Kyl: "I Don't Think A Single Republican" Will Support Health Care Reform

In an interview with Fox News' Neil Cavuto, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) affirmed that neither health care reform bill currently in circulation will get any Republican support. "For either the bill that passed the House Committee or the bill that passed the HELP committee in the Senate, I don't think a single Republican in the Senate would support either of those bills," he said confidently. Kyl went on to say that negotiations between Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee have become "very difficult because" of "liberals in both the House and the Senate." Later he suggested, "Let's start over."

WATCH:

At the Plum Line, Greg Sargent points out that even as Senate Democrats offer concessions to retain GOP support, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) keeps increasing his demands.

This is a relatively minor shift, but the larger pattern is obvious. First Grassley raised the number of votes he wants for a truly bipartisan Senate bill to 80. More recently, Dems handed Grassley a win, nixing the public option from the Senate bill. [...]

There's nothing wrong with Grassley negotiating for whatever he can get. That's his role. But the point is, the question of who's to blame for stalling compromise isn't just a matter of dispute. There's a factual reality we can point to here.

On Wednesday night, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow used pizza to aptly demonstrate the futility of bipartisan compromise on health care.

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Comments

[jemborg]

Wow! I'm a freedom loving Aussie and I find this paranoia over decent pubic health care amazing.

We've had it for almost 30 years.

I've expounded on this in many of Huffo's threads but let me simply say... America you deserve better, do not believe the Conservative lies.

NB: It took two goes in my country to get universal Medicare established. The Conservatives got rid of it when they got voted back in. The Labor Party re-established it at the next election after that. And although they have undermined it every time they got back into power the Conservatives don't dare try to get rid of it again. What I am getting at here is you have to push HARD for it- it's NOT going to happen through bi-partisanship.

[Skyhawk]

Say it ain't so.

[EbonBear]

To hell with bipartisanship. Congratulations Mr Presiden, you made an honourable attempt to achieve bipartisanship and the public will see that but the Republicans aren't interested so cut them the F loose.

[bigmoose]

i agree let's do it ... as far as honorable ... you must mean passing a bill with vague, open ended, loosely defined articles that can be reinterpreted any way that is convenient ... you try and sell this as the truth when it is full of deceptions

[bigmoose]

tempt the masses with and then decieve them ... i don't want that apple

[bigmoose]

Dems think they can sell socialism to Americans by putting up a pie chart and somehow redistribute the wealth and cost for everyone equally ... there will be no pie left ...

[alexis d]

What color is the sky in your world? Every other Western democracy provides superior health care to ours at about half the price, as a % of GDP. This isn't a theoretical debate.

[DubyaGump]

Dr. Laura's equally obnoxious twin?

[hsr0601]

Equation !

$1.042trillion (cost of reform) + $245bn (cost to reflect annual pay raise of docs) = $1.287bn (actual cost of reform).

$583bn (the revenue package) + $80bn (doughnut hole) + $155bn (savings from hospitals) + $167bn (ending subsidies for insurers) + $277bn (ending medical fraud, a minimum of 3%) = $1.257trillion + the reduced tax on the wealthiest = why not ? (except for magic pill, an outcome-based payment reform & IT effects and so forth)

In relation with medical fraud, please visit http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111967435, you will be stunned ! Thankfully, in May 2009, the Obama administration announced a new task force made up of officials from the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services to work on health care fraud.

Thank You !

[SolarArray]

It will be very interesting to see how many Republicans get reelected. It certainly looks like they do not want to be in politics any more.

[oldngrumpy]

Don't get too far ahead of that curve. None of the reforms kick in till well after the 2010 midterms and most go out to 2013. That gives a lot of time for Repugs to wail and caterwaul about the massive spending and pick apart the Dems actions. I'm afraid that Obama has set himself up to be defined by his opposition for his whole term, the one great sin in politics.

[Nakona]

Hasn't the trend been that the party in power always loses seats in the midterm since WWII? To keep some equilibrium to this charade?

[bigmoose]

It will be really interesting to see how many democrats lose their seats to republicans to 2010 ... it will be a landslide ...

[Nakona]

My old military drill instructor used to say, " With the proper amount of force, one can fit a size 12 combat boot up anyones ass". Obama should take this approach with the Repubs

[SuperSizeMe111]

After the news today of Obama adding $2Trillion to the projected deficit... I don't think anybody is going to support this bill.

[bacaja]

In a sane society that should be about the same number who should reasonably expect to be reelected.

[LoneRangerDude]

I don't think a single GOP Senator ... or Representative ... is worth shit!

[Raster]

Ditto!

[alexis d]

Omwitchu.

[timmmahhhh]

As Norm MacDonald would say doing the fake news: "This and many other stories in this month's edition of DUH."

And Kyl said it on FOX News which is what their du mo graphic wants to hear.

[bungerman]

does anyone seriously have the Republican reform plan I may look at? A link perhaps? I honestly haven't heard of one, but if such a thing exists, I would like to see how laughable it is.

[timmmahhhh]

They feel the word NO is a siutable platform. Given all of the haters out there that's all they need - they feel. The rational among us know better. Be sure to look up the Rachel Maddow Pizza Party on HuffPo or The Rachel MAddow Show - that pretty much sums it up.

[oldngrumpy]

It consists of more tax cuts to the wealthy and less regulation of finance and industry. That is the cure all that they all memorize to interject in any situation. The ignorant sheeple that gobble it up are becoming scarcer tho. That's why the GOP had to scrape the bottom of the barrel lately to find "true believers" that couldn't think too deeply. They managed to fill a few buses and they are moving them from town hall to town hall hoping no one recognizes any of them from previous meetings. If Dems had scheduled all their town halls on the same day the birthers and deathers would have been scr3 w 3d.

[Nakona]

Initially it was the 3 tax break solution they have for everthing up to including solving world peace.

[realpolitic]

Kyl is right. Not a single republican will support health care reform. all the more reason for Democrats to go it alone without them. Who needs them? Then when almost all Americans have health insurance and none are kicked off their plan for pre-existing conditions, the public will know who to thank at the polls! The Republican party will be even moreso geographically confined to the deep south. They may even then discuss seccession. They could then form their long awaited theocracy!

[ilouie]

The Republican party has literally brought our nation to its knees. It's time to forget them.

[ywcachieve]

Yep, they had 8 years of Reagan, and 12 years of the Bush's to shift the wealth of the nation upwards to the rich.

[bigmoose]

News alert ... 100,000 new jobs created by Obama's stimulus ... all government jobs ... private sector continues to shrink ... Looks to me like Obama policies are bringing nation to it's knees