John Murtha is a backer of universal, single-payer, government-run health care. He serves as one of Nancy Pelosi’s chief lieutenants in the House of Representatives, and she endorsed his bid to serve as House Majority Leader – effectively her right hand man. Yet despite Murtha’s power in Congress, and the importance of the debate over health care, he is ignoring calls in his district to | Read More »
Patrick Ruffini points to this helpful history of the ‘public option:’ One key player was Roger Hickey of the Campaign for America’s Future. Hickey took UC Berkley health care expert Jacob Hacker’s idea for “a new public insurance pool modeled after Medicare” and went around to the community of single-payer advocates, making the case that this limited “public option” was the best they could hope | Read More »
A quick survey of today’s news brings some encouraging signs for those who support choice in health care. First, CNN reports that Nancy Pelosi’s most trusted ally has moved dramatically off message: Speaking in Bentleyville, Pennsylvania, Murtha said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wanted a health-care bill passed before the current August recess. “She said we’re going to have it before we left,” Murtha said. “We | Read More »
While Democratic incumbents are running from constituents, holding secret meetings, and showing contempt for the people they represent, their challengers are stepping up: Hoping to highlight the incumbents’ decision not to hold similar meetings, New York Assemblyman Greg Ball, former Michigan Rep. Tim Walberg and Florida U.S. Army veteran Allen West announced this week that they are holding their own health care events. Ball, who | Read More »
Senator Claire McCaskill held a townhall today, and she may have had an epiphany:
Given the debate over the legitimacy of protests against the Democratic agenda on health care, cap-and-trade, and the economy generally, I thought it might be instructive to look at how the last administration addressed protests against its policies. The contrast is quite stark: Faced with protesters camped outside Bush’s residence in Crawford, White House officials chose to meet with Cindy Sheehan and others: About 70 | Read More »
The President is headed to Bristol, Virginia today, to appear at a Kroger’s grocery store to push his health care overhaul. The purpose of the visit is to put a little more pressure on Virginia Senators Warner and Webb, as well as local Congressman Rick Boucher, none of whom is currently supporting Obamacare. According to CNN however, there seem to be as many Obamacare skeptics | Read More »
As Erick points out, Obamacare took another heavy shot today, as the CBO concluded that the much-vaunted reforms pushed by Democratrs to control Medicare costs would have little or no effect. OMB Director Orszag has fired back quickly however, in an attempt to turn lemons into lemonade. He says that while CBO may have little faith in the provisions as they are currently drafted, a | Read More »
Congressman Henry Waxman is in charge of developing health care overhaul legislation that can pass the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He’s not having much success, as a few moderate Democrats have insisted on cost-cutting measures. Today Waxman made clear that he’s willing to make en end-run around the moderates, and bring his radical legislation straight to the House floor. In doing so, he made | Read More »
Many on the Left are livid with the Blue Dogs because rather than fall in line in support of the Obama agenda, they have slowed consideration of both cap-and-trade and the health care overhaul. There is certain to be real anger at the report that their efforts are being rewarded with an unprecedented cash haul from affected industries: So far this year, the political action | Read More »
It’s obvious why he’s lying, of course: if Carnahan admitted how costly the House Democrat health bill will be, he would get a far worse reception. Congressman Carnahan tells his constituents that the CBO has scored the House Democrat health bill and concluded that it produces a $6 billion surplus. That’s an out-and-out lie. You can find the CBO score here. If you look at | Read More »
Democrats are touting the fact that the AMA has signed on to their health care reform effort. But is the AMA really representing the views of its members, or are they playing a Washington game: currying favor with the Democrat majority, in the hopes that when negotiators decide who’ll pay for national health care, they’re not left holding the bill? Here’s one suggestion that the | Read More »
If all you’re doing is looking at the rules of the Senate, it certainly appears that Senator Conrad is right. He’s also being very politic – inasmuch as Democrats would pay a heavy price if they passed a costly, tax-raising health care plan, which went on to become a political liability in the midterm elections. That said, the liberal activists who animate the Democratic party | Read More »
The President and his allies in Congress have perfected their argument: health care in this country is expensive. Something must be done. This is something. Therefore, we must do this. Unfortunately, it is clear that the president’s plan is too costly, does not cover the uninsured as promised, and will make health care worse in America. To the first point, the Congressional Budget Office has | Read More »
Colorado’s Michael Bennet – who faces the voters for the first time next year – had a rough meeting with ‘progressives’ in Colorado. It sounds as if he thinks that his re-election chances suffer if he supports the Obama agenda. In particular, he doesn’t like Card Check: Bennet has been one of the few Senate Democrats who have declined to take a stand on the | Read More »
Congressman Paul Ryan, the senior Republican on the House Budget Committe, today laid out the problems with the House Democrat Budget Resolution:
Update: It looks like the list of participants is considerably longer than Roll Call reported. Sorry to have steered you wrong. Although I still wonder what half the groups on the linked list have to do with health care! Roll Call reports on the White House’s list of groups it invited to send a representative to today’s health care summit: The White House delayed releasing | Read More »
What’s the best way to pay tribute to a Lion of the Senate? For some, it seems to be to rubber-stamp his top legislative priority when it seems his career in public office is nearing its end: Senators on both sides of the aisle as well as operatives on K Street were candid that [Ted] Kennedy’s half-century push for universal health care could receive a | Read More »
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