Saddle Up, Here Comes Trigger
21 November 2009 5:58 pm by Taylor Marsh
In the process of getting health care to move forward, truth broke out and so did a little nastiness between two seniors at the seat of power. One in the Senate, the other at the top of the elite Washington traditional press. We’ll get to that in a minute. First, the news that we get to hear more talk about health care on our way to hitting a giant wall.
Mary and Blanche are on board. Neither woman having any resemblance to the Christmas story or Miss Dubois, though “Streetcar Named Desire” could be invoked if you replace “desire” with “disaster.” But I digress. From Politico:
But Lincoln and fellow moderate Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) also laid down strong objections to the public health insurance plan included in the Senate bill – saying they couldn’t support the bill if it came to the floor in that form.
“I am opposed to a new government administered public health care plan as a part of comprehensive health care reform, and I will not vote in favor of the proposal that has been introduced by Leader Reid as it is written,” Lincoln said.
If these two ladies are “moderates,” I’d really like to know what a conservative Democrat looks like. But onward we go.
Now for the dish. It’s between Sen. Reid, the majority leader of the Senate, and David Broder, the “dean” of the Washington traditional media elite. Broder’s column for tomorrow rips Dems on health care. Reid aimed squarely and hit his target point black, rhetorically speaking, of course:
“To focus on a man who has been retired for many years and writes a column once in a while is not where we should be.” – Sen. Harry Reid
It’s not that Mr. Broder writes bi-weekly columns from his deck chair at the Washington Post. It’s that the columns he writes are sounding more and more like what we see in the troubled Washington Times or even Newsmax.
Broder countered Reid with a right hook, saying he was “an embarrassment” and had “bungled” the Democratic case.
Meanwhile, the reality of moving the debate forward is that it seems Reid had to promise something pretty shiny to keep health care moving. It’s what has been coming for a very long time, with Sen. Schumer in the middle trying to get all sides to agree. Via Brian Beutler:
After announcing her intent to support a health care debate this afternoon, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) told reporters she thinks Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will soon have to choose between a triggered public option and no health care bill.
Ah yes, triggers. Because Reconciliation has been taken off the table.
The debate rages on, even if we all know where this is heading, though Schumer’s office says no compromises are in the mix yet.
“Since Leader Reid announced the opt-out public option would be included in the Senate bill, Senator Schumer has not approached anyone about compromises,” Fallon said in a statement to TPMDC. “He is fully behind the level playing field opt-out, which he himself helped advance.”
Crap shoot, anyone?
