A veiled (or not so veiled) threat to remove Baucus as Chair of Finance Committee

We're not the only ones noticing what a disaster Max Baucus has been as the chair of the Senate Finance Committee:

In an apparent warning to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), some liberal Democrats have suggested a secret-ballot vote every two years on whether or not to strip committee chairmen of their gavels.

Baucus, who is more conservative than most of the Democratic Conference, has frustrated many of his liberal colleagues by negotiating for weeks with Republicans over healthcare reform without producing a bill or even much detail about the policies he is considering.

“Every two years the caucus could have a secret ballot on whether a chairman should continue, yes or no,” said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “If the ‘no’s win, [the chairman’s] out.

“I’ve heard it talked about before,” he added.

Harkin did not mention Baucus, but his suggestion would likely resonate with the senior Montana Democrat, who has often clashed with his colleagues over important bills.

Baucus pretty much handed the reins of power of the Finance Committee to Republican Chuck Grassley. Now, Baucus is touting the GOP health care bill. It's beyond pathetic.

FYI, Joe Lieberman, who isn't even a Democrat, thinks this is a bad idea. Read More......

Rep. Alcee Hastings explains how White House staff worked against his amendment to stop funding Don't Ask, Don't Tell

I wrote about this controversy earlier today at gay.AMERICAblog.com:

Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) had an amendment to the Defense Appropriations that would have prevented funding any DADT investigation. That's the kind of procedural tactic Republicans have used for years to stop funding of programs they didn't like. For years, Republicans blocked federal funding of DC's domestic partnerships and needle exchange. I'm not sure if this was the best approach, but, sometimes, the only way to make progress is to use (or abuse) the appropriations process. But, a funny (or not so funny) thing happened on the way to the Appropriations bill mark-up. In his own words, Hastings was pressured by the White House and others to drop his amendment.

There is no White House strategy to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Still.

Tonight, Hastings was on Rachel Maddow's show to explain what happened. I'll put the full clip of the interview up when it's available. But, here's a clip: Wow, those Rachel people are fast. Here's the full interview:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

(YouTube link here.)
We wouldn't be having these problems if we knew the White House even had a strategy. But, there's nothing. When this White House wants to get something done, they let "people" know. When they don't want to get things done, "people" know, too. Read More......

NY Times/CBS poll: Obama losing support on health care because opponents have shaped the message

UPDATE: Hadn't seen this earlier, but today Nate Silver wrote a post titled "Obama, Democrats Flunking Health Care Sales Pitch." He's right and has some constructive ideas for strategy.
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This is why we worry about messaging (or lack thereof) on health care:

President Obama’s ability to shape the debate on health care appears to be eroding as opponents aggressively portray the effort as a government-takeover that could limit Americans’ ability to chose their doctor and course of treatment, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Americans are concerned that overhauling the health care system would reduce the quality of their care, increase their out-of-pocket health costs and tax bills and limit their options in choosing doctors, treatment and tests, the poll found. The percentage who describe health care costs as a serious threat to the American economy — a central argument being made by Mr. Obama — has dropped over the past month.

The Obama campaign ran a brilliant campaign. They figured out effective messaging and stuck to their messages. For some reason, they seem to have lost that touch now that they're in power. It's almost like they view themselves as above the rough-and-tumble of politics now. Well, the GOPers are always in campaign mode. And, they've got one mission: To destroy Obama's presidency.

Now, the numbers aren't all bad:

Still, Mr. Obama remains the dominant figure in the debate, both because he continues to enjoy relatively high levels of public support even after seeing his approval ratings fall off somewhat, and because there appears to be such a strong desire to get something done: 49 percent said they supported fundamental changes and another 33 percent said the health care system needed to be completely rebuilt.

The poll found 66 percent of respondents were concerned that they might eventually lose their insurance if the government does not create a new health care system, and 80 percent said they were concerned the percentage of Americans without health care would continue to increase unless Congress acts.

By a margin of 55 percent to 26 percent, respondents said that Mr. Obama had better ideas about how to change health care than Republicans in Congress.

Republican haven't brought Obama down to their level, but they'll keep working on it. Thanks to the Blue Dogs,the GOPers and their allies in the insurance industry have all of August to undermine and hammer away at real health insurance reform. Nothing like a few ugly insurance industry-funded t.v. ads to get members of Congress cowering.

This poll, among others, should be a real wake up call. What the brain trust at the White House has been doing isn't working. Read More......

And, then, there were 39

This fall, Texas Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is quitting to run for Governor:

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) on Wednesday said for the first time that she is prepared to resign her Senate seat in October or November, paving the way for a May 2009 special election to replace her.

Hutchison, who would resign her seat in order to focus on campaigning for governor, said in a radio interview with a Dallas-Fort Worth station that she couldn’t stay in office and wage the kind of campaign she wanted.

So, for six or seven months anyway, the Republican caucus will be down to 39 (in 2006, there were 55 GOP Senators.)

Too bad Democrats only have 60 Senators in their caucus. Otherwise, they might be able to get some things, like health insurance reform, done. Read More......

A bit of a GOP split over birthers

RNC Chair Michael Steele isn't a birther (for now, anyway. Rush may yell at him and that'll change.)

Among others, Missouri Congressman and Senate candidate Roy Blunt is a birther.

More birther madness courtesy of Mike Stark:

The birthers, along with the teabaggers, are the GOP. Read More......

Defender of "core conservative values"/Prostitute patron David Vitter trashes Voinovich

I love a good GOP cat fight.

In one corner, Ohio Senator George Voinovich, who blasted his GOP colleagues saying "the party's being taken over by southerners."

In the other corner, those Southerners are being defended by the leading voice for conservative values in the Senate -- and patron of prostitutes, David Vitter from Louisiana:

Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana slammed fellow Republican George Voinovich Wednesday for saying the GOP's problems stem from the fact that it is "being taken over by Southerners," calling the Ohio senator "a moderate, really wishy-washy."

"I'm on the side of conservatives getting back to core conservative values," Vitter told the Washington Times. "There are a lot of us from the South who hold those values, which I think the party is supposed to be about. We strayed from them in the past few years, and that's why we performed so badly in the national elections."

"[Voinovich is…] a moderate, really wishy-washy," he said.

So, you have a really wishy-washy moderate up against a defender of core conservative values/patron of prostitutes.

Okay. Have at it. Read More......

Sam Stein explains to Ed Schultz how it really works here in DC: It's about the money

As noted below, the Blue Dogs are claiming "victory" for postponing a vote on health insurance reform. But, there's a back story as to how the game is played here in D.C. It's a dirty game.

When most Americans support a public option, including 60% of Republicans, there's a nefarious reason why Congress doesn't go along. It's the money. Sam Stein explains:

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As we now know, the Blue Dogs won a "victory" by delaying a vote in the House on the reform bill. Sure gives them a lot more time to do fundraising, huh? Read More......

“It is because of the Blue Dog Coalition that there is no floor vote before the August break.”

The Blue Dogs have blocked a vote on health insurance reform before the August recess -- and they think it's a big win:

Blue Dogs and House leaders have struck a deal to guarantee that the House will not vote on a healthcare bill before August, a leading Blue Dog said on Wednesday.

In exchange for putting off a floor vote until after Labor Day, the Energy and Commerce Committee may be allowed to continue its markup of the healthcare bill this week even if an agreement has not been reached between committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and seven Energy and Commerce Blue Dogs over the content of the bill.

The Blue Dogs consider this a great victory. Of course, the biggest beneficiaries are House Republicans and the insurance industry who wanted a delay. Check out this statement from Blue Dog Stephanie Herseth Sandlin:

Herseth Sandlin also made it clear that she believes the Blue Dogs have scored a major victory by getting leaders to back away from their goal of having the House vote on a healthcare bill before members return home for the month of August.

“We’ve achieved the victory of not having a vote on the House floor that will give every member a chance to digest what’s in the bill, whether it’s in a markup that occurs in Energy and Commerce or whether it’s as the bill exists right now,” she said. “It is because of the Blue Dog Coalition that there is no floor vote before the August break.”

Got that? This is considered a "victory" by the Blue Dogs. That's beyond appalling.

UPDATE: Still waiting for details on the agreement. The concern about delay is that the insurance industry will bombard House members with ads over the vacation. That will freak a lot of them out. So, even if there are good provisions in the compromise, the question is whether they'll still have the votes in September. That's why the insurance industry and their lackeys in the GOP wanted to delay the vote. The House is really our best (only) hope for real reform. Read More......

The new message: It's Health INSURANCE reform. Yes, it is.

First Read reports that there's a change in messaging in the debate about reform -- it's health insurance reform. It always has been about the insurance companies. It's about time the White House figured it out:

In fact, the White House is now talking about health INSURANCE reform, not health CARE reform. As an administration spokesperson emails NBC News, “At events in North Carolina and Virginia today, the president will lay out for Americans why health insurance reform means more security and stability for them and their families. Building on the theme that he outlined at the start of last week’s press conference, the president will make it clear that when he signs a reform bill into law, the discrimination, dropping, and coverage gaps that riddle today’s health insurance system will be a thing of the past.”

Obama just finished a speech in North Carolina. And, he did make it about health insurance reform, because that's what it is. Here's some video:

Okay, that's important. Finally focusing on the real culprits. (Text from Obama's speech is after the break.)

Blue Dogs and the Baucus/Conrad caucus are in a position of siding with doctors and patients or siding with the GOP and the insurance industry. It's that simple. The insurance industry has a lot of lobbyists and a lot of campaign cash.

But, this is about reforming an industry that screws over the American people every day on pre-existing conditions, denials of payments and caps. That's also why the public option is important. The insurance companies need that competition to keep them honest. Anyone who has ever dealt with an insurance company knows we need to do everything to hold them accountable and keep them honest.

Here's more of Obama's speech on insurance reform:

Well let me explain why the health of America’s people and America’s economy demand health insurance reform. Let me explain what reform will mean for you.

First of all, no one is talking about some government takeover of health care. Under the reform I’ve proposed, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. And if you’re one of the 46 million Americans who don’t have coverage today, you will finally be able to get quality, affordable coverage.

But what a lot of the chatter out there hasn’t focused on is the fact that if you’re an American who already has health insurance, the reform we’re proposing will provide you with more stability and security. Because the truth is, we have a system today that works well for the insurance industry, but it doesn’t always work well for you. What we need, and what we will have when we pass these reforms, are health insurance consumer protections to make sure that those who have insurance are treated fairly and insurance companies are held accountable.

Let me be specific. We will stop insurance companies from denying you coverage because of your medical history. I will never forget watching my own mother, as she fought cancer in her final days, worrying about whether her insurer would claim her illness was a preexisting condition so it could get out of providing coverage. How many of you have worried about the same thing? How many of you have been denied insurance or heard of someone who was denied insurance because they have a pre-existing condition? That will no longer be allowed.

With reform, insurance companies will have to abide by a yearly cap on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses. No one in America should go broke because of illness.

We will require insurance companies to cover routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms, colonoscopies, or eye and foot exams for diabetics, so we can avoid chronic illnesses that cost not only lives, but money.

No longer will insurance companies be allowed to drop or water down coverage for someone who has become seriously ill. That’s not right and it’s not fair.

And we will stop insurance companies from placing arbitrary caps on the coverage you can receive in a given year or in a lifetime. Whether or not you have health insurance right now, the reforms we seek will bring stability and security that you don’t have today – reforms that become more urgent and more urgent with each passing year.

Read More......

"Schwarzenegger decimated AIDS services across the board"

Just did a post at Gay.AMERICAblog.com on the mess in California. It's ugly. In the words of Rex Wockner, using the line-item veto, Governor Schwarzenegger "decimated AIDS services across the board."

Great legacy for Arnold. His wife, Maria Shriver, should be so proud of him. Because of Arnold, according to the California Dept. of Public Health, "more people will become infected." With the lack of services, more people will get sicker and need more care. More people will probably die. For some Californians, Arnold really is the Terminator. Read More......

NY Daily News: "GOP Disses 9/11 Responders"

From the The Mouth of the Potomac, we learn that 9/11 responders are getting the cold shoulder from Capitol Hill Republicans. Not really a surprise. George Bush, Karl Rove, Rudy Giuliani and other GOPers milked all the political value they could from 9/11.

Hard to understand how dissing first responders is good politics. But, as Ohio Republican Senator George Voinovich explained, the GOP is now a party of Southerners and these 9/11 responders are from that liberal bastion, New York City. Republicans have probably made another political calculation here and decided New York's 9/11 responders don't matter to them anymore. Read More......

GOP has caught Dems in "generic" poll

This is disturbing. Via Taegan at Political Wire:

A new NPR poll finds Republicans catching Democrats in a generic congressional ballot test.

"Asked whether they would support a Democrat or a Republican for Congress in 2010 if the election were held today, 42% said they would choose a Democrat and 43% a Republican, a difference well within the poll's margin of error (plus or minus 3.4 percentage points for each number in each question)."

For several years, Democrats have held wide leads on such questions.

For several years, it seemed like Democrats were really going to solve problems and work for the American people. They're waiting. But, too many Democrats -- including the Obama brain trust -- have been striving for bipartisanship at the expense of progress. In my view, they've empowered the Republicans who offer no solutions for the American people.

76% of the American people support a public option as part of health care reform. That's a big number. But, Democrats on the Hill are blocking that provision. Democrats: Blue Dogs in the House and the Baucus/Conrad caucus in the Senate. They've had the public on their side and they're blowing it. Read More......

Senate GOP health bill moves forward

Senate Republicans didn't introduce a health care reform bill. They didn't have to. Instead, they took the Democratic bill and removed the key provisions supported by Democrats. Max Baucus (D-MT) let them do it, because he wants a "bipartisan" bill. Baucus got a GOP bill:

An emerging consensus among a bipartisan group of senators is poised to shift the dynamic in the congressional debate over health-care reform and could lead to a final product that sheds many of the priorities that President Obama has emphasized and that have drawn GOP attacks.

Three Democrats and three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee are expected to wrap up their arduous multi-week talks in the coming days, and Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said he expects a panel vote before the Senate recess, which will begin Aug. 7.

Assuming the fragile committee coalition holds, the legislation it produces would scramble the reform landscape by introducing policy ideas that have their origins in the political center. The bill is bound to disappoint liberals. But with prominent GOP backing, it also could prove more difficult for Republicans to reject out of hand -- the approach they have taken to the House bill and a second Senate version, written by the health committee.

The finance panel's legislation is expected to include incentives for employers to provide health insurance for their workers, rather than a more punitive coverage mandate. The committee is also likely to endorse narrowly targeted tax increases, rejecting a controversial tax surcharge on wealthy households that the House adopted and limits on deductions for upper-income taxpayers that Obama is seeking.

GOP negotiators rejected from the outset the kind of government-run insurance plan that Obama and most Democrats are pushing for in an attempt to inject the health-insurance market with pricing competition. Instead, the committee would create coverage cooperatives modeled after rural electricity providers.

I swear, when the 40 Republicans get together for their caucus, knowing the Democrats not only have a majority, but a filibuster-proof majority, they must just laugh at how easy it is to roll Baucus and others. It's pathetic.

But, don't worry, this will all be fixed in the final House-Senate conference. Right. Read More......

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Well, we've got a little situation here at AMERICAblog. John may have to get emergency eye surgery as a follow up to his eye problems last week. Until then, he's forbidden to do any reading -- so he better not be reading this. And, he has to stay on his side 24 hours/day until they decide what to do. Literally, on his side. (He tells me he has his laptop sideways on his desk, and it works.) It sounds a little intense. Chris in on vacation with his wife. So, for the next couple days, it's just me. There's plenty to write about. I'll try to stay on top of everything. Just bear with me.

Your president is heading to North Carolina and Virginia today to talk about health care. He should travel up to Capitol Hill to knock some sense into the Blue Dogs, Max Baucus and Kent Conrad. Those idiots are selling out the Democratic party -- and Barack Obama.

It's hard to believe the House and Senate are going home without passing health care reform. Not many of us can take a month-long vacation without completing our work. But, they all have excellent, taxpayer-funded health care. Although, maybe, with H1N1 on the Hill, they should all be quarantined til they get reform done -- and done right. (Can you imagine a worse torture than being quarantined with the likes of Jim DeMint and Michelle Bachmann?)

Let's get this started... Read More......

"quite possibly the H1N1 virus" is on the Hill

Swine flu may have hit Capitol Hill:

Five Senate pages appear to have contracted the dreaded flu virus, which has been linked to more than 300 deaths, and they have been quarantined from their peers and lawmakers, Sergeant at Arms Terrance W. Gainer announced Tuesday night in an internal memo to senators and staff.

Gainer, who oversees the page program, said the teenagers "are exhibiting flu-like symptoms -- slightly elevated temperature, cough, and sore throats -- and the Office of Attending Physician believes that they most likely have influenza, quite possibly the H1N1 virus."

The pages do not have confirmed H1N1 cases, Gainer noted, because doctors have not tested them for the virus. "The test itself is uncomfortable and the results of the test will not alter the treatment plan," he said, noting that most outside doctors are following this course.

No doubt, we'll be hearing more about this. But, don't worry. Members of Congress and Capitol Hill staffers have excellent taxpayer-funded health insurance. If any of them get sick, they'll be covered.

But, maybe they should quarantine all of Congress. Then, perhaps they'd actually finish their work on health care reform so the rest of us will be covered. Read More......

Tenn. State Senator (a typical anti-gay Republican) quit over affair with intern

Tennessee State Senator Paul Stanley (R) quit on Tuesday:

"Due to recent events, I have decided to focus my full attention on my family and resign my Senate seat effective August 10," Republican Sen. Paul Stanley wrote in his resignation letter.

Court records show that Stanley, 47, told agents investigating a blackmail case that he had a sexual relationship with intern McKensie Morrison. Her boyfriend, Joel Watts, is charged with trying to extort $10,000 from Stanley in April in return for explicit photos of Morrison that Stanley had taken....

...Stanley's legislative proposals were largely focused on pro-business issues, but he also sponsored failed measures to ban gay couples from adopting children. He also spoke out against funding for Planned Parenthood because he said unmarried people should not have sex.

"Whatever I stood for and advocated, I still believe to be true," he said during an interview Tuesday with Memphis radio station WREC-AM. "And just because I fell far short of what God's standard was for me and my wife, doesn't mean that that standard is reduced in the least bit."

"Pith in the Wind" has more on that radio interview on a right wing station. There was lots of talk about God -- and lots of bashing blogs. Read More......

Krugman on O'Reilly latest health care inanity

Krugman:

"I need a drink."

Here's why:
Read More......