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Obama makes his move…
The White House has outlined a package of fixes to the Senate health care bill, which they hope can bring reform over the finish line, and they’re prepared to push the changes through the filibuster-proof reconciliation process if Republicans insist on filibustering.
“This package is designed to help us [use reconciliation] if the Republican party decides to filibuster health care reform,” said White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer. “That was certainly a factor that went in to how we put this proposal together.”
Pfeiffer said the White House views this as “the opening bid,” for the bipartisan health care summit scheduled for this Thursday. The hope–a long shot–is that one or more Republicans can agree to support this proposal, allowing Dems to pass it via more standard legislative channels. But if that fails, reconciliation can be used as a backstop.
“The president expects, and thinks the American people deserve, an up or down vote on health care reform,” Pfeiffer said.
The White House proposal does not include a public option which will upset progressives but it appears that Obama is willing to settle on a health care bill which is less than what he’d hoped for. He still has not given up on appeasing Republicans and giving bipartisanship another shot. It’ll fail as will the health care summit. There is NO health care proposal which Republicans will ever agree to no matter how far Dems bend over backwards.
Obama is trying to finesse an opposition which is unshakable in their determination to put a halt to government. Obama’s ploy, if indeed this is his plan, is the equivalent of trying to negotiate logically with a bull running rampant in a china shop. It’s futile and the best one can hope for in such a scenario is that the inevitable goring won’t lead to death.
If h/c reform is going happen it’ll be by reconciliation. At this point, there is no other way.
BTW, there is still no comprehensive Republican proposal for health care reform posted anywhere. Surprise.
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Well finally President Obama’s patience with the naysayers has come to an end. Let the Republicans hypocritically whine about reconciliation, when they used the same process themselves when they were in the majority. I would not have given them as much time, they were never going to do anything but obstruct, even as we saw, their own bills that they created.
@Mario: Great art work! I love that.
The Impossible Dream by the master Brian Stokes Mitchell! He and this song remind me of Obama and his health care bill. Enjoy!
http://bit.ly/ck8TUs