Dear Joe Lieberman:

I know what you’re thinking: Where are the links to teachers bitching about Michelle Rhee, random crime stats in that made-up neighborhood, and some important, breaking burrito news in a slowly gentrifying renaissance zone? Well you sir, make me sad, sad enough that I’m skipping all that to write you a letter. You sir are an asshole.

Last night, I came home to the news that you alone are messing around with healthcare reform. Because of you, there will be no public option, not even a weak public option. You have decided that it’s OK for Americans to die because they don’t have health insurance.

I’m sure you don’t believe that last line. I’m sure you wish that all Americans didn’t die needlessly. But actions speak louder than words. And your actions are telling me that you don’t care if Americans die because they don’t have healthcare. In 2000, you were for a Medicare buy-in program. You endorsed the Medicare buy-in three months ago in a by-now widely circulated video interview. And now, before the Medicare buy-in gets vetted by the CBO, you come out against it. You promise to filibuster it. Like I said, you’re an asshole.

You are a selfish little man. What exactly are your principles other than pissing liberals off? Is this your legacy? Do you really want your legacy to be that you gutted healthcare reform? Did you read this study that pointed out that 137,000 Americans died from 2000 through 2006 because they lacked health insurance?

I work. I have health insurance. And yet this year, I ended up paying a few thousand dollars to be poked and probed over an as-yet-unknown stomach ailment. Each bill was a huge stress. I can only imagine what it’s like for someone with serious medical problems without the pathetic safety net that I have.

What do you stand for besides interjecting yourself into the reform process and grabbing headlines? How would you fix this mess? [You can’t repeat any Republican talking points especially on the bogus subject of tort reform]. You have provided me with zero proof that you have any real thoughts on the subject other than rejecting the reforms that the majority of your former party support.

Now it’s up to all of us to make sure you never win elected office again.

Sincerely,

Jason Cherkis