- All 170 House Republicans joined Democrats to unanimously pass legislation banning fundraising letters that look like official Census mailings, like mailers previously sent by the RNC and NRCC. Woah, actual bipartisanship! (AP)
- Doug Hoffman has a new tactic for his second run for Congress: he will actually live in New York’s 23rd district this time. (Adirondack Daily Enterprise)
- The Oklahoma Senate has passed a bill that would basically opt Oklahoma out of federal hate crimes laws because gays are icky and gross. (The Oklahoman)
- A Muslim imam gave the opening prayer in Virginia’s House of Delegates today, even though he is a Muslim! This, of course, was cause for protests outside the state Capitol. (WaPo)
Archive for posts ‘bipartisanship’
Manage the Message
If the White House would just stop talking about bipartisanship then Democrats wouldn’t have to keep watering down bills to get “support” from Republicans who aren’t going to vote for the bill anyway.
Deep Thought
So now that healthcare reform is officially bipartisan, can we all stop groveling at the feet of Olympia Snowe?
We Must Have Bipartisanship!
How horrible would it be if the Democratic majority passed healthcare reform with only Democratic votes when Republicans are so open to compromise:
“Be assured not one Republican will vote for this bill,” [Rep. Eric] Cantor said, to big cheers and shouts of “Kill the bill.”
But we must have bipartisanship because, um, Olympia Snowe? Or maybe it’s because David Brooks will be sad? Ugh. If the Democrats have learned anything from Tuesday night (and I wouldn’t be surprised if they haven’t) it’s that Democrats don’t show up to vote for candidates who insist on running far to the right.
The Bipartisan Myth
The New York Times tells us what most of us already know: there will never be a bipartisan compromise on healthcare reform with today’s GOP.
Most Republicans have been deeply unhappy with the Democratic health care proposals so far, and Republicans on the Finance Committee were said to be bracing for two possibilities: a partisan proposal that they were going to oppose, or a bipartisan proposal that they were going to oppose.
(via)
I’ll Have Some of What Max Baucus Is Smoking
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), on his totally awesome bipartisan compromise healthcare bill:
The critical question is: Do we get bipartisan support sometime before we vote on the bill? And me guess is that we will,” he said. “It could be as late as voting on the bill, I just don’t know when. But I do think a decent number of Republicans will support it.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), on that same bill:
I don’t think that’s a package that very many Republicans will support
I wonder what Baucus thinks he knows about the GOP caucus that McConnell doesn’t, especially now that Baucus has produced a bill that even Democrats on his committee can’t support because it makes so many concessions to Republicans that it no longer contains the reform that Democrats want.
Meanwhile, you have Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the chief Republican negotiator of the “bipartisan” bill (and he’s hardly been gung-ho about compromise) saying that he won’t support any bill unless Democrats cede complete control and veto power over healthcare reform legislation to the GOP. And Grassley is supposed to be the most bipartisan Republican!
Someone needs to wake Max Baucus up from his bipartisan fantasy land and write a bill that provides real healthcare reform, and if Republicans don’t want to play ball (and they don’t), then so be it.
Quote of the Day
As one top Democrat told me, the fundamental problem is that Democrats “are being asked to support a bipartisan bill that doesn’t have bipartisan support.” The compromise without the cover.
– ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, on the “compromise” healthcare reform bill released today by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT).
Democrats Finally Figuring It Out?
Looks like Democrats may be finally figuring out that Republicans never intended to compromise on healthcare reform, they only wanted to kill it:
Given hardening Republican opposition to Congressional health care proposals, Democrats now say they see little chance of the minority’s cooperation in approving any overhaul, and are increasingly focused on drawing support for a final plan from within their own ranks.
Top Democrats said Tuesday that their go-it-alone view was being shaped by what they saw as Republicans’ purposely strident tone against health care legislation during this month’s Congressional recess, as well as remarks by leading Republicans that current proposals were flawed beyond repair.
Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, said the heated opposition was evidence that Republicans had made a political calculation to draw a line against any health care changes, the latest in a string of major administration proposals that Republicans have opposed.
“The Republican leadership,” Mr. Emanuel said, “has made a strategic decision that defeating President Obama’s health care proposal is more important for their political goals than solving the health insurance problems that Americans face every day.”
Not mentioned in this article, though, are Harry Reid and Max Baucus. They’re the ones who really need to put recognize that they can’t negotiate with Chuck Grassley because Grassley doesn’t want to negotiate.
Needs More Bipartisanship
For months of healthcare negotiations now, all we’ve heard from Harry Reid and Max Baucus and the rest of our Democratic “leaders” in Congress is bipartisanship, bipartisanship, bipartisanship! We need to work together with Republicans, even if it means stripping everything we believe in from the healthcare bill. The American people don’t care if we actually reform healthcare as long as we all play nice together! In New Hampshire on Tuesday, even President Obama had some nice words for Republican negotiators:
“Now, I think that there are some of my Republican friends on Capitol Hill who are sincerely trying to figure out if they can find a health care bill that works — Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, Olympia Snowe from Maine have been — yes, I got to admit I like Olympia, too. They are diligently working to see if they can come up with a plan that could get both Republican and Democratic support.”
Bipartisanship, compromise, all great ideas, yes? If only the Republicans felt the same way:
Americans should be scared of provisions in a health care bill currently in the U.S. House because it will allow the government to have a say in end-of-life decisions, Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley told a crowd of more than 300 Wednesday morning.
“In the House bill, there is counseling for end of life,” Grassley said. “You have every right to fear. You shouldn’t have counseling at the end of life, you should have done that 20 years before. Should not have a government run plan to decide when to pull the plug on grandma.”
The day after being praised for his “bipartisanship” by the President of the United States, Chuck Grassley turns around an endorses the patently false “death panel” nonsense. And this is the guy who we’re supposed to compromise with, for the good of the country?
Bipartisanship is a great idea. If only we could all get along, right? But when Republicans resort to rhetoric, fearmongering, and straight-up lying to score political points, I think we’ve passed the point where we should feel obligated to compromise with them. Bipartisanship, if that’s what we really want, requires effort from both sides of the aisle.
Update: Here’s a question for Senate Dems. How do you negotiate with someone who’s not interested in negotiating?
As he did at two previous town-hall meetings on Wednesday, Senate Finance ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) made a point at his third event to tell his constituents that he won’t compromise his principles for the sake of getting a health care deal.
Grassley, a chief Senate health care negotiator, downplayed the ongoing bipartisan Finance Committee talks, saying his decision to stay at the table allows him to keep his constituents and fellow GOP Senators informed. Grassley told town-hall attendees that he suspects President Barack Obama may not be interested in a consensus after all, which would render the Finance talks moot.
“I don’t even think it’s right for me to call [the Finance discussions] negotiations,” Grassley said, inside a steamy community center packed with a standing-room-only crowd of about 350 people. “We’re talking.”
As is typical with Congressional bipartisanship, “compromise” means Democrats have to give Republicans exactly what they want.
Healthcare Mob Rule
- It’s hard to come up with a bipartisan healthcare reform bill when one of the parties doesn’t want a healthcare reform bill at all. (The Hill)
- Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA) feels very strongly about the Jesuit value of social justice, except when it comes to giving people health insurance so they can get medical attention. Pro life! (Catholic News Agency)
- One of Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele’s concentration camp experiments was giving people healthcare, according to town hall protestors. (Worcester Telegram & Gazette)
- Even FOX News (or at least its local affiliates) have figured out that tea bagging town hall protestors aren’t from the same congressional districts as the members they’re protesting against. (MyFOXHouston)
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