Obama To GOP: It’s Over
Obama listened politely for six hours, with occasional flashes of temper, but in the end, the message was clear: It’s over. We’re moving forward without Republicans.
Whether Obama and Dems will succeed in passing reform on their own is anything but assured, to put it mildly. But there’s virtually no doubt anymore that they are going to try — starting as early as tomorrow.
That was the subtle but unmistakable message of Obama’s closing argument. After hours of hearing Republicans repeat again and again that only an incremental approach to reform is acceptable to them, Obama rejected that out of hand.
Here’s the key bit from Obama:
I’d like Republicans to do a little soul searching to find out if there are some things that you’d be willling to embrace that get to this core problem of 30 million people without health insurance, and dealing seriously with the pre-existing conditions issue. I don’t know frankly whether we can close that gap.
And if we can’t close that gap, then I suspect Mitch McConnell, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner are going to have a lot of arguments about procedures in Congress about moving forward.
Unless I’m misreading that, Obama is saying that unless Republicans support comprehensive reform as Obama and Dems have defined it — dealing with the problem of 30 million uninsured and, by extension, seriously tackling the preexisting condition problem — they will almost certainly move forward with reconciliation.
What’s more, Obama also essentially accused Republicans of approaching today’s summit in bad faith — after they had sat there with him for six hours. He said that even after the public option was taken off the table, Republicans continued to use the same “government takeover” slur.
“Even after the public option wasn’t available, we still hear the same rhetoric,” Obama said. “We have a concept of an exchange which previously has been an idea that was embraced by Republicans before I embraced it. Somehow, suddenly it became less of a good idea.”
This accusation, combined with his assertion that Repubicans need to do some “soul-searching” on whether they wanted to join Dems in tackling reform as they have defined it, amount to an unmistakable vow to move foward without them.
Democratic aides are already interpreting Obama’s remarks along these lines. As one senior aide emailed: “We may make one last effort to try to get a Senate Republican.”
In terms of who “won” today’s debate, I tend to think Republicans actually accomplished much of what they needed to do today. It seems likely that some Congressional Dems will be just as skittish tomorrow as they were yesterday about moving forward alone via reconciliation. That means Dems still have an enormously difficult task ahead.
But Obama’s message to Dems and Republicans alike today was that barring some kind of major change on the GOP side, this is exactly what he and Dem leaders are about to attempt.
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Update: To clarify, this was a call to Dems, perhaps more than anyone else, that the time has come for them to stiffen their spines and move forward with reconciliation, which Republicans, and even some nonpartisan observers, have repeatedly characterized as akin to marching off a cliff.
Also: This summit was always about laying the groundwork for Dems to go forward alone, barring a major capitulation from Republicans. As noted here repeatedly, Dems will find themselves in exactly the same position tomorrow as they did yesterday: Confronting the enormously difficult task of passing ambitious reform on their own.
Update II: A GOP aide emails the Republican take: “They badly needed a win today and they didn’t get it. Not even close. Republicans were prepared. The President was pedantic and peeved.”
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Obama is moving forward. Without Democrats or Republicans. But he is moving forward, right out of the White House . . . after we impeach him for colluding with Blagoiavich to sell a senate seat.
@ Wm T Sherman | February 26th, 2010 at 01:56 pm :
Well said, Sherman. Liberal initiatives like healthcare are always based on Alice-in-Wonderland projections that would land any corporate CFO in jail. (side note- why do we hold corporations to a higher standard of disclosure than government when corporations only get out money voluntarily, but the government can simply take it?)
Liberal programs are also based on using OPM- other people’s money- and promoters blithely ignore the negative side effects expropriating that money (see Illinoisjoe for the personal side, but more broadly the problem is one of inefficient resource allocation).
Obama wiped the floor with the GOP. The Republican aide that claimed victory in his email to the author is the reason the GOP has fallen to new lows…they are so blinded by their own stupidity that they cant even tell when they are getting their butts kicked. Obama will push the legislation thru and the GOP will have to grovel at his feet if they ever want any input again.
The health care bill does NOT need to pass, because it ALREADY passed both Houses of Congress in December by traditional means including 60 votes in the Senate on Christmas Eve. All they are doing now is reconcilling a few SMALL amendments, never EVER bet agaisnt Nancy Pelosi.
One of the ideas that was never on the table:
The popular socialist system of the British government, where the British government owns the hospitals, hires the Doctors, and provides healthcare on demand to all of their citizens.
(I’ve seen Britain’s government run healthcare system in action and it was fast, efficient, effective, and did not have any overwhelming “cost” as it was already paid for through affordable taxes.)
The Brit’s healthcare system is similar to our increasingly popular Veteran’s health care system, which, since the 1990’s, has been relatively well managed and receives better marks than most of the other health care systems in America (see: BusinessWeek’s 2006 article: “The Best Medical Care In The U.S.: How Veterans Affairs transformed itself — and what it means for the rest of us.”)
You may have “seen” it but I tried to use the system. Incredibly inefficient and way behind times. The “affordable” tax is 10% of your wages. Most working people I knew had a separate insurance that got them better service. Doctors do not have to accept you and you have to use a doctor in your defined listed area. Nursas I saw told me that their system is WAY behind the US and they are hoping it gets upgraded. I spoke with pharmicists who were more knowledgable than the Doctors I saw when I could find one. Doctors offices are very substandard and they also do “surgery” in the offices. I’d fly back to the states before I’d let any doctor do surgery on me in his office. The hospital I went to was pathetic and I had to go to the emergency room to get a presciption written. Then you have NICE where the concenpt of the “death panel” came from. Do some research on it and find out how they limit care which leads to restrictions on care. You can say what you want but if you don’t find out what “excellant” care they have over there then don’t be surprised what you’d get here. I dare you to do some research and repeat what you’ve said. Oh and if you like VA care then you’ve never been it it unless it was while in the service.
Also not on the table:
The popular single payer, mixed system of the Canadians, where private hospitals and private Doctors are paid for by the Canadian government.
Canada’s “mixed system” combines ‘private free enterprise’ elements such as private hospitals and private Doctors with socialist elements, such as the ’single payer’ of the Canadian government (though, if you think about it, any insurance system, private or public, is effectively a “single payer” system).
Canada’s system is similar to our our popular Medicare system: There is a ’single payer’, such as the government that pays the private, for profit, free enterprise hospitals and Doctors.
Oh the one where the Premier of Newfoundland decided to come to the US to get cardiac care? I’ve a friend who has family in the business and he says alot of things are similar except the waits if your need is within normal routines. Go outside those then it becomes a **** shoot and you have to travel.
Also apparently off the table:
Medicare for All, an expansion of Medicare, a strong Public Option, and even a weak Public Option. And did anyone bring up drug reimportation?
And what do you think Canada will do once this starts? They know what is going on and will not subsidize the drugs going back into the states. It’s not a problem now but this would lead to a retaliation and back to square one.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
1. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
2. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, and beauty
3. Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
4. Requires excessive admiration
5. Has a sense of entitlement, unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
6. Is interpersonally exploitative i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
7. Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
Isn’t the President of the United States supposed to get an annual medical check-up. I think it’s time.
What’s the difference between a thief and these bleeding heart “We gotta give all these poor unfortunates free healthcare at your expense” libs?
Apparently not much, they’re both still thieves looking to rob me to pay for leeches I don’t give a **** about.
I eagerly await watching the Democrats in Congress commit collective suicide. You had better be damned sure this passes, because there will never be another chance to do so in my lifetime.
It’s over you elitist liberal pieces of ****. Your policies have failed in Massachussetts, Michigan, and California yet you still want to ram your bullcrap down America’s throat.
Canada’s liberal premier flew to America to get treated and even had the guts to demand that Canada pay for it. Britain’s economic model is completely bankrupt with debt at 150% of GDP and a moribund economy and a lazy entitled population.
Europe now groans into a second double dip as a demographic shift makes the social safety net insolvent there.
And we are suppose to take Obama’s word that he knows whats best?
Screw you fools. If you want universal healthcare pay for it yourself. Only you can’t because all liberals are fundamentally thieves and despots taking from the productive to buy the votes of the foolish.
Guys, this bill sucks and blows. You want to take care of people like the VA? Wow! I am a veteran. The VA is a poster child for why no one should support govt run healthcare. I see it everyday with my friends and their never ending horror stories. When the PM of Canada comes to the US for his own health care, the rest of America and myself can see and read what he really thinks of Canadian Healthcare.
This summit was simply a dog-and-pony show to give cover to a lot of Dems that are going into Electorate Hell in a few months.
How about this: We start over with a bill that says
1) No Pre-existing Condition Riders
2) All policies are portable.
3) Everyone over 24 must have a minimum policy.
4) No caps for coverage.
5) Competition from coast to coast.
6) Subsidies for those at some level of the poverty line to be worked out
7) Real Tort Reform.
No huge govt outlays of cash when we have no money to spend.
That bill would be approved on a voice vote in both houses in a week. Why dont we get it? Because this has never been about getting the Insurance side fixed. It is about a POWER GRAB.
2 Points to support my thinking:
1) How can you talk about cost containment when, after a year of debate, you do not have any serious Tort Reform, a $200BN cost over 10 years.
2) With our National Debt at record levels and soaring why do we pretend that adding a new entitlement wont just make it worse? We have a bankrupt SS, Medicare, and Medicaid System now. Adding NHC to the mix it will assuredly be just one more totally mismanaged boondoggle like the rest.
senks!
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