Comments on: After Brown: what happens now to health care reform?

By: LBR

LBR — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:09:36 +0000

Don’t worry a-hole McShame will jump up and save the day for Bobo. The Insurance Industry is already handing out what they see as a “just” punishment. My BCBS monthly premiums are going up from $354 a month to $600 for three months and then they go up again to $750. How dare us stupid little ‘worker ants’ try to stop their laws!

By: J.L.

J.L. — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:17:22 +0000

Just a thought. I say this with caution in case I'm wrong...but . . . Isn't the 60 vote requirement to end a filibuster the same rule Republicans were trying to get rid of a few years ago , during a conflict over judicial confirmations? The same rule which was saved from abolition by the "Gang of 14" compromise ? The same compromise which John McCain caught hell over? If this is correct, then in retrospect, the "Gang of 14" compromise seems rather astute. It allowed the confirmation of several judges which were being blocked by the Dems, but it kept a rule which seems to have succesfully prevented the socialization fo health care.

By: Mark @ Israel

Mark @ Israel — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:15:12 +0000

whether the health care reform bill will reach Obama’s table, i think they are still going gumble passing it to the congress. i also agree with you formerly jj. lets see later what manipulative techniques the democrats will use for that health care reform to be push through.

By: Paul_In_Houston

Paul_In_Houston — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 04:46:27 +0000

Wasn't there some freshman Democrat representative who publicly announced, some months ago, that he considered passage of health care reform as so important that, if he lost his seat because of it, "it would be worth it"? I'm betting he is reconsidering that statement (assuming he even remembers it), now that losing that seat is a genuine possibility instead of just empty rhetoric. -

By: J.J. formerly Jimmy J.

J.J. formerly Jimmy J. — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:51:08 +0000

They look foolish if they retreat and try to do a bipartisan bill with the Repubs. They look foolish if the bill just disappears like Hillary Care did.

My guess is that they are still going to try to pass the Senate bill out of the House unchanged, so it can go direct to Obama’s desk. They may not succeed, but I think they will give it the old college try. These people (Obama, Reid, Pelosi) do not believe the voters know what is good for them.

By: effess

effess — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:45:15 +0000

Although they weren’t Barone’s numbers I thought it was interesting to pass them on, despite clear numbers to the contrary you posted above.

As for Franks proposing that the Senate change its voting rules, I think most Senators would resent it and respond “don’t meddle in our rules”.

By: neo-neocon

neo-neocon — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:28:17 +0000

effess: I find it very hard to reconcile that with the stats I saw on the maps. But I think it may be solved soon, because I heard today that the Boston Herald is supposedly going to be publishing district by district results, so that that sort of question can be answered more easily.

By: effess

effess — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:23:55 +0000

In this pjtv video of Glenn Reynolds interviewing Michael Barone has Barone saying that someone added the numbers in Franks’ district and came with Coakley winning by only 200 votes!

http://www.pjtv.com/video/InstaVision_With_Glenn_Reynolds/InstaVision_READY/2972/

This is in the first few minutes — I recommend all 14 minutes. Especially like Barone’s comment about the “town folks” and the “gown folks”.

By: huxley

huxley — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:41:42 +0000

Geez. Michael Barone says that health care is done. That's the way it seems to me, but Barone is a god when it comes to polls and politics. Barone goes on to say that the Brown's acceptance speech is close to a State of the Union and sets the parameters for Obama's upcoming SOTU.

By: Stakes

Stakes — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:03:26 +0000

Barney Fudd is temporarily safe because, more than the votes Coakley received, there appears to be no viable opposition candidate. In the aftermath of this race, we may see one emerge, which could change the calculus a bit.

He is an incumbent who is popular in his district. Therefore, it would be an enormous uphill climb for anyone who chose to take him on. That does not make it impossible, as Brown made up ground on Coakley’s 20 pt lead, but it would be difficult.

Another difficulty is that Fudd is popular with the press. As we have seen with the water-carrying the press did for Barry, that may be the most daunting hurdle to clear.