Health care debate moves to the Senate
I knew there was a reason I liked Joe Lieberman. With the House passing their version of health care reform late Saturday night, the battle over how to reform the system moves to the Senate and conservatives seem to have an ally in the Democrat turned Independent Senator from Connecticut. The plan pushed through the House by Nancy Pelosi contains a public option in which the government would offer health care coverage that would compete with private insurance companies. It is that option that Senator Lieberman is so adamantly opposed to, saying it could very well become a very expensive entitlement program. When you stop and think about it, he has a point. Have you ever heard of a government program getting smaller?
As of today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is working hard behind the scenes, trying to work out a compromise that will give him the 60 votes he needs to move the debate onto the floor of the Senate. Those same 60 votes would also give him the assurance of being able to shut the debate off when he is ready. Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine has offered a compromise proposal where a government insurance option would not take effect for a few years and not unless the private insurance companies failed to reform their practices and lower the cost of premiums. At the moment, Reid is focusing on a government option that allows individual states to opt out of, but the Senator from Connecticut has shown no interest in either option.
Senator Lieberman is in a very unique position. Most of the time, he caucuses with the Democrats, especially on social issues, but this time he is solidly on the side of Conservatives and appears to be dead set against any kind of a public option. Other Senators who do not appear to be sold on the public option are Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. Lieberman has said he will prevent the debate from moving forward if the public option is included in the Senate’s version of the bill and with Democrats needing 60 votes to prevent a filibuster, he could very well get the job done. Couple his opposition with that of Nelson and Landrieu and the chances seem to be even better. I know some may not care for Lieberman and some of his positions, but if you are interested in what this legislation will do and how much it will cost, then you need to be cheering him on.
This ObamaCare BS can still be stopped, but ALL the Repubs have to stick together, and any SANE Dems that can be found too…
Sane Dems? Wow, that’s like saying Conservative RINO huh?
TexasFred´s last blog ..Aerosmith Says Steven Tyler Has Quit
Joe Libermann is an old time Democrat and not part of the radical left now in control of that party. His committee will also be active in the Ft. Hood shootings. The health care bill is a long, long way from the finish line despite the spin from Nancy P.
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Snowe’s “trigger” is a slower path to single payer, as at least the house bill is pretty much guaranteed to raise premiums in the first place. A little Cloward-Piven for the health care industry, if you will.
While I am not going to pretend that I agree with Joe Lieberman very often, when it comes to national defense and this issue I am a big Lieberman fan. Joe Lieberman has emphatically stated that he will not allow any bill that contains a public option to even make it to the floor for a vote. Those are tough words and words that I do not think he will back down from.
But the question is– does he have enough sway to pull it off? He is just one vote, will Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and other moderate to liberal Republicans, counter balance his position and undermine his stance? That remains to be seen but one thing is for sure, I am routing hard for Lieberman to pull it off.
Mr Pink Eyes´s last blog ..The Fort hood terrorist tried to contact al Qaeda months ago and the FBI knew about it
You’re right, Mr. Pink Eyes. He may or may not have the political clout to pull this off. A lot of it is going to depend on if Snowe, Collins, or any other Republicans break ranks and join the Democrats “because doing nothing is not acceptable”.