Interesting that Dennis Kucinich is against the most popular bill. Here's Kucinich:
"The hotly-debated HR3200, the so-called "health care reform" bill, is nothing less than corporate welfare in the guise of social welfare and reform. It is a convoluted mess. The real debate which we should be having is not occurring. "Removing the "public option" from a public bill paid for by public money is not in the public interest. What is left is a "private option" paid for with public money. Why should public money be spent on a private option which does not guarantee 100% coverage nor have any cost controls? A true public option would provide 30% savings immediately which would then cover the 1/3rd of the population who presently have no healthcare." http://bit.ly/42dkF Patrick again: Could it be the Republicans dislike HR3200 for the same reasons Kucinich condemns it? I'm not following the players closely enough to tell. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "do.rflex" <do.rf...@...> wrote: > > > Democrats Seem Set to Go It Alone on a Health Bill > > WASHINGTON 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 > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/e/rahm_emanu\ > el/index.html?inline=nyt-per> , 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 > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_oba\ > ma/index.html?inline=nyt-per> 's health care proposal is more > important for their political goals than solving the health insurance > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthto\ > pics/health_insurance_and_managed_care/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier> > problems that Americans face every day." > > The Democratic shift may not make producing a final bill much easier. > The party must still reconcile the views of moderate and conservative > Democrats worried about the cost and scope of the legislation with those > of more liberal lawmakers determined to win a government-run insurance > option to compete with private insurers. > > On the other hand, such a change could alter the dynamic of talks > surrounding health care legislation, and even change the substance of a > final bill. With no need to negotiate with Republicans, Democrats might > be better able to move more quickly, relying on their large majorities > in both houses. > > Democratic senators might feel more empowered, for example, to define > the authority of the nonprofit insurance cooperatives that are emerging > as an alternative to a public insurance plan. > > Republicans have used the Congressional break to dig in hard against the > overhaul outline drawn by Democrats. The Senate's No. 2 Republican, > Jon Kyl > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/jon_kyl/in\ > dex.html?inline=nyt-per> of Arizona, is the latest to weigh in > strongly, saying Tuesday that the public response lawmakers were seeing > over the summer break should persuade Democrats to scrap their approach > and start over. > > "I think it is safe to say there are a huge number of big issues > that people have," Mr. Kyl told reporters in a conference call from > Arizona. "There is no way that Republicans are going to support a > trillion-dollar-plus bill." > > The White House has also interpreted critical comments by Senator > Charles E. Grassley > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/charles_e_\ > grassley/index.html?inline=nyt-per> of Iowa, the top Republican > negotiator in a crucial Finance Committee effort to reach a bipartisan > compromise, as a sign that there is little hope of reaching a deal > politically acceptable to both parties. > > Mr. Grassley, who is facing the possibility of a Republican primary > challenge next year, has gotten an earful in traveling around his home > state. At one gathering last week, in a city park in the central Iowa > town of Adel, a man rose from the crowd and urged him to "stand up > and fight" the Democratic plans. If he does not, the man yelled, > "we will vote you out!" > > The White House, carefully following Mr. Grassley's activities, > presumed he was no longer interested in negotiating with Democrats after > he initially made no effort to debunk misinformation that the > legislation could lead to "death panels" empowered to judge who > would receive care. > > Citing a packed schedule, Mr. Grassley has also put off plans for the > bipartisan group of Finance Committee negotiators to meet in either Iowa > or Maine, the home of another Republican member of the group, Senator > Olympia J. Snowe > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/olympia_j_\ > snowe/index.html?inline=nyt-per> , before Congress resumes. > > Further, Mr. Grassley said this week that he would vote against a bill > unless it had wide support from Republicans, even if it included all the > provisions he wanted. "I am negotiating for Republicans," he > told MSNBC. > > In an interview on Tuesday, Mr. Grassley said he had simply been > repeating earlier comments that he would not support a measure that did > not have significant Republican support. He said that raucous > town-hall-style meetings might have made the job of reaching a > compromise harder, but that he had not given up. > > "It may be more difficult than it was before," he said. "I > am intent on talking. I am intent on seeing what we can do." > > Administration officials, who maintain that Republicans are badly > mischaracterizing the legislation that has emerged from three House > committees and the Senate health committee, said they had hoped to > achieve some level of bipartisan support. But they are becoming > increasingly convinced that they will instead have to navigate the > complicated politics among varying Democratic factions. > > The officials said the White House hoped to make the case to the > American people that it was Republicans who had abandoned the effort at > bipartisanship. Republicans countered by saying that they simply opposed > the legislation and that the public outcry had validated their view and > solidified their opposition. > > This week's careful administration maneuvering on whether a public > insurance option was an essential element of any final bill was > seemingly part of the new White House effort to find consensus among > Democrats, since the public plan has been resisted by moderate and > conservative Democrats who could be crucial to winning the votes for > passage if no Republicans are on board. > > For the second time in two days, Mr. Obama did not mention health care > on Tuesday, a marked departure from the aggressive public relations > campaign he mounted in July and early August. The White House is > striving to stay out of the fray, aides said, until the president can > get away on vacation this weekend. > > Even as the administration showed some flexibility, angering liberal > Democrats who consider a public plan essential, Republicans turned their > attacks from the public option to the health care cooperative idea being > promoted by some Senate Democrats. > > In what Democrats regarded as further evidence that Republicans were not > serious about negotiating, Mr. Kyl and Representative Eric Cantor > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/eric_canto\ > r/index.html?inline=nyt-per> of Virginia, the second-ranking House > Republican, described a co-op as a public option carrying another name. > > The continuing opposition was noted Tuesday by Robert Gibbs > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/robert_gib\ > bs/index.html?inline=nyt-per> , the White House spokesman, who said of > Republicans that at best "only a handful seem interested in the type > of comprehensive reform that so many people believe is necessary to > ensure the principles and the goals that the president has laid > out." > > http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/health/policy/19repubs.html?_r=4&hp >
