Blue Dogs Backsliding On Anti-Health Care Reform Backsliding

Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) is "unwavering" in her opposition to a Blue Dog Coalition health care position issued late last week, she said Tuesday. The Blue Dogs, a caucus of conservative Democrats, issued a set of principles opposing a public health care option unless it was triggered by the failure of private insurers to meet certain goals.

Harman, in a statement, said she supports a public option without a trigger. "I will oppose any plan that does not include this option, and am unwavering in my opposition to the so-called 'Blue Dog trigger,'" said Harman.

On Monday, the Huffington Post reported that the Blue Dogs had backed the trigger even though 20 of their 51 members, including Harman, had pledged to the reform coalition Health Care for America Now! (HCAN) that they supported a public option without one. (HCAN and other reform advocates consider a trigger to be the death of the public option.) If all 20 kept to their word, the Blue Dogs wouldn't have had enough votes to back a trigger.

Harman said she's sticking by her pledge.

"I am proud to have signed the HCAN (Health Care for America Now!) pledge to seek universal coverage," she said. "I am a strong supporter of universal health coverage, which is why I support the health care reform plan being developed by President Obama, Senator [Ted] Kennedy, and Congressman [Henry] Waxman. Like them, I believe that the bill must include a public health insurance option which guarantees all Americans access to quality, affordable health care."

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.), a Blue Dog who also signed the pledge, told the Huffington Post she backs a public option without a trigger.

"America can't afford to wait for health care reform. While a single-payer system would be ideal, I am prepared to support other measures that also reduce costs, preserve doctor choice, and assure affordable, quality health care for all Americans," she said in a statement. "I think a public option without a trigger would be a good way to fix what's wrong with health care while preserving what works."

Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), the vice chairman of the Blue Dog Health Care Task Force, has also since come out in favor of a public option without a trigger.

UPDATE: Add Blue Dog Reps. Mike Thompson (Calif.) and Leonard Boswell (Iowa).

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Comments

[Okieborn]

Jane Harmon Issued A Set of Principles Huh !!!

[Okieborn]

Why has all the news on Jane Harmon subsided ??
Oh Yeah !!
Another FREE PASS HAS BEEN HANDED OUT !!

[Michelle Alexandria]

The only thing we as voters can do is vote out all the incumbents no matter who they are but that never happens. People talk a good game but at the end of the day these Democrats can continually screw us because they no people have nowhere else to go except sit home. The only way change will happen is to vote every Dem and Rethug out during the Primary season so we're guaranteed to get someone new. I think I actually despise Democrats more than Republicans because I know Rethugs are aholes who don't care about anything other than money and White Men and are upfront about it while Dems talk a good game about diversity, fighting for social causes but when push comes to shove they won't stand up or fight for anything! It's just frustrating watching these weasels, don't they know they WON THE F'ING DEBATE?!

[PocketWatch]

As much as I hate to admit it, I'm beginning to think that the Democrats have been cowering in the corner and begging "Don't hit me anymore!" because they have been verbally abused for the last 40 years (Liberals! Socialists! Anti-American! Communists! Un-American! etc., etc., etc.) and don't have any idea how to win and lead any more. I'm just about done with all of it!

[sweetwhine]

I agree. I think there should be a huge movement to get these people out of office. They don't have OUR best interest. Did they ever? You speak of push coming to shove, you can include almost every dem on this tread of the same thing. I don' think many really believe our voices can get things done. I wonder sometimes if they really believe in Obama.

[pam45]

We definitely need to give the Blue Dogs a spanking at the polls!

[jamilk99]

She will do anything to get in the news because she hopes it will make people forget she was caught trying interfere in the case of the AIPAC spies. She should be charged with obstruction of justice or at least attempted obstruction of justice.

[tangelan]

Once again, the party of no ideas. Did you see that Judd Dredd interview on Morning JoeStarbucks? He didn't address how to provide healthcare for the uninsured or how to curb spending. Apparently the current system is only a little flawed. Mika, you are pathetic. I can't believe I'm going to be late for work just to catch Lawrence O'Donnell. Do they plan to put him on in the last 5 minutes?

[Actionmac]

Yes they can't handle O'Donnell and want to limit him giving truth.

[SF13]

Mika is definitely pathetic . She acts like a scared little girl when her Dad is on.

[pam45]

Lawrence was good and challenged Joe which doesn't take much! I'm sick and tired of them promoting his book but I guess that's the way it is when you have your own show! Mika is like a little drone who continues to suck up to Joe. This show is going on my cut list because it's getting worse instead of better with balance. The only reason that I watch it is to see Mika's daddy whom I love and enjoy reading his books. The doctor has much to say which is based on history, experience and logic. He's a great thinker which unfortunately wasn't passed down to his daughter!

[Gatorray11]

Lawrence O'Donnell is good because he was on the inside -- being chief of staff of the Senate Finance Committee -- and knows where the bodies are burried and how the game is played.

What nobody is asking, if government care is so bad how come all these Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats use it for themselves? If it is good enough for them, why is it not good enough for us? How much did it cost us to have kept Dick Cheney alive in the last eight years? No conservative ever mentions that.

Also if the present system is so great, why do we have 47 million uninsured? Why are we by far the most expensive system in the world? Why with all this money does our system rank in the upper 20s in the world -- behind even Columbia?

And why are the insurance companies not willing to compete with a government system if they can provide healthcare cheaper and better?

[1differentdrummer]

Hang in there Senator. Health care is a right, not a luxury only the privileged can afford.

[discourse jockey]

As of right now, good health care is still a luxury reserved for the wealthy. And it has been so for decades.

But there's an interesting point in your comment: The privileged in this country have always felt entitled, yet they sponsor a faux outcry over the emerging notion that all of us are entitled to good, affordable health care.

[urweatherman]

WRONG! Its called preparing for the future. Teach your children well, study hard in school. Work hard and have a future plan. Save for a rainy day....be responsible! If everyone did this then we would not have an issue. Easy to blame everything else for ones personal failures in life! Health care is not a right!

[lightningbolt]

Everyone who opposes a public plan works for the insurance companies. We can tell who is corrupt simply by looking at who opposes a public plan. The public plan makes so much sense that opposing it means only one thing: corruption.

[Chaimirija]

WHY ARE THERE NO STORIES IN THE MEDIA ABOUT HOW THE 'REFORM' IN MASS INCREASED COSTS?????­??????????­??????????­??????????­??????????­??????????­??????????­????

[mike42nola]

Because everyone is supposed to be following one leader off of the cliff with one arm raised in a salute.
People want something for nothing and they don't realize that there is no such thing as a free lunch.
This so called Universal Healthcare will either run all of the talented doctors out or will increase costs through beaurocratic red tape that is will continue to put us further in debt.
Which government agencies can you walk into and not have to put up with all sorts of red tape and filling out numerous ridiculous forms in triplicate?

[Actionmac]

same trite whining that has NO solution... shut up, you people sound like little spoiled girls not getting enough attention.

[SF13]

I am very concerned about the cost of this on top of the deficit we have now. I think they should raise taxes to pay for it. It's supposed to be affordable not free.

[Johnniedog]

Mike,
I can assure you that you really don't know what you are talking about. I am on Medicare and I can go anywhere, any time, to any clinic, Hospital, or Doctor, and I have absolutely NO red tape or hoops to jump through. The only problems I have with health care is the Prescription part of my coverage. This Bush Drug Plan is a mess and is costing me more than it is worth. If everyone was on Medicare, we would finally be rid of Medical rip-off Insurance Companies.

[sweetwhine]

As usual you bring absolutely nothing to the conversation.

[Actionmac]

Increased what cost? did they say it was FREE? NO, and everyone knows it will cost money and it is cheaper than the cost I pay even with my employer provided insurance. I pay $100 out of my pay every week for family insurance plus co-pay when I go to doctors office and it increases EVERY year. Unless that increase is what your talking about then you could NOT know what it will cost and like the redumdlicans have NO alternative that will be cheaper or work better.

Stop whining and understand the ONLY people that don't want this is the insurance co. and the congress people they OWN, it will keep them from crazy profits they can then STEAL from.

[Gatorray11]

We and South Africa are the only industrialized countries who do not have a national healthcare system in the world.

We have the most expensive system in the world. We do not rank anywhere near the top when you measure the quality of our care. We have 47 million uninsured people and that doesn't even account for the underinsued. Why does public healthcare work so well for Republican and Blue Dog Democratic lawmakers?

If private insurance copmpanies are so good and efficient, why are they afraid to compete with government healthcare? Why will the Republicans -- who talk so much about giving the American people choice -- not give them this choice? All they can think off is scare tactics. They call everything they don't like socialism. So are they going to repeal Medicare? Social Security? The minimum wage? The Family Leave Act? How about the 40-hour work wee?

[Mystic01]

Thank you, Rep. Harman! Please convince the other Blue Dogs to support a public option w/o trigger!

[eirrac]

Thanks, Rep. Harman! We need to get private companies that are ripping us off (like mine) to lower their costs, as well as the drug companies. Our famiily's doctor's fees plus lab and hospital procedure fees have gone through the roof too. It's the whole industry. Private insurers have even found ways to make money off the medicare my parents need! It gives Medicare a bad name and we can't sustain this kind of greed by drug, medical ,and private insurance groups.

No wonder so many are unable to afford health care. All many of us can do is stand on the sidelines and watch the price gouging. We need a public plan, with lower costs, to drive down the fees of the greedy in the medical community, and to provide an option for those who, through no fault of their own, have the misfortune to have a serious illness and are tossed aside by private insurers.

[Tom Joad]

In my area of the country, it's often said "A hit dog always yelps".

[WarriorLemming]

I never thought I'd dislike a Democrat but I'm starting to strongly d-i-s-l-i-k-e, Jane Harman. I hope the people in her district feel the same way and take it to the voting booth. I was going to do the same thing for our lovely Hillary but President Obama gave her SoS. Schumer's next because he voted for Bush's pre-emptive war on Iraq too, no backbone whatsoever. You can tell who the lobbyists had in their pocket just by looking to see who voted with Bush on the Iraq war. Pathetic!

[eirrac]

I love Hillary too, and think she's doing a wonderful job as Secretary of State. But I also think Jane Harman's championing of a public option without a trigger is a good thing. If the public option is weakened by Republicans, so that it can be rejected by some of the states, or is not allowed as an option unless it can be proved that the medical community and private insurers are being greedy and dishonest, there will be no real reform at all. We'll have the same, deregulated mess we have now in the health care industry, and that's unsustainable.

For those lucky enough to be able to afford health care now, things are "fine." But for a lot of others (who are unlucky enough to have a serious illness through no fault of their own), all they can do is sit on the sidelines as doctors' fees, hospital costs for labwork and procedures, unbelievably-high costs of surgeries, and the price of private insurance continues to skyrocket. It makes a person heartsick to see the price gouging. I'd say that Harman is doing the right thing.

[mikekc]

I would like to see a chart that shows how corporate donations to the blue dogs have increased and will continue to increase as they continue to play the leading role in squashing and watering down Obama's agenda. I would also like to see how much stimulus money each got for their district. The Democrats need to start exercising party unity or they will get thrown out again. Americans seem to be a lot more tolerant of Republican failure then the Democrats. The Republicans have their love America, stand strong, rugged individualism, and race-baiting and immigration bashing which make them a natural choice for most uneducated and/or ignorant and hateful people. The Democrats are basically eggheads, wimps, and degenerates in the minds of many Americans. Without results in government the Ds are going to get tossed out again. Americans would rather have a tough fool like Reagan or Bush then an educated brilliant user of 3 syllable words who in the end is unable to accomplish what he promised.

disclaimer: I voted for Obama and donate to Move On and Change Congress. I am just calling this one from the perspective of the majority of the people's tendencies.

[lornejl]

http://www.calnurses.org/media-center/in-the-news/2009/april/the-top-10-enemies-of-single-payer.html

[blue ocean55]

No need to apologize. Anyone who has paid attention to the Democrats' past failings knows exactly what you mean. If you don't examine your mistakes, how do you learn what to do the next time around? It's basic knowledge.

[SF13]

I agree with you. Obama is going to own the economy and the wars. He can only blame Bush for so long. I am seriously thinking he is a one term president because of the deficit and the continuing of the Afghanistan war with nearly zero gains.

[tippydog11]

I ask republs they do not care about all American Health care, but fighting for the jobs of insurance companies and their profits?---We lost our jobs.. .Insurance Co. we lost our jobs to, we know how you feel.

[AnotherTry]

Identify and vote out ALL Blue Dogs! Once and for all.

[Macready]

definitely . . . and get rid of them . . . they are the GOP in disguise . . we neither need nor want them in the Democratic party

[Carole Huber]

A dodging dog deserves a kick.

[mike42nola]

Now where is that all inclusive tent of yours?

[decolonizeme]

You know why they're called blue dogs? so we can tell them apart from the republicans.