Grayson, Progressives Push Reid To Strong-Arm Lieberman, Conservative Dems

UPDATE: Reid pushed back Wednesday afternoon against the consensus that health reform is on him -- after Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), laid the fate of the public option in the Majority Leader's hands Tuesday night. "He would rather say anything so it wasn't up to him," Reid snapped Wednesday, en route to a meeting with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.).

Dodd said he expects the Senate finance and health bills to be reconciled by the end of next week. "The Leader will set the agenda," he said.

* * * * *

Now that the primary responsibility for health reform has shifted to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, progressives are pushing him to get tough with conservative Democrats looking to delay progress of a unified Senate reform bill.

Progressive Caucus member Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) and representatives from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee delivered their respective petitions to Reid's office Wednesday afternoon. With some 87,000 signatures collected in the past week, the PCCC urged Reid to strip leadership powers from members of the Democratic Caucus who do not vote for cloture to prevent a Republican filibuster -- a clear shot at Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), who chairs the Homeland Security committee and said Monday he "wouldn't rule out" allowing a filibuster to proceed.

Reiterating the urgent need for reform outside the Hart Senate office building Wednesday afternoon, Grayson didn't single out any congressmen or senators, but said he was baffled by continued delays given the Democratic supermajority and the cost of delay.

"Every single day in America, 122 more Americans die for lack of health insurance. That means that as we stand here in front of you right now, one or two or three more Americans have died because we have not acted yet," Grayson said. "I apologized to the dead and their loved ones for our inaction. Now it's time to move beyond that and get the job done."

Grayson's own petition, launched last Friday, questioned the power wielded by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), noting that "Olympia Snowe was not elected president last year."

The PCCC members handed off the petitions to a Reid staffer, but spokesman Jim Manley said Reid is unlikely to pursue retribution against senators who fight reform. "Senator Reid is focused on crafting a health care bill that will overcome a Republican filibuster," Manley wrote in an e-mail. "Stripping Democratic Senators of their leadership titles is a decision that would be left up to the Caucus, not Senator Reid. In light of this reality it's unlikely that the Caucus would ever go along with this idea."

That's good news for Lieberman, who already owes Senate leadership -- and President Obama -- for letting him keep his chairmanship back in November after campaigning for John McCain.

Reid's deputy, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), said the PCCC and Grayson ought to "count to 60 and understand we need to be together, and there are times when we need to work out our differences."

Grayson wasn't sympathetic to that argument Wednesday, noting that other Americans are paying the price while the Senate tries to work out its differences. Pulling a large American Journal of Public Health study from his jacket pocket, he said, paraphrasing the study authors, "You take two Americans who are otherwise identical in every single way -- same age, same gender, same race, same smoking habits, same weight -- you put them side by side, if one has insurance and one does not, the one without insurance is 40 percent more likely to die."

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Comments

[Aerows]

At least Nancy Pelosi has the guts to talk about revoking anti-trust immunity from Health Insurance companies. She knows how to hit back when they threaten to raise premiums if health care reform passes (not that they wouldn't raise them anyway whether it passes or not).

[Aerows]

If they don't play ball, they deserve to lose their leadership positions. If they won't play ball on this particular issue, they aren't going to do the right thing in their leadership positions, either. Time to acting like the majority leader and do what is best for America - a robust public option. If Reid can't get this done as majority leader, he's not fit to be majority leader.

[JLSR]

I think the true Dems had the right idea by imposing sme kind of punishment on these phony Dems.

[Wisconsin Dave]

BUTCHER MEDICINE ---- ALL ABOUT POPULATION CONTROL

Our butcher medical industry is ownership controlled by the
super-intelligent rich, and it seems to be living up to it's name.

For we give the rich control of our war materials industry and they use
it to bomb off populations, and allow the rich to control world trade and
they use it to starve off peoples and nations.

[Wisconsin Dave]

And your butcher medical industry is not "1/7 of our economy."

As it consumes and destroys almost 20% of the GNP,
which means it employees 20% of America's work force.

[SizeMatters]

Laughable how almost everyone in here talks nonstop about how incompetent/crooked our reps and senators are, but then want to hand them the reins to 1/7th of our economy via public option/single payer in the next breath.

[Bloggerrogr]

Totally unfounded in truth.

FWIW

[Wisconsin Dave]

Now that raises the question, how many are fake liberals
who come here just to destroy the place?

For you conservatives hire most politicians as paid actors
and to hide such deceit go around generating smoke screens unlimited.

Smoke screen: anything that blind’s the mind by burning the emotions.

[Wisconsin Dave]

A two party system with most paid actors working for the rich,
surely this is one party capitalism working to protect excessive
wealth.

What with every aspect of government geared to protect a
dictatorship by and for the rich, is not allowing 40% of
Congress to block any healthcare reform the straw that
will finally broke the camel’s back?

[Grannysue]

Harry can star in the next production of the Wizard of Oz and sing, "if I only had a pair"!

[Okieborn]

Your right Harry old boy !!
Schumer is like Baucus his coffers have been filled by the very ones who want Healthcare to fail !!
One more thing Harry old Boy the very decision for Healthcare for the American citizenry should be in the hands of the American citizenry not YOU !!!

[BoiseLib]

Your implies possession; You're means--You Are.

[Grunty1]

["He would rather say anything so it wasn't up to him," Reid snapped Wednesday]

Quit projecting, Harry.

Schumer is putting up an amendment to strip out insurance company monopoly immunity.
What have YOU done?

[Melissa]

Schumer wants Reid out so he can be the next Senate Majority Leader.

[Aerows]

Schumer isn't the only one who wants that.

[PunKinPai]

Sounds like Reid doesn't want it on himself, either. How can we get rid of this jellyfish?

[kwinter]

Democrats would gain more with a new majority leader then they would lose with 1 less Senate seat.
If the other senators won't vote to take him out of his leadership position ... then I hope the citizens of Nevada vote him out entirely!

Reid is a bozo who needs to go!

[SizeMatters]

might as well - they will be losing more than 1 next fall anyway

[Aerows]

Which one would that be, the one in your daydreams?

[Bloggerrogr]

Harry Reid is at 38% in Nevada. Daily Kos indicates that he will likely not survive this next election cycle.
Ironically, that would change if Mr. Reid would, as it has been said, "grow a pair" and put the robust public option in the healthcare reform legislation that the Senate will report out, as most Nevadans want the option.

FWIW

[kwinter]

If he had "grown a pair" ... single payer might still be on the table ... I won't hold my breath!

[Billar]

Harry let me count the ways, and I hope you get voted out there in Nev.

[oldguydude]

Shumer is real classy guy, isn't he?

[LastStar]

I for one think he is.....com'n admit it, you prefer tea-baggers, Beck, "you lie" Wilson, etc., etc. Birds of a feather jerk.

[oldguydude]

Typical comment from a drone.

[snuggalee]

Remember when Reid looked downcast about Iraq and stated, "We've lost the war."?

He had an opportunity to say "This isn't a war, it's an occupation... And we're being played like suckers to continue..."
But he wasn't smart enough to realize he should say AMERICA DOESN"T LOSE WARS BUT THIS IS"T ONE.

In the same manner, he's liable to be completely off the mark here, which is exactly as Congressman Grayson has so accurately pointed out.... We don't have time to "make nice". Democrats need to pull together with what's best for Americans in the quickest way possible.

[KMan1]

This game of 'hot potato' is hardly amusing. Reid’s position is majority leader and with that come certain responsibilities; however this does not in any way alleviate the other members from theirs. This bill will be the result of all of their efforts and if they don’t produce they all should have to answer for it.

[Grunty1]

Schumer has a point BECAUSE Reid is a Majority Leader and a good bill won't pass if he doesn't do his job.

Reid just doesn't want to be associated with the bill because he knows he isn't going to do that.

[Blankman]

"Every single day in America, 122 more Americans die for lack of health insurance."

Prove it.

And if you do choose to do so, don't send me a link to a liberal thinktank. Thanks.

[MoDMaN60]

What don't you understand about "Harvard University Study"???

http://www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/medicine-health/articles/new-study-finds-45000-deaths-annually-linked-lack-health-coverage

[Grunty1]

Education is liberal, remember? He's going to ignore that. In fact, unless you can find RushL, GlennB, or Rasmussen Distorts support, it will be considered "liberal"

[Wisconsin Dave]

Common horse-sense is nothing we need to prove,
either you got it or you don't.