Encouraging signs on Health Care Reform

Buried on page 9, column 5 of the NY Times today is this little Gem

That is why the White House and Democratic leaders — despite complaints from Republicans and centrist Democrats — continue backstage negotiations on an unorthodox plan for salvaging a comprehensive health care bill.

Under the plan, the Senate-passed bill would become the principal legislative vehicle. But it would reach the House floor only after the completion of a “sidecar” House-Senate agreement on changes designed to pass using procedures barring a filibuster by a strengthened Senate Republican minority.

The Taylor Swift Massacre

Does it matter that a mainstream cheese-factory like the Grammy Awards so obviously blew it in awarding Album of the Year to Taylor Swift? I think it clearly does as it reflects our society’s increasing fetish for settling on the safety of possible options even if that choice is the worst of the possible options. We may not agree on which one of Beyonce Knowles, The Black Eyed, Peas, Lady GaGa, or The Dave Mathews Band is the best choice, but surely we should all be able to agree that Taylor Swift was the worst. It’s not a coincidence that in the same month providing Health Care Reform went from inevitable to impossible (in the eyes of pundits at least) because of the loss of a single Senate seat, that the Album of the Year gets awarded to the choice that is most fully denuded of soul, passion, or sexuality. Congratulations Taylor Swift, you were the least offensive. Enjoy your Grammy.

Even if Beyonce and/or the Black Eyed Peas trigger a race panic in you and Lady GaGa makes you feel ‘a little funny’ down there, why pick Taylor Swift over Dave Mathews? Because he’s weed smoker? That used to be a feature not a bug in rock performers. It just doesn’t make sense. Not that the Dave Mathews Band hits my favorites list on my iPod, and obviously I think any choice of Beyonce Knowles, Lady GaGa, or the Black Eyed Peas would be a better choice, but at least the dude has an extended track record, can flat out play, and has a little bit of soul to him.

Yes, I am weirdly finding myself playing the part of Kanye West. How the hell did that happen? But does anyone out there think ‘She Wears Short Skirts, I wear T-shirts’ represents some type of landmark achievement, or even that it’s going to light up throwback stations 30 years from now? There is something wrong with a world in which Stevie Nicks is forced to stand second fiddle while she listens to a girl wanly trying to find the key of her classic ‘Rhiannon’. Gen Y, don’t be a hater here, listen to what that song actually sounds like yourself and tell me if your Tween pop-tartlet lives up to the standard. Yeah . . . I know! That’s the point.

Democrats: The Dry Powder Party

I am not a Washington insider and I have no privileged access to information. When the spirit moves me, I can be a close reader and I can draw the obvious conclusions. Today's New York Times article 'Democrats in Congress Say the Pressure's Off on Passing a Health Care Bill Soon' offers a few interesting quotations for consideration.

Take first, the statement of Senator Evan Bayh regarding the use of reconciliation to make minor fixes to the Senate Bill passed just weeks ago by 60 seated members of the Senate:

Mr. Bayh said, “It would destroy the opportunity, if there is one, for any bipartisan cooperation the rest of this year on anything else.”

The same article goes on to quote Republican Leader Mitch McConnell as saying:

“This a clear sign that the administration has not gotten the message, that it’s become too attached to its own pet goals, that it’s stuck in neutral when the American people are asking it to change direction.” He said Mr. Obama should “put the 2,700-page Democrat health care plan on the shelf” and “move toward the kind of step-by-step approach Americans really want.”

Now, while I am not a mind reader, I am able to put two and two together. Any semi-sentient person should conclude that a guy who uses a fully formed statement of opposition, in which every single word has been focus group tested to ensure maximum negative impact (2,700-page, Democrat health plan, step-by-step approach, etc) is not a guy who is going to be interested in forging a bipartisan consensus. But don't take my word for it, the New York Times itself concludes their article with the statement:

Republicans, however, have not come forward with any new proposals, and Mr. McConnell has said he hopes the health care bill is now dead.

So case closed right? Its obvious, or at least it should be, that the Republicans are simply looking to kill the health care bill. That should not be a controversial statement and I think most thinking people on both sides of the aisle would agree candidly with that assessment.

Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. The Republicans are an opposition power. It is, to a large extent, their obligation to the people who elected them to use what power they have to impede the progress of the other team. Just like no one should expect the Colts to act in cooperation with the Saints in the Superbowl, no one should expect the Republicans to work with the Democrats on health care reform. If they were interested in health care reform, they would have tried to pass it themselves. In fact in Medicare Part D, the Republicans did in fact pass exactly the type of health care reform they were interested in passing. We can analyze that bill to see what that tells us another time.

The obvious implication is that if the Democrats want anything they are going to have to fight for it. Again, this shouldn't be surprising or controversial, its just simple reality. If a team wants to win the Superbowl, they better be prepared to come out and tackle, right?

Obviously, thedemocrats need to fight to translate their principles into legislation and if they won't fight for the principle of health care reform, what will they fight for? The question then is will they. While it is important to wait for Obama's speech tonight to hear the details of our plan moving forward, the murmurs I hear from Congress are not encouraging. From the same Times article we have Diane Feinstein.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, said Democrats were assessing their options on health care. “It’s a timeout,” she said. “The leadership is re-evaluating. They asked us to keep our powder dry.”

One has to ask when has our powder ever been wet? I will wait hopefully for tonight to see, and I would like to stay optimistic. I would hate to see the Democrats become simply the Party of Dry Power. Let's hope they chose a more vigorous approach.