I don't know whether Sen. Max Baucus was drunk in this floor speech (he may always struggle with being lucid and articulate), but it is interesting to hear him and other Democrats assert that Republicans weren't interested in bi-partisan healthcare reform.
It's interesting to me that Dems are so concerned about being solely credited/blamed with passing this healthcare legislation if said legislation is such a great idea. You guys have got the numbers, you don't need any assistance in passing this stupid bill. Why not go for it? That's the beauty of an overwhelming majority and the ability to deny politicians cover for all their duplicitous, dodgy blame-shifting.
In any event, here's a great synopsis of Conservative priorities for so-called healthcare reform. ("John Mackey: The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare" - WSJ.com)
Hello world!
7 years ago
2 comments:
It's worth noting, first off, that Democrats are going for it. At this point, Congress looks likely to pass a health care overhaul by February at the latest. It seems unlikely that this bill will get more than a single Republican vote in the House and almost certain that it will not get any such votes in the Senate. So, the "come on" retort is a bit silly.
But, beyond that, the fact of the matter is that Republicans weren't interested in bipartisan health-care reform. Sure, quite a few of them came out and said, "Hey, here's my plan." But, even when those plans weren't just unfeasible, political gimmicks (read: never, as far as I can tell), they were always strictly partisan.
Bipartisan negotiation would have meant coming to the majority party and saying, for instance, "Okay, we really can't deal with a public option, but we're willing to give you this many votes for the new regulations and subsidies you're talking about" or "We'll give you this many votes for Medicaid expansion, in exchange for malpractice reform."
If serious attempts to incorporate Republican ideas compatible with Democratic ideas had been made, they would have been embraced and accepted. You just have to look at the desperation with which Baucus went after the votes of Senators Snowe and Grassley in committee to see that. What Republicans said in effect, instead, was that they weren't interested in engaging in the legislative process at all. They wanted either all of their proposals and none of their opponents' to be enacted (a highly anti-democratic idea, given what a tiny minority they are in Congress) or absolutely nothing to be done at all.
Pointing that out isn't an attempt to grab political cover. It's an indictment, rather, of how unserious Republicans are about dealing with the domestic trials crippling the working and middle classes of this country.
Well, I disagree.
And so as not to appear "silly," it would probably have been more accurate to say, "If you're so proud of your plan, pass it, and shut up."
Besides, who cares what a "tiny minority" of Americans thinks any way, right?
But your comment nicely illustrates the inherent Liberal/statist creep of government. Not a good thing. Thanks for visiting and commenting.
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