Obama, must we 'keep our eyes on the prize' by settling for Baucus' Healthcare bill?

[flpoljunkie]

'Yes, we can' do better with Nancy Pelosi's bill. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/20/AR2009102003043_2.html

Obama Tells Dems They Can Be 'Own Worst Enemies' And Asks For Health Care Unity
Christina Bellantoni
October 20, 2009, 10:36PM

President Obama tonight pleaded with Democrats to remain unified in the final health care stretch, detailing for his loyal supporters in New York the good things in "the bill you least like."

"There are going to be some disagreements and details to work out ... but I want to say to you Democrats, let's make sure that we keep our eye on the prize," Obama said during a Webcast for the thousands of Organizing for America volunteers who were gathered for call parties across the country.

"Sometimes Democrats can be their own worst enemies, Democrats are an opinionated bunch ... y'all are thinking for yourselves," he said. "I like that in you, but it's time for us to make sure that we finish the job here. We are this close and we've got to be unified."

Obama said "the bill you least like in Congress right now, of the five that are out there," would give 29 million uninsured Americans health care, would ban preexisting conditions and would create an exchange that would encourage competition among ensurers.

more...

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10/obama-to-dems-keep-eye-on-health-care-prize-and-unify.php?ref=fpblg

[Mass]

1. I read that and thought the same thing.

We cannot be united until there is a bill. For now, people are negotiating what will be in the bill. It is a time for advocacy, not settling for the least possible.

[denem]

2. He's referring to cloture.

Then the fun begins.

[Mass]

3. But cloture on WHAT? There is a significant difference between a bill that includes a PO and a bill

that does not, and Reid is still non committal.

He is referring to the Baucus Bill. If this is what goes to the floor, it makes putting the PO in the bill harder. So, no, I am not ready at this point to see all the nice things in this bill.

[denem]

4. You do understand that after the cloture vote, Senators are free to move ammendments.

[sui generis]

7. "free to" and "going to" are not the same thing

Some of us are already all too familiar with the Audacity of Nope.

[denem]

9. Bernie Sanders estimtates there are are there or four Dems against the PO

[Mass]

18. And he is asking Reid to put the PO in the bill.

[flpoljunkie]

8. It will take 60 votes to strip out a public option, but only 40 to kill it on the Senate floor--

If it is added as an amendment on the Senate floor.

[denem]

10. Not necessarily.

[flpoljunkie]

11. It will take 60 votes to add it on the floor, and 60 votes to strip it out.

Politico's Pulse offers this rundown of Harry Reid's evolving thinking on the public option:

WHY THE SENATE BILL MAY INCLUDE A PUBLIC OPTION: The public option was front and center again yesterday, with President Obama’s senior aides reiterating the White House position that Obama supports a government-run option -- but isn’t demanding one. Fortunately for public-option supporters, they may not need much more presidential support now that reform has fallen into Senate Majority Leader Reid’s lap. Unions and progressives have been aggressively railing against a Senate Finance bill that they call a giveaway to insurance companies. And this week, progressives will begin running ads in Reid’s home state of Nevada asking whether he’s strong enough to get a public option passed.

The conventional wisdom has been that Reid would not include a public option in the bill he takes to the floor, but would give liberals the chance to add it later. Now, Reid could diffuse a lot of progressives’ animus by doing the reverse -- including a public option in the bill he brings to the floor, but giving opponents the chance to strip it out. The move could increase his progressive cred and prevent a backlash from the very allies whose help he will need in what’s shaping up to be a very tough re-election campaign.

I've heard a lot of conflicting things about Reid's intent on the public option, so I'm going to steer clear of any predictions. But it's worth keeping one thing in mind: These two outcomes are not equal. If Reid includes some kind of public option in the compromise bill, then it will take 60 votes to strip it out on the floor. If he does not include some type of public option in the bill, then it will take 60 votes to add it on the floor. In other words, getting your priorities met during the Senate negotiations means you don't have to face the filibuster, and your opponents do. It's a huge advantage.

Photo credit: Melina Mara -- The Washington Post.
By Ezra Klein | October 19, 2009

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/10/harry_reid_and_the_public_opti.html

[Mass]

17. Yes, and they can be filibustered. It is easier for them to filibuster an amendment on a PO than a

full bill.

[kenfrequed]

5. Agreed.

Without a sturdy and strong public option there is no healthcare reform.

[Clio the Leo]

24. Yesterday's CBO score of the House bill...

..... made it a lot EASIER IMO.

Add to that the fact that the press has been hyping up the popularity of the PO for the last two days. The press likes to be CORRECT (witness Jiffy Pop balloon boy rage) and I think they're seeing the tide turning in favor of a PO in the final bill. They want to be able to say, "as we have been reporting....." that the PO made it in one way or the other.

[flpoljunkie]

6. Or, is it a 'foreshadowing' of what will come out of the Senate merger of Finance and HELP bills?

The refrain about "the bill you least like" sounded a bit like presidential foreshadowing since senators are meeting privately to merge the more conservative Senate Finance Committee bill with the more liberal Health, Education, Labor and Pensions version.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10/obama-to-dems-keep-eye-on-health-care-prize-and-unify.php?ref=fpblg

[Clio the Leo]

22. Nah, I think that was just what it sounded like....

... him point out that the Baucus bill is still LIGHT YEARS better than status quo. I'm all for reading between lines, but I dont think there was anything else to read on that one.

[msongs]

12. why aim high when u can settle for something thats the worst of the lot eh? nt

[ProSense]

13. How do you get "by settling for Baucus' Healthcare bill" from

"good things in 'the bill you least like'"?

There are good things (for example, all those amendments that passed) in the Baucus bill, but there are also horrible things.

The merged bill should take the good things and add them to the HELP bill to make it stronger.

[flpoljunkie]

14. We will see. It sounds like he's preparing us to settle for what's in Baucus' bill.

[ProSense]

15. I highly doubt that is even remotely

a realistic possibility.

Co-ops have practically no support in the Senate and cost controls have to be addressed to come close to meeting the stated goals.

It's understandable that the merging process is causing anxiety, but it's not clear, with the majority of Senators voicing support for a public option and rejecting the Baucus bill, why people believe it will emerge as the Senate bill?

[flpoljunkie]

26. I think you know the reason why.

Obama's own words.

[Beetwasher]

16. Bullshit, He's Making The Point That EVEN The LEAST Popular Of ALL The Bills

Still has some great elements and would be a MASSIVE achievement. Whatever comes to his desk will be pretty different than any single one of the five bills, everyone (except you apparently) knows that. You're projecting the pejorative into this story and your headline is a massive, stinking turd.

[joeycola]

20. and he is bragging it up. damm!!

[Clio the Leo]

23. Then why does Rahm think the PO will come via the House bill?

http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/09/25/latest-public-option/

[Arkana]

25. If the top priority for Blue Dogs is not blocking the PO, then it will pass.

In the end, they'll vote for it.

Because eventually they're gonna have to go back to their districts and explain why they voted against health-care reform, and they don't want to do that.

[Clio the Leo]

27. Exactly. ;-) NT

[geek tragedy]

19. Has Obama come out in opposition to the House bill?

If so, then your title makes sense.

[joeycola]

21. (Meanwhile, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is standing firm.)

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10/pelosi-prepares-to-move-ahead-with-robust-public-option.php




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