Dems May Split Health Care Reform Bill In Two

wsj.com:

The White House and Senate Democratic leaders, seeing little chance of bipartisan support for their health-care overhaul, are considering a strategy shift that would break the legislation into two parts and pass the most expensive provisions solely with Democratic votes.

The idea is the latest effort by Democrats to escape the morass caused by delays in Congress, as well as voter discontent crystallized in angry town-hall meetings. Polls suggest the public is losing support for the overhaul plans, giving Republicans less incentive to go along.

Read the whole story: wsj.com

Comments

[Austintatious]

The Congress of the United States and the Senate, in particular, is the most corrupt political institution on the planet. What's more, the fine Senators pictured with this article are, quite possibly, the best examples we might find to demonstrate the most corrupt. A "rogues' gallery", if there ever was one.

[lakat]

Yuck Foo and everybody who thinks like you too.

[globality]

That would be politcial suicide

1) You would be allowing GOP to claim bipartisanship on the "mainstream" healthcare reform

2) DEMS would have to go it alone only on the "painful" (as portayed by GOP) healthcare reform

Make the GOP be against all reform

[mad as heck]

This worries me that we could end up with an individual mandate (part of the first bill, since it's the quid pro quo for no pre-existing/no underwriting), and then something happens to kill the second bill. Leaving us with a requirement to buy health insurance and absolutely no controls on premiums. A field day for UnitedHealth etal. I can hear them licking their chops already.

[dteg]

A deal. WSJ(Rupert Murdoch) reporting. I don't know if anything is good about this.

[MSaxe]

It's not exactly a bad idea politically. If you split it in two you can really put the bear hug on the Republicans. They are not going to vote for real reform like single payer or a government insurance option anyway. But they really don't want to vote for any of it and are just doing a little face dance to act like they are to try to get the progressives to break away.

So you split out all the really good, easy stuff like no pre-existing condition exclusions, lifetime caps, portability and put it in one bill. Put the government option in a second.

Pass the first one with a few Republicans on board and get the minor lifting done. But most of the Republicans will show their hand that they are "out to make Obama a failure" and vote no. Pass the second one using reconcilliation.

Nice and neat. There will be plenty of Republicans that won't even go along with the first half. They will be incredibly vulnerable in fall 2010.

It's the first Democratic maneuver over this issue that I'm beginning to like.

[CTtransplant]

Time to put more pressure on! Please sign this petition to have paid health care removed from our representatives in Congress until such time as they reform health care - to include a strong public option - for 'we the people' who they are supposed to represent. Then spread the word to anyone and everyone you know!

http://www.petitiononline.com/PubOp676/petition.html

[PaxEterna]

How many ways can HE avoid leadership:

1) Send Bill
2) Recruit Hillary
3) Ask Joe
4) Split the Bill in two

etc.

let us count the ways.

[journey80]

Now that idea has the stink of Rahm Emanuel on it.

I bet something sad and unforeseen will happen to the public option half, and the bipartisan Kumbaya half will be Good News! For the Insurance Industry!

[LeeCalif]

Naw. Don't split the bill in two.

Let's split Baucus in two.

[One more Thing]

Isn't this about as realistic as making a 1 night stand into two 1/2 night stands?

[bobh]

Why not just get all Democratic Senators to pledge to vote for cloture, and start meteing out heavy punishments until they do so?
Why this nonsense about splitting bills? Are you telling me there are Democrats who would participate in a filibuster?

[1088]

Live stream President Obama talking to his supporters!

http://www.barackobama.com/forum/live.html

[expired]

Dear MoveOn member,
The public health insurance option is the heart of health care reform and right now it's under serious attack.

Even some members of the administration are pushing President Obama to give in to conservatives and drop it: one senior White House adviser told The Washington Post, "I don't understand how [the public option] has become the measure of whether what we achieve is health-care reform."1

This unnamed source apparently doesn't understand that the public option is the key to lowering health care costs and expanding coverage.

But there is a group of progressives in Washington who DO understand. Sixty House Democrats have signed a written pledge to not vote for health care reform unless it includes a robust public option.2 That's more than enough to block a bill without the public option.

These representatives are already facing pressure to back down, but if we stand strong with them, we'll send a clear signal that the heart of reform can't be compromised away. Can you make a contribution to the progressives in Congress who are standing tall for the public option? Clicking the link below will take you to ActBlue, where you can donate.

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51789&id=16918-9193653-lMdAxQx&t=3

[Arrecho]

Check it out, going on now:

http://www.barackobama.com/forum/live.html

[spinns17]

those blue dogs keep barking .but i dont understand dog.get it done you bums.

[vrna]

they are jerks