With Democrats like Joe Lieberman*, who needs Republicans…

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Tuesday that he'd back a GOP filibuster of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's health care reform bill…

"We're trying to do too much at once," Lieberman said. "To put this government-created insurance company on top of everything else is just asking for trouble for the taxpayers, for the premium payers and for the national debt. I don't think we need it now."

Lieberman added that he'd vote against a public option plan "even with an opt-out because it still creates a whole new government entitlement program for which taxpayers will be on the line."

I'm really surprised to see Lieberman acting like this after Barack Obama, Harry Reid and all the other Senate Democrats went to all that trouble to show him that he would never, ever have to face any consequences for any of his bad behavior.

I'm just completely flummoxed over this.

.

^{* Yes, I know he's technically independent, but he still caucuses with the Democrats. And you'd better believe he's gonna be calling himself a Democrat while campaigning around Connecticut for re-election in 2012.}