Pelosi: We've Had A Year Of Trying To Strive For Bipartisanship (VIDEO)

One of the things I've endeavored to point out is that if "bipartisanship" is a quality that can only be measured in terms of a final vote count, then the health care reform bill will likely not be considered "bipartisan."

But if the quality of "bipartisanship" refers to activities like making legislative concessions, accommodating the policy concerns of the other side, actively courting the support of the minority party and staging prolonged negotiations between party leaders in order to work towards a compromise, then it's fair to say that the health care debate has been healthily bipartisan.

And, lo, here's Nancy Pelosi on CNN, making the same argument:

WATCH:

CROWLEY: Let me ask you about bipartisanship, because a lot of people did look at the Thursday bipartisan summit and say, "Why didn't they do this a long time ago?" Because while they did meet, it wasn't like this. And now it's really, pretty much too late. I mean, they can amend, but it wasn't -- why didn't you say at the very beginning say, "Come in here, Congressman Boehner, come in here Congressman Pence, let's sit down, where do we start on a health care bill." Not, kind of, present a package and then say, amend it.

PELOSI: That isn't the way it happened. The President called us together last March 5th, and we left that room very hopeful. We went into the legislative process, hundreds of hours of hearings and bill writing and all the rest, where the Republicans made their suggestions. We know that one of the reasons we didn't have a bill in the fall was because the President wanted to give the Senate more time to arrive at a bipartisanship in the Senate bill, which he thought might be possible then. The House had said right from the start that they were never going to vote for any bill, but he thought there might be some prospects in the Senate. And so what we've had is a year of trying to strive for bipartisanship. As I've said, there's over a hundred Republican amendments in the bill. And the Republicans placed their own bill on the floor here in the House, which insures over three million, our bill insures over thirty million. So we have a different value system here. And let me say this,

But they have had plenty of opportunity to make their voices heard, and if they wanted to truly have -- bipartisanship is a two-way street. And let me say this: the bill can be bipartisan, even though the votes might not be bipartisan, because they have made their imprint on this. We were all for the public option. We're now going with a Republican idea, an exchange. That's a very big difference.

I'd point out that it's precisely the pursuit of bipartisanship that has transformed what would have been a difficult legislative process into a time-consuming and over-complicated one. But as Pelosi points out, for better or worse, there's been a lot of bipartisan activity in the health care debate, all the same. The only place where the spirit of bipartisanship is not showing up is in the final vote count -- the one thing over which the Democrats have no control.

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Comments

[fishretired]

05:54 PM on 03/12/2010

Say goodbye to pelosi and outr other friend Dick Durbin. They are gone for good next election if I can o anything about it

[fishretired]

05:53 PM on 03/12/2010

And WHY did you waste one year of our precious time?

[sissyreed]

02:56 PM on 03/12/2010

Didn't Pelosi say not to long ago that if even just one of the Republican's ideas is put in the health care bill, then it's considered bipartisan? Now she's saying it's all these involved things. That woman constantly contradicts herself and I don't think she even realizes it. She's burned to many brain cells smoking all that pot in San Francisco with her Liberal friends.

[Bonaboman]

10:01 PM on 03/08/2010

If you look closely, you'll see a bit of smoke in the video - that's Nan's pants on fire.

[socialmistfit]

08:07 PM on 03/08/2010

Pelosi and Boxer: two Senators of a failed state working hard to bring down the country too.

[earthquaker42]

09:18 PM on 03/01/2010

When will Obama and the Dems accept that the Repugnicans are not operating in good faith? Mr. Obama, they are not ready for your brand of dignity, fair play and cooperation, they will only be happy if you a. drop dead or b. become and angry old white man in the pockets of big insurance companies. REAL REFORM WITH A PUBLIC OPTION NOW.YESTERDAY.

[sissyreed]

03:00 PM on 03/12/2010

A man who goes to a church where the Rev. says "GD American" has no dignity. A man who says over & over when wanting our votes says lobbyist will not influence his White House, then appoints countless lobbyists to his administration & makes a deal with the unions for them not to pay a tax that everyone else will for healthcare has no dignity. A man who lies about something as stupid as bowing to a foreign leader, when there is video of him do so, has no dignity. Obama is useless. No one respects him. He has no character. He's an arrogant Liberal who thinks he knows what is best for everyone.

[lentinelia]

02:21 PM on 03/01/2010

She's had a year of trying.

We've had a trying year.

[jeanwny]

02:21 PM on 03/01/2010

Don't waste your time on it Nancy, its a done deal and you know it or I thought you did. They will do whatever it takes to delay, destroy, deny, lie and force a "start over on a blank piece of paper". Do what can, get the votes from your own caucus and watch the Republicans sputter and spin out of control. The members of your caucus that refuse to cooperate will be gone the next time around. There is no bipartisianship for sale by the GOP. Buy the bill somewhere else, do what has to be done then make the needed changes.

[oet]

01:35 PM on 03/01/2010

nothng will get done as long as the republicans keep their loathing against the president. they hate that obamas the prez. and will stop at almost nothing to prevent mr. obamas ideas and policies from being helpful

[LawFinder]

01:34 PM on 03/01/2010

Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security are broke, broken, unfair, unstable, full of fraud as is congress and the presidency. They are all train wrecks, they have all come off the tracks, it’s up to us to vote them all out of office. I would not let these people wash my car. It’s been said that random picks from any phone book would make better representative’s, throw the bums out – all of them!!!

[1murillo]

02:46 AM on 03/02/2010

Yikes! but not so. Medicare and Social Security (etc) aren't broke as you say. Many parts of our budgets have been paid by these programs (so they seem to be in dire straits).
However, vote as you will for the Congess and presidency. Note however that by design the Senate is divided by thirds (there are always a few more due to vacancies) so that it would take three cycles of focused anger to vote for all 100 Senators.
Our govt is slow moving - often unfortunately - and far from perfect, yet it's not broken.
Continue to work, to vote and to inform others, that is the only way to move forward.

[TyneCrescent]

01:11 PM on 03/01/2010

The reform efforts should be called "buy-partisanship." Dems have held on to this ideal for far too long. It would have been great to see the two parties work together for the common good, but that's not going to happen. One party has given and given and given, and the receiving party still wants to milk and obstruct legislation for all its worth, no matter who it hurts. I hope Dems realize that enough is enough and anything they do to appease the power-hungry GOP won't satisfy them.

[RichardU]

01:08 PM on 03/01/2010

Why not try to pass some of the limited reforms with near-100% public support before declaring a costly political war by using reconciliation?

If those attempts are met with opposition, then Democrats can clearly show all of America that Republicans will not help with anything, and then Democrats would have the political support of America to push things through with reconciliation or changing the filibuster or whatever while also improving their chances in the upcoming elections.

[1murillo]

03:00 AM on 03/02/2010

It appears that the Democrats will move forward with more jobs bills - which will be extremely tough for Republicans to vote against in today's Recession - before they bring up healthcare to a vote. Some parts of the Senate bill will need to be passed via majority vote in order for Congress to deliver a bill to Obama's desk. The difficulty is to negotiate informally bet the Senate and House to resolve differences and to work out the necessary order of the bills to get a complete package to Obama. Timing of these bills is important in order for the political rewards to be worth the extent of criticism the lawmakers have received. The Democrats need to time the passage of the bills in order to recieve political credit for the bill and to lessen the GOP's response.

[Jase84]

12:54 PM on 03/01/2010

She did very well handling Crowley's media embraced misnomers.