ObamaCare: Reid’s quasi-public option “consensus” in the daylight
[Posted by Karl]
Sen. Maj. Ldr. Harry Reid said Tuesday night that he and a group of 10 Democratic senators had reached “a broad agreement” to resolve the dispute over the so-called “public option.” The snap judgment of the netroots was angry, and some House progressives also seemed miffed. However, at this juncture, Reid really only cares about getting to 60 votes in the Senate, which means getting votes from most of the following: Lieberman, Lincoln, Landrieu, Nelson, Snowe and Collins. And the day after Reid’s big announcement, at least the first three are disclaiming that any deal is done, and taking a wait-and-see posture.
Jennifer Rubin sees this latest step as Reid “frantically to throw anything up against the wall to see if 60 votes will stick.” Bill Kristol sees it as Reid trying to create a sense of inevitability this week. But it may be Reid simply trying to maintain a sense of momentum.
Recall that last week ended with Reid threatening to keep the Senate in session through the holidays. This week started with Pres. Obama giving a pep talk to the Senate Dems (Why was one needed?). That was followed by Reid’s tantrum comparing the GOP’s delaying tactics to opposing slavery. In reality, there are about as many Democratic amendments in the hopper as GOP amendments. Indeed, last I checked, the Senator with the most amendments is Bernie Sanders, the Socialist from Vermont. And the GOP is taking flak from its base for not being obstructionist.
Some might look at these events and see a lack of confidence, perhaps even smell a whiff of desperation. So Tuesday brought a “broad agreement” — voilà! — that really is no more than an agreement to send a slate of proposals off to the CBO.
However, these proposals are already getting bad reviews from insurers, hospitals and doctors. One of Pres. Obama’s primary strategies for taking over the US healthcare system was to buy off these very same interest groups. It seems likely that these stakeholders are already making their displeasure known directly to key Senators while everyone awaits puffs of smoke from the CBO’s chimney. The counter-productivity of Reid’s latest proposal may suggest how difficult Reid is finding his job these days.
–Karl
He even got the AMA to bestir itself. That motley crew of rent seekers doesn’t have much to complain of since they are all seeking government jobs but even they finally got too much to swallow.
Mike K (2cf494) — 12/9/2009 @ 8:40 pmI love how Big Pharma is about to be screwed by the Obama Administration, despite having decided to cut a deal with them the past summer. It reminds me of the parable of the old woman and the snake.
“Lady, you know I was a snake when you first picked me up.”
JVW (0fe413) — 12/9/2009 @ 9:04 pmJVW,
A great parable and a better link. They really should have seen it coming.
DRJ (84a0c3) — 12/9/2009 @ 9:11 pmDoes anyone have predictions on what will happen next? Health care is like a soap opera that I hate to watch but can’t turn off.
DRJ (84a0c3) — 12/9/2009 @ 9:13 pmI don’t mean to simplify complicated matters, but can’t it be said that the whole health-care morass was precipitated by Social Security and, by extension, Medicare and later, Medicaid?
As a rule, Americans are a good and generous lot. We help our neighbors, the down-trodden and the ill. We donate to good causes. That’s been true, without exception, for more than 200 years.
So, when FDR enacted Social Security, and LBJ enacted Medicare and Medicaid, they followed a tradition of helping the infirm and incapable.
And most people thought those acts were a good idea. Because that’s what Americans do. I’m not about to argue that they were bad ideas.
But the application, and the myriad unintended consequences, have placed our nation in an intractable situation.
The camel’s nose has led us to the irrevocable slow slide of being just another color on a faceless map.
I think I get points for the conservation of metaphors.
Ag80 (83c4ce) — 12/9/2009 @ 9:21 pmI agree with you, Ag80, but we’re Texans. What do we know?
DRJ (84a0c3) — 12/9/2009 @ 9:28 pmDRJ:
What do we know?
To hear tell from my dear friends who are French, Belgian, German and British, as well as my Dutch relations: Not a lot.
I just can’t figure out why they don’t go home. I guess it’s the water. Fluoridation makes a person do strange things.
Ag80 (83c4ce) — 12/9/2009 @ 9:45 pmWhat do we know?
Not much, until the CBO numbers come in. If Reid has problems after that, people should start considering that some of the group I mentioned (and possibly Bayh) don’t want to get to “yes” on the bill.
Karl (404c05) — 12/9/2009 @ 10:00 pmReid is simply incompetent.
SPQR (26be8b) — 12/10/2009 @ 6:18 amI was thinking more along the lines of the Frog and the Scorpian parable, but never mind.
Dmac (a964d5) — 12/10/2009 @ 7:16 amMedicare and Social Security were originally much better on an actuarial basis than they are now. What has happened is that the criteria for eligibility were extended to others that had never been part of the original program. Social Security now covers disabled, a category that includes something like 50% of the schoolchildren in Kentucky. Their parents got them all declared disabled by ADHD and they are now collecting SS. Medicare was extended to the end stage renal disease category, a literal life saver for them but it has added seven million young people who didn’t pay into it and who require three times weekly care.
Now, the solution for health reform is to add yet more people who have never paid into the program.
Mike K (2cf494) — 12/10/2009 @ 10:07 amWell, Obama wants to raise the debt ceiling by another $1.8 trillion, so maybe he can get Bernanke and Geithner to throw a little more funny money to the AMA and “Big Pharma.”
Another Chris (2d8013) — 12/10/2009 @ 10:26 amVery interesting note over at NRO that two votes not widely discussed as being up in the air for Reid actually are up in the air — and it makes sense: Warner and Webb from Virginia.
They just watched the Dem candidate for Gov. get blown out of the state by about 20 points.
Since Virginia has a one term limit on Govs, assuming he retains his popularity over the course of his terms, McConnell would be leaving office just in time to challenge Webb in 2012.
Now, that is an Obama re-election year, and Obama had a huge turnout in Virginia that allowed him to carry the state for the Dems for the first time in forever. But, whether he can repeat that effort in 2012 given a record of 4 years of actually governing, rather than being a blank canvas, is a very big question. I don’t think Warner or Webb want to have their fingerprints on the potential birth of a “single-payer” health care system that is likely a budget buster.
Shipwreckedcrew (6178ee) — 12/10/2009 @ 12:40 pmJust paying devil’s advocate here, but could the argument be made that if we block this as well it might increase the chance of a full court press for the public option? I’m not arguing in favor of this bill on the merits, and I’m certainly willing to be persuaded that even passive resistance to this would be a bad idea, but I have to admit to being a bit burned out by the whole debate. Thoughts?
Sean P (4fde41) — 12/10/2009 @ 5:39 pm