He holds one of the most important votes in the Senate regarding health care reform, but a national watchdog group thinks Sen. Joe Lieberman is one of many “insurance puppets” at work in Washington, D.C.

Public Campaign Action Fund, a national campaign finance watchdog group, recently launched the site InsurancePuppets. com, where each day it will profile one of the senators currently debating the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, along with his or her contributions from private insurers. Those donations, the group says, beg the question whether health insurance companies are really pulling the strings.

Joseph Lieberman

On Dec. 2, Lieberman (I-Conn.) was profiled as one such “puppet.”

“Senator Lieberman has received $448,066 in campaign contributions from the health insurance industry during his time in Washington,” said David Donnelly, Public Campaign Action Fund’s national campaigns director, in a statement.. “With so much money from the industry filling his campaign coffers, it’s not surprising that Lieberman has spent the last year parroting any and all insurance industry talking points he could find.”

Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have also been profiled on the website as recipients of the $17.7 million in campaign contributions to senators participating in reform debate, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

“The current debate over health care legislation is a prime example of the influence of money in our political process,” said Donnelly. “It’s time to dramatically alter the way campaigns are financed in this country by passing the Fair Elections Now Act.”

The act, proposed by Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), would provide candidates with the option to run for office through both small donations and public funds, thus reducing the pressures of fundraising on federal candidates, according to the Public Campaign Action Fund.