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High-Stakes Health Reform.
Terence Samuel on the fight for the public option:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid grew up 50 miles outside the gaming capital of the world and sparred as an amateur boxer during his teen years. Perhaps this upbringing explains the Nevada politician's urge to take up the risky fight for a public option in the health-care reform bill that will soon come to the Senate floor. In some ways, Reid's willingness to play hardball is a new development for timid, risk-averse Senate Democrats, who have been caught playing defense on an issue that they should own.
Meanwhile, House Democrats unveiled their own bill on Thursday, which includes a public health-insurance option that allows states to opt out and generally matches Reid's promised legislation. What comes next is a new round of attacks from opponents about how "ObamaCare" will ruin the American way of life. That strategy hasn't worked yet, and it's unlikely to succeed at this late stage -- more and more Americans support the idea of a public option, and they're increasingly aware that its existence may not affect them at all.
COMMENTS (2)
We now hear the House leadership will bring the House health care bill to the floor with no robust public option and no amendments allowed.
When the Republicans used to do this Pelosi et al called it "Martial Law". What do they call it now? Probably, "doing the people's business" or some such nonsense. The only difference is that the Republicans used it to stifle the minority party. Pelosi is using it to stifle her own party.
And I liked Rep. Miller's comment that "dozens of closed-door caucus meetings and private consultations between leaders and the different sub-groups of House Democrats are replacing the need for amendments to be debated and voted upon on the House floor." So closed door meetings and backroom horsetrading, pork barreling and grab-assing are an adequate substitute for open debates on C-Span where all members get their say. If that's how the Democrat Leadership thinks, heaven help us all. So much for transparency.
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