45 Blue Dog Democrats Protest Secrecy of Health Care Talks

[babylonsister]

45 Centrist Democrats Protest Secrecy of Health Care Talks

By ROBERT PEAR
Published: May 11, 2009


WASHINGTON — Forty-five House Democrats in the party’s moderate-to-conservative wing have protested the secretive process by which party leaders in their chamber are developing legislation to remake the health care system.

The lawmakers, members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, said they were “increasingly troubled” by their exclusion from the bill-writing process.

They expressed their concerns in a letter delivered Monday to three House committee chairmen writing the bill, which House leaders hope to pass this summer.

Representative Mike Ross, an Arkansas Democrat who is chairman of the coalition’s health task force, said: “We don’t need a select group of members of Congress or staff members writing this legislation. We don’t want a briefing on the bill after it’s written. We want to help write it.”

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/us/politics/12dems.html?_r=1&ref=us

[vaberella]

1. No you manipulative bastards. You sit there and fuckin whinge while

the government, the ones who don't want to fuck the American people, do their job.

[brendan120678]

2. I almost agree with them....almost...

Remember how upset we all were when Cheney led all of his back-room deals in drafting U.S. energy policy. This seems to be semi-similar to that situation. I'm not saying I want any of the Blue Dog ideas incorporated into Health Care policy, I just think that they should at least be invited to the table. Nobody has to listen to what they say.

[KansDem]

4. Yeah, I remember that...

I don't remember though what the Blue Dog Dems did then, though...

Did they protest Cheney's secret dealings, too?

[firedupdem]

3. Nelson doesn't want reform at all, so why the hell should they

unlock the door for his ass? He's only going to vote against it. I cannot stand these republicans with a D by their name. The entire process is driving me nuts!

[lib2DaBone]

5. Everyone protested Cheney's closed door deals...

Cheney still did what he wanted. I don't think of of that energy information has been released to this day!

[Kokonoe]

6. Do they know the overtone of their trouble (its all a secret)

Yes they do. Its just an attempt to make it look like we have no say,
when you know the blue dogs don't even want our opinion.
I think President Obama will speak for us.

[Phred42]

7. BLue Dogs are not 'Centrist' - they are right wing.

[lonestarnot]

8. yeppers

:puke:

[ElboRuum]

9. Blue Dogs need to take a seat and shaddup for a while...

"We want to help write it."

Translated...

"We want to gut it into something useless."

[JDPriestly]

10. I'm concerned about the secrecy too, especially since it is unclear

what role the in-crowd is assigning to single payer advocates, if any. This behind closed doors thing is what killed Hillary's attempt to bring in a health care plan.

If the insurance companies are driving the negotiations, the result will not be good -- and I fear that is what is happening.

Has anyone heard from Kucinich on what is going on? Is he sitting at the table?