Correction: Since posting this I learned a lesson, do a Google search immediately before awarding any Member of Congress an award like — turns out that Rep. Anthony Weiner said last night he will vote against the Senate bill.
The award for the U.S. House Member most foresaking his principles goes to Representative Anthony Weiner (D-NY) — Mr. We-Must-Have-a-Public-Option-to-Medicare-Buy-In-is-better-to-I’ll-vote-for-a-bill-with-no-public-option-and-no-Medicare-buy-in-but-I’ll-whine-about-it:
“If you think about the three letters that almost all of us signed, we signed a Courtney letter saying we weren’t going to go along if it included the Cadillac tax, a [Rep. Diana] DeGette letter saying we weren’t going to go along if it included Stupak [restrictions on publicly funded abortions], and someone had a letter saying we we’re not going to go along unless the public option is in there,” [New York Rep. Anthony] Weiner said. “So we’re eating a lot of letters right now, [and] I think there’s got to be some nominal [emphasis added] movement on those things to let all of us who signed those things at least say, ‘All right, we got improvement in those three areas.’”
Unless Members of Congress who signed these three letters, like Rep. Weiner, who was on almost every national television news station demanding a public option, make a credible threat to vote no — and do if their bluff is called (since most do not believe the letter signers will actually vote no) — they will end up forsaking each of the principles they pronounced, in each letter they signed. (See picture above.)
“If you’re a member who voted no after the uproar these plans have caused, how do you vote yes?” asked Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak, one of the last converts after party leaders inserted his controversial restrictions on abortion. “I mean, really. Those who voted no probably went home and got slapped on the back. Those of us who voted yes got slapped across the head with a two-by-four.”
I wonder who sleeps better?
Steve Maley
Moe Lane
Dan McLaughlin
Neil Stevens
the one who gets smacked by a two by four tends to sleep pretty well
jackhammer Thursday, January 14th at 9:13AM EST (link)at least for a couple of hours in my experience…..
I think the Dems are finally not able to ignore
Dan Perrin (Diary) Thursday, January 14th at 11:54AM EST (link)the political damage they are doing to themselves.
It looks like a tentative deal was reached to get union
davidstone Thursday, January 14th at 9:22AM EST (link)support. It looks like the administration promised them EFCA and a carve out of collectively bargained plans from the excise tax if they support the bill. At least, that is what Firedoglake is reporting.
A lot of people that were going to get hurt by the excise tax rallied behind the AFL-CIO (since they are organized) giving them more pull to challenge the administration. Then the AFL-CIO sold these people out when after using the increased leverage these people gave them, the unions agreed to support the bill as long as collectively bargained plans were carved out.
Regardless, if that is true, so much for the cadillac tax problem.
Here is a good article from the National Review
davidstone Thursday, January 14th at 9:59AM EST (link)on this development.
If the democrats end up passing this bill, it will be hands down the dumbest political move I have seen in my lifetime.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NjZlYzRkNDc2MjkwNTEwM2Q3NTNjNTY0NzZmYWUwOGI=
An excerpt fromthe article:
gekster (Diary) Thursday, January 14th at 10:13AM EST (link)“The Democrats are fighting a losing battle: Every time they make a corrupt compromise to buy votes, a disgusted public likes the bill a little less, which drives down its popularity in the polls, which increases the number of votes the Democrats have to buy. As Ramesh Ponnuru and Yuval Levin noted in the latest issue of National Review, the end product of this process will present a big red target for Republicans to shoot at all year. The Labor Loophole would make that target even bigger. “
They say Republicans are for the rich, Democrats are for the poor.
If they need more voters,
then they have to make more of who they are for.
We are there in the various Tea Party groups, leaderless, but not rudderless.
We steer always toward the Constitutional principles this nation was founded upon.
Erick Brockway
Ok folks, 2012 is here. Get involved
I am not sure you can get the Senate Dems to go for that
earlgrey (Diary) Thursday, January 14th at 10:06AM EST (link)Lieberman at least seems to have some principles, and if Nelson wants to save his hide or at least go out for pizza. It is not equal protection. They have to get 60 votes again if they change this. Or they can go ahead and pass the legislation as is and then hope that they can get the union exemption through on card check. Still that looks challengiing to me.
I wrote in another post that I called LIeberman’s office about this. They had no comment, but were specifcally interested in whether or not I supported the healthcare bill in general. His approvals are really bad right now. He made the left and the right mad by removing the public option and then voting for the bill.
Senate lines are pretty clear right now. I would advise calling and complaining to your Senators about this. Both of mine are republicans so it doesn’t do much good.
The labor loophole -- carve out for their special
Dan Perrin (Diary) Thursday, January 14th at 11:55AM EST (link)friends will be a huge liability come election time.
I doubt it holds.
The union issue is not the only bill killer
Dan Perrin (Diary) Thursday, January 14th at 12:30PM EST (link)There are still many miles and other issues to go, and a carve out for the unions may just increase resolve to vote NO in other quarters.
It's all smoke and mirrors
renny (Diary) Thursday, January 14th at 10:01AM EST (link)They are determined to pass this travesty.
You have to keep borking them. Reid is 202-224-3542 (and tell him he’s a racist and bigot and should resign), Pelosi is 202-225-0100, and Congress is 202-224/225-3121.
You can help Scott Brown at https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDFVMGxFamFFbkFMcEp0Z1lvLVgtcXc6MA
Only someone who will actually vote NO can end this marathon stupidity that is taking months and months and deflecting Cong.’s attention from anything else. while if it passes is designed to keep us in recession indefinitely.
The pressure is working
Dan Perrin (Diary) Thursday, January 14th at 11:59AM EST (link)The real underlying problem is the politics of the bill and when the left finally figures out they have been used and rolled, some of them, I think, will kill it.
all these new phrases, like 'carve out'...
larryp Thursday, January 14th at 10:10AM EST (link)and “letters being inserted’..What happened to debate and all this commentary
being debated on the Congress’s floor. I think allthese ‘letters’ and ‘carve-outs’
ar being written by lobbyists. That is because the congress is not that bright.
All thee meetings hve an aura of crooked behavior…imo.
Debate has become make a certain thing untenable
Dan Perrin (Diary) Thursday, January 14th at 11:57AM EST (link)and change it, take it out or exempt the group that hates it or is powerful enough to kill the bill.
That is why the Dems look corrupt, because they will do anything to pass it, but doing anything is what is causing them the problems.
Oh I hope we don't F it up!
jackhammer Thursday, January 14th at 12:29PM EST (link)When we get back into power. I mean the last batch of R’s F’ed it up royally….being a bunch of big spending D’s.
I still don’t understand why the R’s didn’t put in a really pure free market Health Care Reform bill
- All health care plans are taxed (with a $2500 per head deduction to be used towards premiums or HSA’s, or not insuring)
- One time amnesty for all non insured people to be brought into some age and sex specific risk rating … give the people 6 months to get insured, and those insurance companies have to keep them.
- New rule is people apply for insurance when they are under 25, and if you haven’t signed up by then and you get a pre-existing you are SOL
- Immediately rescind any anti-trust protections for Health Insurance Companies
- Immediately null and void any state restrictions on who can sell insurance and what it must cover
- Focus government oversight exclusively on cancellation of policy cases, abusive fee raising to get sick patients off the rolls.
- Perhaps establish a national re.insurer to build a risk pool for those who are sick, and can no longer change their insurance companies….to find a subsidy program to make them viable consumers too.
But basically get rid of the states lobbying, get rid of the government lobbying, get rid of people being dependent upon their employer for health care (let them buy it thorugh their church, or walmart, or costco, or wherever they get the best deal and get in the best risk pool), put in some limited government oversite for consumer portection, and encourage HSA and making people more aware of what they are actually paying for….I think some sort of rule of openly posted price lists at hospitals should be done too. It is required of retailers, and food outlets, why not hospitals and doctors?
I mean it would have never passed anyway, but a nice 50 page clear bill would have been at least something great and pro-active and something people can run on in 2012.. because I thik burying it for another 20 years for the D#s to keep dragging up is also a mistake.
There have been plans and ideas generated
davidstone Thursday, January 14th at 12:44PM EST (link)during this debate. The Republicans cannot elevate them to national discussion due to a democratically controlled congress not allowing it and the media ignoring them.
One example can be found in Representative Ryan’s “A Roadmap for America’s Future.” I would recommend perusing it if you have not yet. He talks in depth about the future state conservatives should be building to.
I really hope Ryan runs for President.
http://www.americanroadmap.org/
I know Ryan talked about it
jackhammer Thursday, January 14th at 1:24PM EST (link)and I think I even rememebr some other congressman talking about it was getting written, but that is the last I heard of it.
I think it is just important that we don’t just say, “thank goodness that probllem is over with” and just bury it.
Health care is somehting whose costs are expanding well over the level of inflation, and needs to be addressed, becasue it makes up a very real part of everyones expenditures, similar to taxes. If the government is doing anythign to contribute to that, it needs to be ended, and real competiton needs to come in.
The last bunch of R’s were overly lobbied and ameniable to it…if conservatives mean it, we should make sure that being for free enterprise is not synonomous with being for “big business”. ignore lobbyist, ignore companies seeking special favours, on either side, and keep government small and out of peoples way, and out of the business of protecting large companies status quo….
I am with you friend.
davidstone Thursday, January 14th at 1:58PM EST (link)The conservative party when we have congress and the white house again has to sell a future state to the American people for our health care system and deliver it. That future state cannot be a health care system predicated on crony capitalism and offering only additional/new/tweaked welfare models as the solution (ie. Bush/Rove’s prescription drug plan).
We need market solutions to tear down the collectivist model that is currently in place with a system that provides the American people choice and freedom. The solution will be found in competition for private companies, tort reform to protect doctors from John Edwards, and eliminating the perverse incentives forcing people to take more responsibility for their health and having cost control all through the health care supply chain.
All this carving-out...
bart Thursday, January 14th at 2:01PM EST (link)is just rehearsal for carving-out the calender on the walls of their jail cells.