules" of the Senate tried to dance gingerly around direct questions regarding anger about Lieberman’s role.  He nonetheless managed expressed his deep disappointment and dismay with Lieberman’s interference at the midnight hour in a bill that had been in the works for months.

Some Democrats have been much more outspoken, as noted in the Journal article: 

"No one should hold health care hostage, including Joe Lieberman,
and I’ll say it flat out, I think he ought to be recalled — I know
that may not even be an option in Connecticut, but 45,000 people die
every year because they don’t have health care," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro
of Connecticut.

And the number of groups, from MoveOn to FiredogLake to Progressive Change Committee to local Connecticut groups that have mobilized against Lieberman is getting very long.

Now, Senator Ben Nelson (D-NB)–whose Nelson-Hatch-Casey Amendment (the Senate version of the Stupak Amendment) failed in a vote two weeks ago–is back in the saddle, apparently negotiating abortion language behind closed doors with Senator Reid (D-NV) and Senator Casey (D-PA).

Politico reports today:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Democratic Sen. Bob Casey are
working right now with constituent groups to craft compromise language
on abortion. Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, who has threatened to oppose
the bill if he doesn’t like the compromise, said he hasn’t seen the
language, but expects he’ll get a chance to read it tomorrow. The
compromise, he said, would most likely be added to the manager’s
amendment.

"I still have the unique issue of abortion," Nelson said on Sunday’s
Face the Nation. "I’ve said I can’t support the bill with the abortion
language that’s there."

Actually, no.  It is women that have the "unique" issue of pregnancy, childbirth, and the unique choices that come with their biological capacity for reproduction.  The only "unique" thing about Nelson (and Stupak) is that it is uniquely disturbing that a bunch of white male Senators and Congressman who will never be at risk of pregnancy are struggling so hard to impose their religious and ideological views on the entire population of women. 

According to The Hill:

Nelson noted some of his colleagues are
trying to craft comrpomise language, that would "be compatible with the
Stupak language" but somehow pass muster with pro-choicers as well.

But "that’s a tall order for people," Nelson noted, quite rightly.  "And I’m not prescribing ahead what they may be able to do."

No….He’s just withholding his vote.

And together, they are two white men representing less than one percent of the entire US population.  There is indeed something very, very wrong with this particular picture of "democracy."