I believe the President is going to get a healthcare bill, and I think he'll get it by Christmas. That said, it won't look like what the House is chewing on right now--for reasons I'll get into shortly.
It will look a lot like the Wyden-Bennett Bill that's been rattling around for a few months--it asks some sacrifice of both sides of the debate and actually attempts to get at cost cutting.
Why do I think it will be a bill something like this? Couple of reasons:
1. The President has staked his enormous popularity on enacting healthcare legislation. He'll get something.
2. The Congress has institutional interests at stake here...and that is to not look feckless. The'll do what it takes to get some kind of a bill passed, and it will not be the tripe coming out of the House, which very insufficient Senate Dems would be able to swallow.
3. The people want healthcare reform. Yep. They do. Problem is, they can't agree on what that means. For some, it is controlling costs. For others, it is universal coverage. Most people who want universal coverage would also like to see costs come down....most people who want to control costs want to see more of the uninsured get coverage....therein lies the makings of a compromise.
Republicans are playing this one perfectly, getting people to question the road we're on and generating a lot of opposition to the House Democratic position. But in the end, there will be a bill. The key for Republicans will be to make it the best bill it can be.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
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5 comments:
You meant Americans, right? That's the key for Americans.
Bbauer - In view of what Pelosi and her followers have put together AND in view of the fact that "single payer" is entirely a Democrat-supported vision, that the President of the United States is leading an attack on a significant segment of job providing industry (August blitz demonizing Insurance Industry), and the recent history of passing un-read and un-readable bills that do nothing to accomplish what they said it would and drive up an already unaffordable debt, I'd say that CW said it correctly. Apparently it is up to the GoP (you know, those people who want to do nothing, according to the President) to make it the best bill it can be. I'm not sure, had it not been for the GoP raising public awareness of the real impact this bill would have, that there would have been enough Blue Dog opposition to stop the train. But don't worry, I have an alternate wording that might encompass the spirit of your concern: "The key for Americans will be, despite the fact that they voted in two unchecked branches of government with the most socialist agenda in our nation's history, that the GoP can "advise and consent" the citizenry of what their elected majority is really up to.
I don't think the democrats will get universal coverage, but they will get greater regulatory powers over insurers and will add lots of mandated coverage goodies under the guise of "preventive services"
Republicans might get portability and some grand sounding yet nebulous cost control stuff.
A slight improvement, but may only drive up spending in the long run.
Last time I looked Obama was at 50% approval and trending down, so he better get this done.
This heath care legislation is going to be a disaster. And there's no turning back. If they get away with destroying the private insurance infrastructure and succeed in nationalizing 1/7th. of the US economy, the game is over.
As I've said before Dem. Presidents always give the country one lingering festering wound to deal with for decades. LBJ gave us Vietnam. Carter gave us a radicalized Iran and Islamo-Fascism. Clinton gave us a wealthy, aggressive and dangerous China.
What will be Obama's contribution to the destruction of freedom and liberty? What virus will he introduce into the national bloodstream to eat away at us? There's no inner voice with this guy, nothing telling him, "hey you could be screwing up here". He is a hardcore leftist who believes his own BS and that makes him a very scary individual.
I am not so sure that he will get any kind of healthcare bill. He behaves like the proverbial kid in the candy store attempting to buy more than he can afford.
He and his rubber stamp congress are spending us so far into debt that there will be little or nothing left to fund a healthcare bill that is not needed in the first place. All while he continues to squander his political capital at a record pace.
I find myself feeling that I am too hard on our president and should stress some of his positive accomplishments or ideas. But I’ll be damned if I can think of a single one.
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