Senate Liberals Dissed on Health Bill (May be asked to vote against Public Option)

[kpete]

Source: The Hill

Senate Liberals Dissed on Health Bill
March 11, 2010
By Emily Pierce and David M. Drucker
Roll Call Staff

Senate Democratic leaders are concerned about the amount of mischief their own Members could create if or when a health care reconciliation bill comes up for debate. And sources said some supporters of creating a public insurance option are privately worried that they will be asked to vote against the idea during debate on the bill, which could occur before March 26.

Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) acknowledged Wednesday that liberals may be asked to oppose any amendment, including one creating a public option, to ensure a smooth ride for the bill. “We have to tell people, ‘You just have to swallow hard’ and say that putting an amendment on this is either going to stop it or slow it down, and we just can’t let it happen,” Durbin, who supports a public option, told reporters. “We have to move this forward. We know the Republicans are likely to offer a lot of amendments, and some of them may be appealing to Democrats, but we have to urge them to stick with the bill.”

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), a leading centrist, suggested Democrats should be able to avoid blowing up a reconciliation package if there is ample negotiation on it before it hits the floor. But Carper appeared to warn his Democratic colleagues that any move to amend the reconciliation bill, however noble the policy aims, would only lead to chaos.

“If we have an agreement with the administration and the leadership of Senate Democrats and House Democrats on what should be in the reconciliation package, I’m sure I could think of plenty of ways to change it, and I’m sure every one of my colleagues could as well,” Carper said. “But that’s a slippery slope I don’t think we want to get on.”

Read more: http://www.rollcall.com/issues/55_102/news/44084-1.html?type=printer_friendly

[begin_within]

1. What the hell is wrong with Congress? Just pass the public option and get it over with.

[GinaMaria]

23. They've worked harder to kill the PO than to pass it

I suspect they will burn us again. The ins co. CEOs were in DC last week. Goliath will win this and we will lose. Every time they dangle the undefined PO, progressives get excited and every time our hopes have been shattered. We know who we are dealing with now. They will not pass anything the insurance industry has not agreed to. I wish I could believe in them but their track record does not inspire extending an ounce of trust.

[begin_within]

26. Sadly I have to agree.

However I'm sure the insurance industry would love to never have to deal with those people they label "uninsurable" and having a public option would be one way to take them off their hands, so for that greedy reason I would think they would support it.

[GinaMaria]

35. Not true. Insurance Co.s are dead set against any PO

and have used their employees to lobby against it, used their money and influence to lobby against it. They do not want this. They cannot compete with a PO (a much cheaper option for consumers)without giving up massive amounts of profit. This is the piece of health care reform they came out fighting early on in the debate.

[No Elephants]

30. +1

[kristopher]

2. Carper does not want a public option - he wants a "market solution"

[PDJane]

3. There is no such thing

as a 'market solution' to the health care mess. You either have to regulate it to the point where the whole deal becomes unpalatable, or go straight for a government-run, single-payer system.

[pattmarty]

18. Simple & concise, very well put.

[xxqqqzme]

4. Because that 'market solution' is working so well now?

DLC disciple.

[polichick]

7. "market solution" - meaning, he wants his usual payoff. nt

[cascadiance]

22. Where's the job offer from Carper (and Durbin)? Aetna? Wellpoint? United Healthcare?

WE NEED PUBLIC CAMPAIGN FINANCING YESTERDAY!!! (Yes, I AM YELLING!)

We need to have an ammendment to do recalls of Senators!

[No Elephants]

31. "Market solution" = death and bankruptcy panels

[stopbush]

5. This is BS. If the House passes the Senate bill, Obama will sign it into law.

The reconciliation bill comes later. It's not going to hold up anything. I know that there's rumors that the Senate bill & reconciliation might be voted on in tandem, but if that means nixing the PO, then I say pass the Senate bill and then take all the time your want working out reconciliation.

[customerserviceguy]

27. That is soooo true

which is another reason to insist on seeing the text of the reconciliation bill BEFORE the House votes to send it to the President.

This whole "trust me, trust me" thing is going to blow up in our faces if we don't know what we're trusting the Senate to do. If I were a House member, I'd insist on the signatures of 51 Senators on a pledge to vote for the reconciliation bill that I was presented, with a further pledge to oppose any and all amendments of whatever sort.

As I said a couple of days ago, if I were a Repuke, I'd love to see the House pass the Senate bill, and the reconciliation to go down in flames. It would be VERY easy for the Rethugs to run against the Senate bill, and to make the House Democratic members look like damned fools for rubber-stamping the Senate's legislation.

[Sebastian Doyle]

6. Carper = DLC piece of shit

:puke:

[keopeli]

8. Oooo! Ammendments are so scarry! Republicans are using them to block passage! We can't be like Repub

Repubs and VOTE for an AMMENDMENT for a public option!! Why, if you do that, Carper might not vote for the bill, even though the Dems still have 50 votes to pass it, so you can't do that!

Bullshit

[Hell Hath No Fury]

9. OK where the FUCK are the --

"They'll fix it right away" squad NOW??? :mad:

THE BILL THEY PASS WILL BE THE BILL WE GET.

[pezDispenser]

10. They are busy working on the NAFTA fixes. eom

[dana_b]

13. good one. n/t

[pattmarty]

19. I'm afraid so. And all the MORE harder down the road to "fix" the...................

..........piece of shit.

[tnlefty]

11. Dear Senator Durbin, I no longer swallow.

Regards,
tnlefty

[harun]

12. Eff U Carper.

[Ed76638]

14. =^.^= Dems

=^.^= Dems. =^.^= Dems.

[GinaMaria]

15. How hard are they going to have to swallow

when they lose upcoming elections? Dick Durbin has been disappointing. I think Paul Simon would be ashamed he hand picked this tool.

[WriteDown]

16. It will be fixed later like TARP, NAFTA and the Patriot Act. nt

[No Elephants]

33. And retroactive immunity for phone companies (per then Senator Obama).

[SandWalker1984]

17. Don't just post -- make phone calls!

Saw this post elsewhere today:

These thirty Democratic Congressmen all voted for Obamacare the first time around. But Pelosi cannot count on their votes again as Obama tries to jam the bill through using reconciliation in the Senate. These members are all vulnerable and are frightened of the voter backlash their support for Obamacare has kindled.

The League of American voters is running ads in each of their districts to press them to vote no on Obamacare.

But also, pick up the phone and call these swing Congressmen. Let them hear from you! Here’s the list:

PLEASE CALL! DC OFFICE LOCAL OFFICE
Harry Mitchell [phone] [phone]
Gabrielle Giffords [phone] [phone]
Ann Kirkpatrick [phone] [phone]
Jerry McNerney [phone] 925-833-0643
John Salazar 202-225-4761 970-245-7107
Jim Himes [phone] [phone]
Alan Grayson [phone] [phone]
Bill Foster [phone] 630-406-1145
Baron Hill 202 225 5315 812 288 3999
Mark Schauer [phone] [phone]
Gary Peters [phone] [phone]
Dina Titus [phone] 702-256-DINA (3462)
Carol Shea-Porter [phone] [phone]
Tim Bishop [phone] [phone]
John Hall [phone] [phone] x49371
Bill Owens [phone] [phone]
Mike Arcuri [phone] [phone]
Dan Maffei [phone] [phone]
Earl Pomneroy [phone] [phone]
Steven Driehaus [phone] [phone]
Mary Jo Kilroy [phone] [phone]
Zach Space [phone] [phone]
Kathy Dahlkemper [phone] [phone]
Patrick Murphy [phone] [phone]
Christopher Carney [phone] [phone]
Paul Kanjorski [phone] [phone]
John Spratt [phone] [phone]
Tom Perriello [phone] [phone]
Alan Mollohan [phone] [phone]
Nick Rahall [phone] [phone]
Steve Kagen [phone] [phone]

Let’s get busy to save health care in America! Thank you.

[No Elephants]

29. Grayson is a swing voter? If so, only bc he wants a better bill. How many others on the list fit

that description?

[bvar22]

20. THIS is what the "Democratic Leadership "SHOULD be looking at:

* Would you favor or oppose the national government offering everyone the choice of a government administered health insurance plan — something like the Medicare coverage that people 65 and older get — that would compete with private health insurance plans?

Favor 82%

Oppose 14%

Not Sure 4%
http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010010320/poll-shouts-message-massachusetts-voters-were-sending

LESS than 35% of ALL Americans support Mandates without a Public Option.
Good luck selling this piece of shit to the American People in 2010.

"By their works you will know them."

[MisterP]

21. if anyone wants to see what the PPI's Senators will be saying on the floor

as the "Move! Move! Go-go-GO! Millions are at stake!" rhetoric heats up, just go to DKos's "Smash Kucinich" thread and write down what the Eternal Apologists are saying. I guarantee that those talking points will be repeated on the floor and on DU.

(The phrase "Move! Move! Go-go-GO!" courtesy of a "Transformers 2" review.)

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

24. I hope nobody's surprised by this. I know I'm not. Nt

[EndElectoral]

25. Vote on the damn public option! I want it on the record who is against it.

[Festivito]

28. NAMES, I want names. /nt

[No Elephants]

32. "Senate liberals "= oxymoron "Swallow hard" = Bill to Monica, while using her vagina as an ashtray,

Now Congress is fixing to use America as an ashtray.

And doncha just love how they call center right Democrats "moderate Democrats?" That's like calling Leslie Graham (lately) a "moderate Democrat."

I wonder if things like pre-existing conditions will fall out in the reconciliation process.

We need to tell these creeps that talking out of both sides of their mouths doesn't get them a single vote: voters will be watching to see what bill emerges, not the bs they spout before they vote.

[Bigmack]

34. Diss the liberals at your peril...

Liberals are more educated, have more disposable income, and are politically active... as opposed to the Great Middle-of-the-Roaders.

I could stay home, you know.

I could close my checkbook, you know.

I can support the Dems without supporting them enthusiastically. And the Dems need my enthusiasm.

[Threedifferentones]

36. But so what?

We'll elect republicans? Both sides know that whoever is in power will eventually piss off the American public no matter what, then the other will take over for a while. We need more than to let the Dems know we are pissed, we need an alternative!

The sad truth is that this two party system seems incapable of doing what we want. Eventually, we will HAVE to change.

[No Elephants]

37. No, you don't elect Republicans. You get involved much earlier. You help recruit people

to run in the primary against Democratic incumbents you don't like, then you support the hell out of the primary challenger. If all else fails, write someone in or vote third party. But never, nver vote for a Republican.

[Threedifferentones]

41. Ummmmm

The point of my post is we need a vibrant third party. You respond telling me never to vote Republican. Sorry, this time I will be more explicit:

In retrospect, the Clinton administration turned out sucky. So far, Obama is shaping up as a darker skinned version of him. The Democratic party has not made significant progress in a loooooong time, but we (I?) keep voting for them because repubs are the only other choice.

Healthcare "reform" under the last two Democratic administrations is an excellent illustration of this point. Clinton tried halfheartedly for single payer. Then, both parties, full of rich people, made it clear they'd never let that happen. Obama learned that lesson and never even really brought single-payer on the table.

Regardless of which party holds dominance, they both make huge money together, even as Americans suffer. Both parties are united behind many ideas I consider fundamentally flawed, such as:

1. That we ought to have a huge military presence around the world, funded by a budget many times the size of any other nation.

2. That we ought to continue pretending our "intelligence" agencies do not actively work against democracy and progress in the "third world," so as to keep raw materials and resources flowing cheaply our way.

3. That healthcare ought to be run at a profit.

4. That the internet should be privately controlled and profit driven, rather than a publicly funded form of infrastructure.

I could go on, but hopefully you get me. What's worse is that these two parties "debate" over red herring like gay marriage, abortion, or whether our government will pretend to compete with private insurance companies. Ugh, I'm feeling ill again...

[Vinca]

38. I swear . . . it seems these people are worried they won't get

out of town for Easter vacation on time. That would be a reason. Not doing what the people overwhelmingly want isn't.

[mbperrin]

39. And so anything that gets in the way of the corporate giveaway to

insurers is completely off the board, regardless of appearance now, eh?

This is why single payer never got a seat at the original table. It's the only thing that will work, but the insurance companies must die.

Since they own the process, why be surprised when the result is all to their liking?

[420inTN]

40. I'm a Spitter, not a Swallower. Sorry. n/t