The perpetual advice to Democrats is that moving rightward will solve all their problems. But look where the party is at the moment: already embracing Republican affect and policies, yet still losing.
The public option was there to be bargained away. They never intended to enact it. Joe Lieberman had to play the part of the opposition since the republicans are too racist to ever bargain with a black president.
Lieberman was reviled by the party after that. Trying to act like he was some kind of avatar of the Democrats is revisionist history. The party literally primaried him out and he had to run as an independent. He spent the rest of his life whining about how mean Democrats were to him.
The public option was there to be bargained away. They never intended to enact it. Joe Lieberman had to play the part of the opposition since the republicans are too racist to ever bargain with a black president.
Lieberman was reviled by the party after that. Trying to act like he was some kind of avatar of the Democrats is revisionist history. The party literally primaried him out and he had to run as an independent. He spent the rest of his life whining about how mean Democrats were to him.