Rules committee fun and hackery
The list of amendments for Rules Committee consideration is now published. Of 90 proposed amendments, one belongs to Democrats. The rest are nothing more than Republican stupid stalls.
The one Democratic amendment is Alan Grayson's proposal to allow Medicare buy-in for any age. I give it about a 5% chance of success. It's more likely that it was included here to meet his request for an up or down vote on the measure itself and foreclose the accusation that Stupak was getting more attention than positive suggestions.
Other amendments on the list are pure right wing hackery, designed to stall the process and allow them to spew more crap into the TV machine. Shining examples of Republican nasty:
- Joe Barton/Sam Johnson(R-TX) - Would require that all individuals under Medicaid have to demonstrate their identity and citizenship. (Me: Because all those poor folks are really just illegals slidin' over the border to suck up our medical resources. Yeah, right.)
- Joe Barton (R-TX) - Would repeal a provision providing Medicare coverage to certain individuals exposed to environmental health hazards. (Me: I believe this was intended to extend to Ground Zero first responders, which would be a truly nasty gesture on the part of these yahoos)
- Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has a series of 4 'self-destruct' amendments calling for the entire bill to turn to dust under certain circumstances. Hey Marsha, is there one of those for obnoxious Congresscritters too?
- Marsha Blackburn, redux: Would prohibit the Federal government from passing any law that would give it authority to ration health care for the American people. (Me: Don't insurance companies ration health care now? Why yes, they do.)
- Crazy Virginia Foxx (R-NC) has one in there to strike the student loan bill from the reconciliation act. I guess she hates education.
- One of the more bizarre amendments comes from Christopher Lee (R-NY) - Would create a 3 year / 5 state medical tribunal pilot program to be administered by the Secretary of HHS. Me: A tribunal? Wow, visions of white-cloaked men on a high dais come to mind.
None of these amendments are expected to pass, which will give Republicans the excuse to go running into the street, grab the nearest microphone and whine about how their ideas are never, ever used in Democrat bills. Let them whine. They had a chance to be serious and actually do something good for this country. Now they're just in the way of progress and need to step aside for our own good.
Well, all but Grayson. I harbor a secret utopian hope that they'll slip this little extra goodie into the reconciliation bill. It's actually quite well-crafted. But alas, I'm not sure it's Senate-proof. Yet.
is the operative word. I see it as inevitable now.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
I agree with karoli, I see it at a 5% or less chance of passage.
"Medicare buy in? We don't need no stinking medicare buy in." behind closed doors, Pelosi, Reid and Obama in unison.
it would be in this bill. Karoli may be optimistic even at 5%. It will nevertheless come because the health insurance industry will make it happen.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
The sooner the better, but I think it will be a while.
put it in their pockets period and you'll never get it back let alone see it again.
all of us with a number at this point. Just get it freaking over with!
Is this his mimic of Teddy Roosevelt’s bulldog look of defiance towards medical corporations and “Big Pharma” or “We the People” who darest defy his Treasury draining, legislative schemes?
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100319/capt.8f9e7f...
On behalf of Michelle Bachmann I would like to add that the bill require all women with severe paranoia get to move to the head of the line at the doctor's office if they are Republican.
I want to see her, Blackburn and Virginia Foxx have a cat fight to see who gets to go first.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
How many votes will each of those Republican amendments garner? Will the GOP unanimously vote for any of them?
Don't try to confuse the issue with half-truths and gorilla dust.
So, if the dems had used "deem and pass" and the repubs had sued to challenge based on Constitutionality, wouldn't they, in effect, be also challenging all the laws THEY passed using the same "deem and pass" rule?
Let it die. Come back with single payer.
Republicans are liars and simply cannot be trusted.
die.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
not to include the public option. He has the votes yet still opposes it.
Republicans are liars and simply cannot be trusted.
House and Senate, please.
Don't try to confuse the issue with half-truths and gorilla dust.
Last year when everyone was screaming we needed 60 votes, which of course we never did, there were 51 senators "open" to a public option and I found a few articles where the number of senators commited to a public option ran from 48 to 51. Then we let a year go by and let them get beaten down by town halls etc... and now the number, as of March 10th (that's the latest I could find) was 41. However, I recall it being perhaps as high as 48 as late as last week.
I didn't bother writing down all their names because it's pointless if your looking for 51 or more. That I couldn't find.
However, the vast majority of people support the public option, it's not necessarily the fault of the people if scumbags in the Senate won't vote their will.
The senate has at least 51.
http://whipcongress.com/
Obama made a deal to exclude the public option.
Obama made a deal so Americans cannot purchase prescriptions in Canada and cannot negotiate drugs prices here in the U.S.
Obama made a deal so there is no way to reign in insurance costs.
Obama mada a deal to force Americans to buy insurance from these insurance shysters.
Obama did not campaign on this. LET THE CRAPPY BILL DIE!
Republicans are liars and simply cannot be trusted.
We let this crappy bill die.
Now what?
Are you under the impression that Obama will go back and try it again, but make it MORE liberal this time? Do you think that we won't have the same deals in it? Do you think that we'll have a chance to do this again before November where I guaran-damn-tee you we will get a Republican majority in the Senate since they'll all run on how ineffectual the Democrats are that they couldn't pass the bill? Do you think that the lesson that DC will learn from this is to listen to progressives--when they didn't do it this time and the conservatives are the ones that strung this out as long as they did and weakened it as much as they did?
Do you honestly think we'll see a good health care reform again in this generation?
And if you do, based on what historical precedent?
There is no progressive who will argue that this is one terribly fucked up weak ass bill. It is.
But what have you been smoking to think we could turn it around and make it better immediately?
agree to your characterization of this bill and yet there is hope in it. Some fine tuning in the near future (say the next two years) would hasten a public option. The insurance companies must be compelled to compete fiercely for the mandated new insurees. Any hint of collusion must stamped out and that would require stronger regulation than I see. That will take the wind out of their profit margins.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
If this bill passes, this is not the end.
This is just the beginning.
We do not let up. We do not relax. We do not rest on laurels. We fight. We continue to push for better and more progressive reforms.
Unfortunately, in this climate, where facts and reality take a back seat to ignorance and fear, it's the only way to make it work.
I'd hate to see what a trophy looks like.
Just sayin.
of the painfully slow variety.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
it's just if I were in congress or the senate there's no way I could be proud of this. I mean, I'd have to campaign on it being a great sucess and all, but secretly I'd know I (or we) could have done so much more.
Discount the "likely" and "unknown" votes and you've got 48.
And the link doesn't specify the details of what those 48 would agree to. The Devil is in the details.
Don't try to confuse the issue with half-truths and gorilla dust.
saved me the trouble of deconstruction.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
to twist some arms to get there. It didn't happen, and it's not going to. A few weeks ago Nancy Pelosi had an interview with Rachel Maddow and she said she would not persue a public option because it would be "too hard." She did not say she would not persue it because she didn't think she'd get the votes. Two different things.
But I don't want to get off course, I am discussing this, not arguing it. I'm with Nicole on this, and her post is just above.
...Credo has Tester as a yes vote, then links to this HuffPo article which quotes Tester:
[emphasis added]
That reads as conditional to me. How many more of those Senators are "yes-with conditions", and how do those conditions jibe with each other?
Don't try to confuse the issue with half-truths and gorilla dust.
Hey karoli,
Sorry to be a noodge but this drives me crazy especially when liberals pick up bad habits from Frank Luntz's Bush idiot-speak. You wrote, "...their ideas are never, ever used in Democrat bills."
It should read, "Democrat's bills," "Democratic bills," or something similar. Otherwise it sounds as ignorant as when Republicans do it and they should be called out for their ignorance every time.
thx for the post though.
Nothing worse than listening to some republican hack going democrat this democrat that with that stupid frigin half sneer half disdain look on their faces.
Virginia Foxx is indeed not a supporter of education. Her district includes Boone, NC, home of Appalachian State University. (It's also where she's from.) She tends not to win that part of her district, but the surrounding areas have kept her in office. She criticizes pretty much any new spending for ASU as wasteful. It's pretty galling, considering it's one of the few relatively large employers in the area that offer benefits to employees. At one point, years ago, she wasn't such an awful person, but she left the sane train a long time ago.
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