Video: Senator Al Franken Shuts Down Senator Joe Lieberman

*Breaking News* "Joltin Joe Lieberman" Gets Bitch-slapped by rookie Pol. Franken ! More Details on this Developing story @ 10 !

Apparently, McCain forgot about the time HE did the same thing:

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/12/18/flashback_of_the_day.html

McCain of course, never missing out on a chance to be sanctimonious. And completely hypocritical.

I hope Franken is a better politician than he was a comedian, because he SUCKED as a comedian. What a douche!

BTW, McCain has been over his time -more than once on this type of interventions in front of the congress defending no other than war bills!,

Ah republicans have to loathe their antics and hypocrisy!

FCK Lieberman! So he has to go over the time to explain his shit project that takes care of the insurance companies business!!? FCK lieberman! Weasel, had to be born again Republican!

Franken is a Schmuck-Putz... (or at least an 'asshole')

-and it's nice to see that he proves it every time he opens his mouth on the floor of the Senate!

Al Franken is just feeling his way around. Its just a matter of time until we hear from him. Then the fun will start.

The self-proclaimed 'Maverick' objects to something out of the norm.

Ha-Ha

Well, all of you aholes who voted for Franken deserve what you got. Too bad the intellignet people in your state have to tolerate him too

what? deserve a senator that is reminding Lieberman that he's going over his time?! Yeah, what an asshole! Much worse than Lieberman defending the insurance interest in the health care debate...yeah Franken way more of an asshole by just watching the clock.

Yeah I doubt many ppl in MN are reading Gothamist. And Frankly, Franken is great. If we could just get 60 more guys like him then we could pass legislation that benefits the people not just the corporations.

What the hell are you talking about? And who do you think you're talking to, anyway? Franken is from Minnesota, and I doubt the residents of that state read the Gothamist blog.

smart senators = oxymoron

They're smart enough to have gotten cushy, high-paying jobs on the public's dime, aren't they?

Lieberman's stance on healthcare reform is 100% quid-pro-quo for the contributions he's received from the insurance lobby.

And McCain has no right to get self-righteous considering the "lack of comity" on the GOP side of the aisle.

Who paid you to say this?

its obvious these are smart senators and I get that, so figure away to get your point out fast. Stop trying to dazzle people with your lawyer speak and get the job done. Millions of people are waiting.

Here here!

High time somebody told Lieberman "It ain't always about Joe, Joe. Sit down already."

It was great. 20 years ago, Franken did a skit for the Superman anniversary where he played half of a superhero team called the Awesome Pair. The skit was horrible, but if he keeps treating Lieberman like this, I'd say that he does indeed have an awesome pair.

Everyone's perfectly happy with the zillion Jersey Shore posts related to Guidos and Snooki. But this stuff...oh no! Blasphemy.

WTF are you talking about?

I'm talking about the posts above that say this crap doesn't relate to NYC so it shouldn't be on Gothamist. And, in case other Gothamist readers didn't know this (which is probably the case), but Jersey ain't NY.

god, Lieberman is such a dick

Has anyone else noticed that Lieberman sounds exactly like Stimpy's fart?

swoon!

Why do so many people have a problem with posts that are not NY related? If it bothers you so much, and you want to be in such a vacuum, start your own frigging page strictly about New York. My god, it's just a news blog.

What does this have to do with Snooki?

Wiil all of these tired-ass old men just shut up?

i enjoyed it.

Droppy Dog was served.

What does Franken's puerile outburst have to do with New York? And, JDS, you should not assume that everyone reading this page agrees with your "frustration." I don't read Gothamist to get a me-too version of Daily Kos.

Yeah! since when the US congress sessions has to do with the mediocre communal interest in everyday street shootouts and killings! Since when Health care bill can be more important the very interesting fist fight on a NY corner...

I also agree with hbomb.

This was petty. You only think it's funny because you don't like Lieberman (right now). However, I'm certain you would think this incivility to be offensive if a Republican did it to a Democrat. You'd whine and whine about it...

Except it really wasn't petty. Franken was doing his job in maintaining time limits that day. Perhaps he took a little extra pleasure in cutting off Lieberman, considering Joe not only stalled progress in achieving healthcare reform but also pissed on the party by supporting Franken's opponent Norm Coleman, but he was still required to do it regardless. Other senators had been held to the time limit earlier in the hearing. Franken even said he supports the amendments Lieberman was pitching. So let's not assume so much from one little moment in the debate.

Yes, the extra 30 seconds that Joe Lieberman would have really mattered.

Is anyone going to read this legislation before they vote on it? Is this one going to contain placeholders too?

This whole session of Congress is a sham.

Believe me, I've seen Joe Lieberman talk. If you think John Kerry is bad, Joe can stretch out his Droopy Dog whimper act for a solid 20 minutes if given the chance.

Meanwhile, reading the bill out loud in the chamber is, in fact, a waste of time. All congressmen and their staff are provided copies of the bill for review. And while the latest iteration of the HC bill has yet to be made posted (as it gets rewritten every five minutes to pause Lieberman's tantrums), previous versions were available for the public. The time on the floor is meant to argue the merits of the bills and amendments, not simply recite them out loud.

Of course, some Republican congressmen would rather use that time to display posters of cartoon dragons, or use babies as human shields for their fallacious arguments.

I believe he said "if you are" - not that you were, so if you're not - why taking the offense?

And this Healthcare bill affects New Yorkers too, it's a valid discussion and as a New Yorker I welcome anyone who shuts Lieberman up for 5 minutes.

Hbomb:

Did you actually watch the video? Because I'd like to know what "outburst" you saw from Franken. He was in a position, presiding over the Senate's speakers that day, to hear Joe's remarks and call time at 10 minutes. All other Senators at the time were being forced to stick to 10 and no more, as stalling by republicans has largely kept the Senate from being able to complete debates and votes on a number of important bills.

The outburst, if any, came from McCain, who damn near pitched a fit because his poor little friend Joe didn't get to finish. McCain has been known to needlessly stick his neck out for pals that didn't deserve it (see Charles Keating). Too bad he was completely out of line, and got called on it.

Wait, why does it say I'm replying to Neil Epstein? I clicked to reply to the second comment on the post, by hbomb.

Crybaby.

For once, I agree with you.

i second that hbomb

God who do you root for in this fight? A power outage!

The only wall I would want my tax dollars to build is a 20 foot one around the capital building. Add a minefield and I'll drive down and start digging.

Talk about a "shovel ready" stimulus protect.

my ability to master this reply feature is constantly challenged.

He should've let him continue. Its not like anyone is watching C-span anyway.

I only watch C-Span when they have debates from the British House of Commons.