Blue Dogs Backsliding On Health Care

Conservative House Democrats agreed to a set of health care principles late last week that angered advocates of a overhaul of the health care system.

The Blue Dog Coalition issued a statement that said it would only support the public health care option as a fallback measure that would be triggered sometime down the road if private insurers don't meet a particular set of goals.

The backsliding took advocates of reform by surprise because 20 members of the coalition had previously signed a pledge expressing their support for a public option without a trigger. The statement was written and organized by the reform coalition Health Care for America Now (HCAN), which strongly opposes a trigger and sees it as an industry plot to strangle a public option in the crib.

Blue Dogs, by their charter, need two-thirds of their 51-member caucus to approve a position before it can be officially adopted. With 20 Blue Dogs backing a public option, they would be short several votes if everyone stuck to their pledge in the closed-door meeting.

A senior Blue Dog staffer, however, said that when the coalition first met to discuss the set of principles, they decided to stake out a negotiating position rather than draw a firm line.

"The sense in the room when these principles were drafted was that the coalition was shooting a bit past where they want to end up," said a top Blue Dog aide. "The final product is obviously going to be delivered through a negotiation and an ultimate compromise meaning the principles listed are much more of a starting place for the negotiation than they are an intractable position."

Another Blue Dog aide whose boss signed the HCAN pledge said that Blue Dogs have told staff that they are not against a public plan and want to see health care reform happen this year. The principles laid out last week are just the beginning of negotiations, the aide said, and an attempt to hold the industry accountable for its pledge to trim $2 trillion from health care spending. The trigger the Blue Dogs support would be pulled more readily than one the industry might prefer.

The Huffington Post contacted the 20 Blue Dogs who originally signed onto the public option but have begun to backtrack in the days since. Unfortunately, the calls yielded little response.

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Rep. Patrick Murphy (Penn.) still backs a public plan without a trigger, said his spokeswoman Kate Hansen. "Congressman Murphy stands with President Obama in supporting the inclusion of a public option without a trigger in healthcare reform legislation, and believes it would be a good way to introduce transparency, competition, and cost-control into the insurance market," she said.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (Calif.) said she is waiting to see what emerges from committee before taking a stand, though she didn't back off her HCAN pledge.

"I believe the ultimate goal of this health care debate is to help all Americans gain access to more affordable, higher quality care than they are currently getting," she said in a statement to Huffington Post. "I will continue working with local health care advocates in my district and my Blue Dog and Congressional colleagues to ensure we stabilize and strengthen health care in a fiscally responsible manner. However, this debate is still taking shape, and I will wait to judge the Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees' final proposal on its merits."

Members of Congress are traveling from their districts to Washington, D.C. during the day on Monday and several were on plains for much of the day. If they comment when they land, we'll update this story.

Beyond Sanchez and Murphy, the 18 other Blue Dogs to sign the HCAN statement include Democratic Reps. Jason Altmire (Penn.), Michael Arcuri (N.Y.), Joe Baca (Calif.), Marion Berry (Ark.), Sanford Bishop (Ga.), Leonard Boswell (Iowa), Chris Carney (Penn.), Ben Chandler (Ky.), Jim Cooper (Tenn.), Jane Harman, (Calif.), Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.D.), Tim Holden (Penn.), Frank Kratovil (Md.), Mike Ross (Ark.), Adam Schiff (Calif.), Zack Space (Ohio), Mike Thompson (Calif.) and Charlie Wilson (Ohio).

Several of those members played an active role in the creation of the principles that go against the original pledge they signed for health care reform.

Ross, for instance, is chairman of the Blue Dog Health Care Task Force and an HCAN pledge-signer. "It is essential we pass a health care bill that would not disrupt the ability of families to keep their health care coverage and see their doctor," said Ross in a statement when announcing the principles. "We cannot create a public option that stacks the deck -- through
rate setting and forced participation -- against a system that currently provides coverage to 160
million Americans."

Pledge-signer Cooper put is also quoted in the announcement of the principles. "The key to successful health care reform is building as broad a coalition of support as possible," said Cooper, Blue Dog Health Care Task Force Vice Chairman. "The conditions we're laying out today ensure that Americans who like their current health insurance can keep it; that they will have access to their choice of quality, affordable health care plans; and that any public option exist on a level playing field. And of course, we strongly support President Obama's commitment to keep health care reform deficit-neutral."

The 20 Blue Dogs have taken a combined $6,849,273 from various segments of the health care industry, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Individually, they've taken a good chunk of change from the industry, but money isn't always the decisive factor. Murphy, in fact, has taken nearly $300,000 from health care interests but still reiterated his support for the public option with out a trigger. Here are the rest:

Jason Altmire: $405,279

Michael Arcuri: $103,547

Joe Baca: $159,250

Marion Berry: $536,917

Sanford Bishop: $356,496

Leonard Boswell: $304,680

Chris Carney: $167,664

Ben Chandler: $223,300

Jim Cooper: $894,414

Jane Harman: $292,694

Stephanie Herseth Sandlin: $323,924

Tim Holden: $386,278

Frank Kratovil: $86,556

Mike Ross: $833,670

Loretta Sanchez: $183,162

Adam Schiff: $380,708

Zach Space: $144,125

Charlie Wilson: $138,724

Mike Thompson: $631, 532 (His take from the health care industry, was second only to beer/wine/liquor business, which gave him $1,009,370)

Read the principles here.

Jeff Muskus contributed reporting.

Ryan Grim is the author of This Is Your Country On Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America, available this month

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Comments

[tjinc]

Let's print and file a copy of this article.

Ruling out term limits, many of these "yellow dogs" are up for re-election. We can start supporting an opponent for each of them, in our districts.

[Jody Dobis]

If you are a democrat, your loyalty should be to the middle and lower class of America. If not, your a republican. As a citizen of NW Indiana, the so called democrats of the central and southern sections of the state are afraid to be real dem's. Instead they are republican light. It is time for the so called blue bloods to get off the fence and either be with the true democrats of Roosevelt and Truman or join the fake democrats of the south. I was an early supporter of President Obama and proud of his election. If he is paying the price of change, so should all loyal democrats.

[iver]

In reviewing the list of contributions to these Blue Dogs, let's rename them Fat Cats. Maybe we need to have public financing of campaigns to take money out of consideration when they vote on issues affecting Americans. If legislation is based on reality, our values, our needs, instead of who bought which congress person, maybe we see real reform of health care.

[tarryd]

BEWARE Blue Dogs. If you screw this up for the American people you will regret it..... assuming you want to stay in Washington. Many of us feel so strongly about this we will risk a Dem majority by contribution to your opponents. That is no threat. It is a promise!

[ProgressiveBum]

I'm with you on that!

[dRwOOD]

Someone needs to teach these people the art of negotiation. If you come to table with an already compromised position you will end up with an even more watered down solution. It's really quite simple..........You come armed with an extreme & ambitious proposal - then, if you do give in on some points you end up with an acceptable compromise - why do they not GET IT???

Or, like many of you have mentioned - they are bought & payed for... (sighhh)

[climatebabes]

Corruption is obvious and rampant. The insurer and medical industry practices are abusive and exploitative. On the top you have bankers loaning out with interest, making everything more expensive and driveing the population ito debt, while the industry was designed to make thier life less worrisome. A rethink does not mean there is going to be negotiations over every issue. Do you negotiate a sentence with a convicted criminal?

[ProgressiveBum]

Here's an idea: Remove medical coverage for any who vote against the public option. Let them fight in the "free" market like the rest of us!

[tjinc]

Awesome idea! They're opposing their own health insurance coverage.... for the rest of us.

[frappe]

We've all heard about the former Governor of Illinois' "pay to play" schemes. He was impeached for his behavior. Well, isn't that exactly what is going on now -- in full daylight, too?

The contorted offerings from our so called representatives in Congress are an acute example of just how far they have been bought off.

Lobbyists are investing hundreds of millions of dollars to insure that the public option either is completely ignored or is designed with fatal flaws so as not to be able to effectively compete with the private plans.

Our so called representatives are bending over backwards to appease these special interests, while their real constituencies, that is, "you and me and your next door neighbors", are only secondary considerations at best.

If this isn't "pay to play", then what is it?...Because it certainly isn't democracy. It's bribery. It's paying for votes. It's unethical and it effectively destroys or distorts the process by which constructive change would normally occur within our system of government.

Average taxpayers are being shuffled to the rear of the bus while the K St. lobbyists, armed with tens of millions of dollars, sit in the front, whispering their demands and entreaties into the ears of the ever attentive rep or senator.

[hilary916]

Great post!

[ProgressiveBum]

Great analogy!

[iknowdou]

Great reporting. Very eye opening. It's nice to finally learn something about an issue that is talked about all the time on cable news!! How do all those networks manage to waste so much time and say sooo little!! Think of how educated the public could be if reporters cared less about their prized 'objective' stance, and more about adding plainly stated facts and background information.

[lysistrata]

Without a public option there is no need for any reform at all, things will go on as always. They are stacking the deck against the people. The aim is to protect the industry and the pretense is to do it all to protect the 160 million with lousy insurance.

The trigger on the system went off a long time ago and never did our elected officials feel the need to regulate and control the robber barons of the industry. No way destroy the opportunity to make millions lobbying. Only a public system will put pressure on the private sector not the other way around.

[ProgressiveBum]

Exactly!

[Kassandra]

That sure doesn't seem to be much $ to sell out the American people for.

Frankly, I'm disgusted with the "liberal' Talk show hosts letting the conservo-dems off the hook for this and blaming the republicans for all the mess they've made of this long overdue reform.

If, say, Schultz and Olbemann would point the finger where it belongs we might have more pushback. As it is, not many folks know it's the "Centrist" bought off Dems who are doing most of this

[discourse jockey]

Did Olbermann ever plainly state something along the lines of "Bill Clinton was not a good president either, and comparing him to Caligula Bush is setting the bar too low"?

[aluxeterna]

EXACTLY

[hilary916]

Who are these Blue Dog people and why do they call themselves Democrats?

[Altruth]

More Republican than Democrat!

[Kassandra]

They used to call themsleves "Reagan Democrats"

[lysistrata]

corrupt as corrupt can be by any name, Republican or Democrat.

[wideawakenow]

It's not just the money that these idiots take from the HC industry that keeps them from getting on board, it's also their constituents who they think are mostly not going to approve of this because a lot of them are in conservative dominated states. They have an obligation to spell out and explain to their constituents and to educate them on how a public option and even better a single payer system would benefit them. The problem is they probably don't understand it themselves. They won't let single payer advocates talk to them to educate themselves on the issue. They spend all their time raising funds to get re-elected. I have my fingers way crossed that they can put together some sort of coherent law for HC reform but I'm not gonna hold my breath.

[MrBabooshka]

revolt if these people don't listen to us...enough is enough.

[schatsie]

that industry wants to cut 2 trillion over 10 years,,, UNIVERSAL health care can trim 10 trillion over 10 years and we will have better outcomes....DO NOT SELL US DOWN THE RIVER AGAIN....

[jhgold57]

To all democrats in Congress who don't allow single payer back on the table, I will do EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO GET YOU VOTED OUT OF POWER!!!!!!! So many democrats are beholden to big insurance and big pharma that they are happy to sell out the American people. HOW SHAMEFUL!!!!!

Health care is THE #1 domestic issue in America and the dems are rolling over like impotent, spineless worms. They are betraying our trust!!!!!

SINGLE PAYER IS THE ONLY TRUE SYSTEM THAT WILL SERVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND ALLOW OUR ECONOMY TO COMPETE IN THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE.

[PurpleLove08]

The only bad thing about your desire [and mine as well] to vote them out of office is that Obama wants this "reform" to be passed before the end of the year. I can't vote my "representatives" out until 2010. By then it will be too late.