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8 a.m. ET: As an unusually eventful August inches toward its end, a health-care debate that has changed markedly this month now appears roughly frozen in place until Congress returns from recess.
Key players in the health-care debate spent Thursday repeating what they had said before. In the Senate, the Gang of Six held a 90-minute conference call and essentially agreed to keep talking (though perhaps about a narrower bill). In the House, Nancy Pelosi made clear yet again that the chamber's initial bill would include a public plan. And President Obama reiterated that a) the public option is not an essential part of his reform plan; and b) his position on the issue hasn't changed. Obama also said Thursday, "I guarantee we are going to get health-care reform done." That's a bold statement to make, but if the reform effort fails, Obama will have larger problems to worry about than the inaccuracy of his predictions.
The new Washington Post-ABC News poll paints the latest sobering picture of Obama's political fortunes. "Public confidence in President Obama's leadership has declined sharply over the summer,' the Post writes, while ABC observes, "Health care reform overall, a political sand trap when last attempted in 1993, looks much the same in 2009." Skepticism on health care seems to be canceling out any benefit Obama could accrue from the improving economy. On the directoion of the country, 55 percent "see things as pretty seriously on the wrong track, up from 48 percent in April," the Post writes. "But there has been a notable increase in optimism about the length of the recession." And Charlie Cook judges that "this summer has slipped completely out of control for President Obama and Congressional Democrats," and that his statistical projection that House Democrats will lose six-to-12 seats next November "is far too low." (Obama meets today with Tom Daschle to talk reform. How might this debate be different if his nomination had survived? Discuss.)
There is no shortage of advice for Obama on how to reverse those trends. Gerald Seib writes that "Obama now will have to choose among three options: small, medium and large," adding that the small and medium options are Democrats' "most likely options." Howard Fineman suggests Obama should model his health-care crusade after Teddy Roosevelt's fights against railroads and other corporate fat-cats a century ago. Most optimistically, Nate Silver argues that "Democrats still face a whole host of obstacles in passing a health care bill, but the odds today look a little better than they did 48 hours ago," partly because they "seem prepared to drop the pretense of collaborating with Republicans" on reform
In Massachusetts, Edward Kennedy's proposal that he be succeeded in the Senate by a gubernatorial appointee has now been public for 24 hours, and the odds that it will become reality don't look good. The Boston Globe says Kennedy's idea "drew little public support from Massachusetts lawmakers yesterday, with the state’s Democratic leaders publicly silent on the proposal and most Republicans attacking it as a partisan power grab." The Boston Herald reports Republican believe Democrats are trying to "rig the process" in their favor, and notes that Kennedy was a prime backer of the 2004 law change that initially took appointment power away from the governor. The Fix writes that Deval Patrick's "own precarious politicial position" is a consideration as he weighs how to handle Kennedy's request.
The cash for clunkers program will end Monday night, so brace yourself for a frenzied weekend of TV ads for car dealers. "After gorging on clunkers this summer, can automakers make it through the fall?" asks the Los Angeles Times, reporting fears that the auto industry -- having ramped up production to deal with sales increases -- is now headed for a crash. The Detroit Free Press notes that "only about 1-in-5 of the cash-for-clunker deals reviewed by federal officials have received approval so far, raising questions about whether dealers have been too loose in enforcing rules or federal officials too strict."
By
Ben Pershing
|
August 21, 2009; 8:00 AM ET
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Go to full archive for The Rundown »
Posted by: scrivener50 | August 21, 2009 9:13 AM
I think the republicans have play their hand, the chicken-little sky-is-falling line. People are starting to sober up and we'll see a very gradual drift in the other direction as they sober from the intoxication of fear and panic.
Posted by: owldog | August 21, 2009 11:52 AM
If anybody wants to read his book, "Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform"
sign a petition, or contribute to Dean's effort goto this website
http://www.standwithdrdean.com/
Posted by: owldog | August 21, 2009 11:57 AM
The insurers have a lot to gain from health care proposals now being considered.
Individuals/families will be subsidized by government, from the poor to slightly above the median income.
They won't have to pay more than 0-11% of their income (on a sliding scale) for health care premiums. The government will pay the balance of their premium bills directly to the insurance companies.
Insurers like this kind of "big government" but the don't want to cooperate with rules and regulation, providing data, or the competition of a public option government insurance, which would have the same subsidies and must follow the same rules and regulations.
Private companies want to have their cake and eat it too, that is, a government subsidized private insurance industry without the public option competitor, which would boil down to more Wall Street investor profits and higher CEO salaries at the expense of the taxpayer.
If anybody wants to read his book, "Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform"
sign a petition, or contribute to Dean's effort goto this website
http://www.standwithdrdean.com/
Posted by: owldog | August 21, 2009 12:59 PM
How many times do we need to write this story? Politician on the roadside, politicians in the ditch, we all bought stocks and didn't get rich. Wall Street and Mr. Obama are going to save you all. Antwerp rock city beats Detroit rock city by a New York Mile. They all voted themselves into utopia and all ended up in hell. The money men have finally BS'd themselves right out of the money. Timmy is going to right the injustices and slay the dragoons. The police are busier than ever and the funeral business is looking tops. Play a round of golf and watch out for killers in Reno. It's almost Beagles season and Mike got a fat contract there BP. Go Stealers!
Posted by: Dermitt | August 21, 2009 2:20 PM
Bush torture officials unaccountable, war Afghanistan expanding and killing hundreds of innocents, executive office still secretive, rapid aid to the financial industry and little for citizens, prime fix for the health crisis 'off the table', shadow boxing the Republican sucker punches on health care reform: those have lost Obama support with independents and with 'progressives'. Additionally, diddling with 'bi-partisanship', accommodating Republican just-say-no'ers and making nicely-pooh with big pharma do not win confidence votes. I dont know who they thought elected them (may be they just didnt care); for what ever reason, they administration has gone seriously haywire.
Obama and his White House dont exhibit the ability to get out a message over the cable news media's need for 'good TV', but assuming they could, here's a strategy: sell the problem, and dont let anyone distract you from delivering it and folks from hearing it.
The facts: (1) pharmacy companies fake 'academic studies', spend less on research and more on marketing, enjoy government protections in the market place, and register record profits during the worst recession in 50 years; (2) health insurance spends 25 cents of each health care dollar to deny care, reject claims, screen out applicants, limit care, pay profits and CEO salaries - yes, some health insurers spend only six bits of each dollar on health care ; and (3) health care providers continue to practice in a fragmented and inefficient environment that contributes to malpractice, avoidable medical errors, hospital deaths, the seventeenth ranked care and the highest cost-of-care in the industrialized world.
If Obama ignores the right wing circus and keeps his message on the facts, he will win independents and win back progressives. If not, he will not have a chance of winning back the independents or his 'base'.
Posted by: theworm1 | August 22, 2009 7:28 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
GOV'T HEALTH CARE REFORM RINGS HOLLOW...
WHEN COVERT GOV'T PROGRAMS DESTROY THE LIVES AND LIVELIHOODS OF THOUSANDS OF UNJUSTLY TARGETED AMERICANS AND THEIR FAMILIES.
***
URGENT: President Obama, WH staff, members of Congress, cabinet secretaries
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HAS WEAPONIZED THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM.
MICROWAVE / LASER 'DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPON' SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED TO DEGRADE THE LIVES OF UNJUSTLY TARGETED AMERICANS AND THEIR FAMILIES.
A GOV'T-OVERSEEN GRASSROOTS VIGILANTE GESTAPO FRONTED BY COMMUNITY POLICING UNITS USES COVERTLY PLACED GPS DEVICES AND CELL PHONES TO STALK AND HARASS THOUSANDS OF UNJUSTLY TARGETED AMERICANS...
...IN EVERY COUNTY IN THE COUNTRY.
***
PRESIDENT OBAMA: WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE DEPLOYMENT OF DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPONS...
...AND WHEN WILL YOU BAN THEIR USE ON U.S. CITIZENS?
...AND BAN THE WARRANTLESS GPS / CELL PHONE TRACKING OF INDIVIDUALS...
...THE ELECTRONIC BACKBONE OF AN AMERICAN GESTAPO THAT IS OPERATING ON YOUR WATCH.
http://nowpublic.com/world/gestapo-usa-govt-funded-vigilante-network-terrorizes-america
OR (if link is corrupted / disabled):
http://NowPublic.com/scrivener RE: "GESTAPO USA" ("stream" or "stories" list).