I wrote earlier that I didn’t know whether the Slaughter solution would hold up, and I still don’t know. Will it bring reluctant Dems in the House on board? Does Pelosi have the cojones to go through with it? And … Continue reading →
In Forbes, Shikha Dalmia offers a good summary of the present state of health care reform. It’s worth reading the whole thing, but here’s a short excerpt: …[B]oth the Democratic Party and President Obama have mutually reinforcing blind spots that … Continue reading →
The Senate Parliamentarian drives one more stake into the vampire’s heart. A few more stakes here. But the vampire staggers on.
Continue reading →Commenter Wolla Dalbo writes: I think that a lot of commenters here are basing their analysis on a false assumption, and that false assumption is that the Democrats care at all about the rule of law, parliamentary procedure, Democracy, our … Continue reading →
I must confess I don’t understand how this could possibly get by: House Rules Chairwoman Louise Slaughter is prepping to help usher the healthcare overhaul through the House and potentially avoid a direct vote on the Senate overhaul bill, the … Continue reading →
Health care reform has had so many missed legislative deadlines that it’s difficult to count them. The first one I can remember was last summer. The goal was to pass this thing before the American people had time to study … Continue reading →
…or doesn’t she? Have the votes for HCR, that is? Even Pelosi doesn’t know for sure. As for me, I would not believe a word that comes out of Pelosi’s mouth. And that includes “and” and “the.” While it’s true … Continue reading →
…among friends?: Obama boasted Monday that Democrats’ health care proposals would cut deficits by $1 trillion “over the next decade,” a flub that inflated the actual estimate by $868 billion. This did not appear to be an ad lib, either; … Continue reading →
If you’re finding it difficult to understand exactly how reconciliation would work in terms of the current bills regarding health care reform, you’re not alone. To clarify—or perhaps to add to your confusion—here are two somewhat opposing articles on the … Continue reading →
What a difference an election makes. Obama used to sing quite a different tune on why a strong and bipartisan majority was needed to pass a transformative bill such as HCR. There are lots of previous Obama quotes to that … Continue reading →
Today’s thoroughly excellent WSJ editorial on using reconciliation to pass health care reform makes the point that Democrats’ comparisons to previous transformative bills such as Social Security, Medicare, and welfare reform are inappropriate, because all those measures enjoyed significant bipartisan … Continue reading →
This Politico piece calls Nancy Pelosi “one of the strongest speakers in modern history.” I suppose that depends on what you mean by the word “strong.” If you’re thinking Nurse Ratched strong rather than the greater strength that comes from … Continue reading →