Posts tagged “public option”
John Shadegg, Closet Pinko, Bravely Outs Himself
Based on his 2009 record, John Shadegg of Arizona is tied with five other Republicans as the most conservative member of the House. Yesterday morning, being interviewed on MSNBC by David Shuster, Shadegg ended up making a statement that would put him to the left of many Congressional Democrats: that he would support a single [...]
Near/Far, Part 2
On the whole, I think I approve of this speed-dating version of legislative negotiation. The Gang of Ten negotiations beat the misconceived pointlessness of Max Baucus‘s months-long committee negotiations hands down. Here’s the early report (all rumors, really, since lips are officially sealed). The public option has not been euthanized, it has been cryogenically preserved. [...]
This is Not a Love Song
Happy to have, not to have not Big business is very wise I’m crossing over into E-enter-prize Public Image Ltd. – “This is Not a Love Song” (1984) Making fun of the weak ass public option with a brilliant Public Image Ltd. callback from 25 years ago? Wow. Well done, Mr. Stewart. As Johnny Rotten [...]
White House Denial Still Unconvincing
Last Friday, TPMDC reported that although Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was very close to rounding up 60 votes for a public option with an opt out clause, the White House was pushing him to do with the public option with a trigger instead, in order to (maybe or maybe not) get Olympia Snowe‘s official [...]
You All Must Be So Proud
Sources: White House Pushing Back Against Senate Public Option Opt Out Compromise – TPMDC (10/23/09): Multiple sources tell TPMDC that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is very close to rounding up 60 members in support of a public option with an opt out clause, and are continuing to push skeptical members. But they also say [...]
Leadership
(1) This was the overnight news from the sausage factory: In pushing to include a government-run health insurance plan in the health care bill, the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, is taking a calculated gamble that the 60 members of his caucus could support the plan if it included a way for states to opt [...]
Thank You, Rep. Grijalva
Grijalva Hits Baucus and Obama, Remains Firm on Public Option – TPMDC (9/28/09): In a new op-ed, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus blasts the proposal written by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) saying it’s “all about the insurance industry’s bottom line: no teeth in enforcements and regulations, endless patent hoarding for [...]
Finance Committee Fun And Games
Yesterday, Senator John Rockefeller gave himself the pleasure of sticking it to Senator John Cornyn as very few Senators have had it stuck to them (nullus) in the Senate before. This was Senator Rockefeller’s response to an amendment offered by Senator Cornyn (which sought to add caveats to the employer mandate): ROCKEFELLER: This is a [...]
The Sorry, Comical State Of Healthcare Reform
Barack Obama ran a perfectly astute campaign for President. How come healthcare reform has been screwed up so badly? At this point, it’s not clear whether a healthcare reform bill will be passed at all. If one is passed, it’s not clear how much real reform the bill will contain. Forget the totally inexplicable shenanigans [...]
Has Grassley Finally Got Through?
It would appear the the White House may — if a largely unsourced NYT article is correct — finally have undergone a drastic surgical procedure to clean out heavy deposits of wax from its ears. After weeks of championing Chuck Grassley as the patron saint of bipartisan healthcare reform, they now seem to be prepared [...]