Harry Reid Calls GOP’s Transparency Bluff: Is Your Health Care Bill A Secret, Or Merely Non-Existent?
Harry Reid, continuing to surprise Dems who were accustomed to his cautious posture, has fired off a surprisingly harsh letter to Republican Senators, caustically questioning their claims that Dems hatched a health care bill in secret by asking whether their bill is a secret, or merely doesn’t exist.
A source forwards me the letter that Reid sent to dozens of GOP colleagues, to be released this afternoon. It says current Dem Senate versions of the bill are publicly available, and adds:
While the two health care reform plans that are serving as the main building blocks for the merged bill have been publicly available for quite some time, I would note that the Republican leadership’s health care plan remains a secret, unless perhaps it does not exist.
Needless to say, I fully understand if your plan is still under development, and would not presume to suggest that you publicly share draft legislative text for even an individual element of your plan, let alone an entire bill, before it is finalized.
However, as soon as a comprehensive Republican alternative is complete, I hope you will be willing to immediately make it public. I am sure you agree that the American people deserve the opportunity to fully review both parties’ health careform plans before we begin this important debate.
It’s fair to wonder whether Reid and his view of his own role have, in some sense, been genuinely transformed by Chuck Grassley and the long hot summer of GOP foot-dragging. Full letter here.
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Correct me if I am wrong, but Republican Senators do NOT plan to propose a separate bill and will seek to amend the Reid bill instead? (While House Republicans will present a separate bill entirely.)
Meanwhile, in today’s installment of unhinged GOP lunacy, according to Sen. Hatch passing some form of the Democrats’ health care reform bill(s) threatens the future of America’s two party system.
Seriously……… LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!
COB scoring of the Republican plan should be hilarious.
GOP Plan
1) Tax credits for all Americans to pay for insurance at 8k a year per family.
2) Tort reform.
3) Eliminate state restrictions for purchasing over state lines.
4) Ignore exploding Medicare costs and pass off to the next generation.
he’s right. It will threaten the two party system. People will realize all this craziness was exactly that, craziness. Actually who am I kidding. The loonies are being convinced BHO is a clear and present danger and is undermining their country and they want it back.
If healthcare passes, I think this chapter will be called “How Harry Got his Groove Back”. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Senator Reid be so confrontational and so sardonic in his tone. Let’s hope the GOP bites and puts out a bill so unimaginably bad that even ConservaDems would be embarrassed to support it.
he’s right. It will threaten the two party system.
It may threaten the GOP, but it won’t threaten the two party system any more than the extinction of the Federalists and the Whigs did.
Amazing how elections focus the mind. Harry Reid has one path to victory: the Obama base that came out in 2008 coming back in 2010. And he’s gotta deliver red meat to get that done.
Given the position he’s in, I wouldn’t be surprised if he pushes to do immigration reform next year.
Orrin Hatch fears that the Obama medical reform initiative risks turning America into a one party state. Which makes complete sense given that Israel, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, France, Britain, Norway, Germany, Spain etc etc are all now one party states.
How do these fukheads sleep at night?
Link for last… http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/11/hatch-health-care-reform-threatens-americas-two-party-system.php?ref=fpb
@saraehr
That wouldn’t be difficult. Any such proposal is bound to closely resemble the outline speculated by Mike from Arlington, despite the impracticality of such a proposal.
Bernie: These fuckheads *don’t* sleep at night. That’s why they’re so damned stupid, incoherent and zombie-like. They think with one tiny, atrophied, sleep-deprived brain.
Give ‘em hell, Harry. Dice into little bite-sized bits.
The GOP plan is so good, it’s classified! Can’t be seen.
I wonder if the Gee Oh Pee’s mythical “plan” will contain any actual numbers this time — other than page numbers 1 through 4, of course….
Actually, it can easily be summed up in two points:
1. Tax cuts for the uber-wealthy
2. Tort Reform
Good post from Green on HC reform progress and way forward at Dem Strategist… http://www.thedemocraticstrategist.org/
I think sbj is right. Senate Republicans never planned to create a HCR bill.
And I am pretty sure they never planned to vote for one either.
Hahahahahahahaahaha the party that voted to prevent the posting of a health care bill online attacking someone else’s transparency? What next, Pelosi attacking someone for raising taxes and fiscal irresponsibility?
If you watch C-Span,you would have seen the Republican amendments to this abomination of a bill put forth and immediately shot down by the Democrat majority. Some were even rudely interupted while speaking. There was suppose to be bipartisan work on each commitees bill, but the Republicans were shut out for the most part. Harry is in big trouble and this uncharacteristic behaviour is the act of a desperate man, not an honest man. Leave it to progressives to cofuse the facts. This has been a rough couple of weeks for Harry and I would hope you don’t rip him to shreds if all his hard work, doesn’t pan out. Try being in a leadership position as hard as his before you throw him under the bus.If his state of mind during his speech last week doesn’t make you feel for him, you are a sick individual.
You use “Democrat” as a pejorative and expect to be taken seriously?
I suspect that someone in the Bush admin was holding something over Reid and Pelosi’s heads. The person and/or dirty laundering can’t get to him anymore, and he’s flexing his muscle.
Why is tort reform so anathema to the left? While no tort system would be perfect, any change would have to be an improvement and serve the greater good. Physicians like me detest the present system that unfairly tortures us when we are innocent. It burns up billions of dollars on defensive medicine, which exposes patients to unnecessary risks. It misses most cases of true negligence. Is this a system worth keeping as is? See http://www.MDWhistleblower.blogspot.com under Legal Quality for some balance.
Well said, Harry.
Now look at Sen. Hatch’s comments about the need for Republicans to cripple this movement – purely a survival strategy for the Republican party. Their fear is not grounded in reality, and is based on the short term reaction of the populace. If these people would take the long view, and adopt a modicum of honesty and courage, the Republicans could keep their political base, and actually come out looking like the good guys. There are lots of thoughtful, intelligent Republicans, but the political posturing makes them look weak and stupid. So we have the rise of a new conservative party, emboldened by the idiocy of years of lockstep conformity to the Bush agenda. If politicians cared about human beings as much as they cared about their corporate “campaign contributions” they could actually help to implement a Single Payer health system which would benefit everyone (with the exception of the beloved insurance companies). If the right will not sit down at the table, then they deserve to have their self-exclusion honored. All we have to do is look around the world to see that health care transcends party differences, and every party who lends a hand to improve the system will see their contributions acknowledged. Taking sides against the people will never be a successful strategy, although it may work as a tactic in a few quirky situations.