Sen. Klobuchar stands up for Lieberman

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on Tuesday stood up for the embattled Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), whom many liberals are blaming for the removal of key provisions from the Senate healthcare bill.

Klobuchar, in an appearance on MSNBC's "Hardball," said that Lieberman has been a generally reliable Democratic vote on many of the party's legislative priorities.

"No matter how mad people might be with him right now, when you look at his record and when you say, 'Does he vote more like a Democrat or does he vote more like a Republican?' He votes more like a Democrat," she said.

"When you look at the times that we've needed 60 votes throughout this process with the stimulus bill and with other things...you name it he has been there," she added.

Lieberman, who has been a key centrist holdout on healthcare reform legislation, objected to the public health insurance option and a proposed Medicare buy-in that would have allowed people between the ages of 55 and 64 to buy coverage under the federal plan.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) removed the buy-in on Monday night and the public option last week after it became clear they could not attract the 60 votes necessary to break a Republican filibuster. The moves have raised the ire of liberals who support both provisions

Klobuchar acknowledged that there has been frustration with Lieberman among the Democratic Caucus due to his demands.

"I think everyone gets irritated when you want to get to a goal line and when someones running zig-zag down the field," she said.

But Klobuchar said that the main priority was for Democrats to get to 60 votes and that there would be time to add provisions back into the bill later in the process.

She said that Vice President Joe Biden on Monday told the Democrats during a caucus meeting with the president and him, "'Come on, people!...I've been there for 30 years and these bills...reforms get added, things get better as time goes on."

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