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Harry Reid Rebuffs Will of Obama, Says ‘Debate on Health Care’ Will Continue into September

By: Jeff Emanuel (Diary)  |  July 23rd, 2009 at 02:19 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

The morning after President Barack Obama (D-IL) pushed back prime time network programming to make his (weak, unpopular, and factually-challenged) case for an immediate overhaul of the health care system, fellow Democrat and Senate Super-Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) pulled the rug out from under his former incredibly junior colleague, declaring that the Senate would hold the proposed overhaul legislation over the August recess and resume debate on its merits (and the points Senators have had a chance to read) in September.

“This is a complex, difficult issue,” Reid told reporters this morning. His House counterpart, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), disagreed with Reid’s assessment that time to actually read and discuss the multiple health overhaul proposals was in any way a good thing, reiterating her threat to cancel recess in August and keep the House in session if her class Representatives didn’t hurry up and pass the House version of the bill in the next week.

Pelosi also claimed last night that she “ha[s] the votes” to pass the bill (alternately right now and in the next 48 hours). This, of course, begs the question of why she’s so vocally threatening to cancel her class’s the House recess if more Representatives don’t hurry up and support it already.

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COMMENTS

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  • evanm

    Will Obama:
    A. Throw Harry under the bus.
    B. Blame the Republicans.
    C. Blame George W. Bush.
    D. Pretend he was against getting a bill by August all along.

    • erod

      all of the above.

    • erod

      all of the above.

    • tanstaafl1019

      Not multiple choice. I honestly saw the four items and figured he’d go right down the line.

  • olsmithie

    So I’m not surprised that even Reid can see the handwriting on the wall.
    He and the Princess will carry part of the blame for savaging the economy into the next few election cycles.
    They do, however, value re-election more than even their own ego. (I think!?)

    Regards

    • farstar99

      Dingy Harry wouldn’t have agreed to this unless there was a fresh wave of nutroot turfing upcoming.

  • jonreagan

    It doesn’t get much better than this—Obama gets bootstomped the morning after his pathetic press conference, by his own majority leader. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on:
    a) The Majority Leader is sick of getting pushed around by Obama’s goons, and this morning’s statement was his push-back. If that’s the case, we’re in for quite a show.
    b) Reid has totally lost control of the process in the Senate, and decided to cut a retreat sooner rather than later
    c) Reid is sick of hearing Pelosi saying, “we’re waiting for the Senate to act, it’s up to them”, and this was aimed at her.
    d) all of the above

    In any event, combined with all those Dems getting arrested in NJ—and the market behaving well (relief rally over demise of Obama-care?)—it’s been a great morning.

  • Swamp_Yankee

    Its the House Bill they want before the break. Probably will aim for a Senate finance committee bi-partisanship agreeements before the recess.

    In the fall it will be all about the Senate and C&T and Health Care if the House passes something.

    What is suprising is that Harry announced this the day after the presser. That’s deflating even if 3xpected.

  • jimmuy8

    Is even better when you see it coming and it takes a month.

    March forward (alone), brave Obama! Your destiny awaits.

    Pushing this to September means no more Dr. Disaster prime-time pressers; too much new programing and prime-time sports. That’s why it had to be done by August. Plus, by then, unemployment ought to be over 10%. That’s a real grim milestone, a psychological barrier that resonates. No one is going to care about health care by then, just having a job will be worry enough.

  • Common_Cents

    I’m surprised there hasn’t been more pushback from congress and the states about the power grab Obama is making. It’s finally starting. I think everyone is surprised that Obama is trying to take much power away from congress with all his executive branch Czars who have no checks and balances from other branches.

  • Swamp_Yankee

    I didnt expect much from the Senate. But Nancy is backing off the bravado that she displayed yesterday…

    Listen to Nancy’s new tune:

    http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/pelosi-backs-off-insistence-on-recess-health-deadline-2009-07-23.html

  • Dave_in_Fla

    His only chance to get socialized medicine was to pass it before all of his political capital had expired in August. With the delayed budget report and 2 more months of unemployment numbers to look forward to, the current healthcare and cap & trade bills are now dead.

    The only question is will he try to save his presidency by crafting bipartisan legislation like Clinton did, or will he be too arrogant to back off of his thugish tactics and end up making this the shortest presidency of the modern era.

    I’m betting on the second option.

    • Swamp_Yankee

      They could probably get something passed right now if they relented on a few areas. There will be be some bill, probably vasted watered down. The Mass plan has no public plan and just excluded legal aliens.

      I think you may see something like the Mass plan pushed in the fall.

      • IJB

        The problem is:

        1) They’re still at least a month away from even trying that.
        2) The rest of their agenda goes down the tubes (e.g. Cap ‘n’ Tax, Card Check) while they fiddle with it.
        3) This could end up delaying the budget (which, remember, is due by Oct.) which would be very bad for them politically.
        4) I bet that, in the end, even a watered down bill either doesn’t pass, or never comes up for a vote.
        5) *Nothing* of substance will pass next year.

        In short, I think the odds are good Dave is right. I wouldn’t put the odds at 100% yet – but it’s in the 70-80% range that Obama’s agenda is *done*.

        Which, incidentally, is really terrible news for Dems running in 2010!
        [evil grin]

        • Swamp_Yankee

          They basically have the fall and the spring, before 2010 election get into swing.

          Even if they get a health care bill, if it takes months of negotiations, eats up calneder time, resources and will, it will leave card check, C&T and amnesty on the shelf.

          The new deficits would suck, but we may be able to deal with that in the long run. We will never get rid of a public option. That is the real cancer in this whole thing. Even the Mass plan can be tweaked and changed and peared down, but once there is a government plan, its good night Irene. That sucker will be around for a century.

        • 6eorge Jetson

          IMO

          If individual Blue Dogs don’t vote for ∅’s agenda, then I would think that most would be able to distance themselves somewhat from ∅ and run mano-a-mano versus their Republican challengers.

          While I’d love to see a 1994 Republican take-back, it is critically important that ∅’s agenda never pass in the first place. Once passed, legislation to reverse it would take 66% in both the House & Senate to overcome the veto of an “Affordable Health Choice Act”-favoring Democratic president, and still 60 senate votes to overcome the filibuster when Republicans take back the Oval Office.