A Quote from Yesterday – Wisconsin, the Labor Battle and Obama

‘Obama‘s outspokenness about the labor battle in
Wisconsin offers a glimmer of hope that he might lead
the fight for what many Americans, not just Democrats,
care about – from job creation to an energy plan to an
attack on the deficit that brackets the high-end Bush-
era tax cuts with serious Medicare/Medicaid reform and
further strengthening of the health care law. Will he
do so? The answer to that question is at least as
mysterious as the identity of whatever candidate the
desperate G.O.P. finds to run against him. ‘

– Frank Rich in the NY Times.

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Republicans lose…

But they’ll bring it up again…

This from the Herald Mail:

clipped from www.herald-mail.com As expected, the Senate has rejected a Republican attempt to repeal the year-old health care law. The ultimate fate of the controversial law is expected to be determined by the Supreme Court. But congressional Republicans emboldened by gains in last fall’s elections have made a priority of trying to wipe it off the books. All 47 members of the GOP rank and file voted for repeal. There were 51 votes to leave it in place, 50 Democrats and one independent. Earlier, the Senate voted to repeal a small part of the law in an attempt to lessen paperwork requirements for businesses. Obama has already invited lawmakers to take that action.

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• “All Senate Republicans appear ready to repeal health care law” and related posts (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
• Senate Republicans forcing a vote on health law (boston.com)

Republicans Hide Health Care Law Benefits From Their Constituents

clipped from tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com Two days after a Republican Florida federal court judge voided the entire health care law, the multi-front Republican war against it continues in the Senate, where members will vote today on whether or not to just repeal it, full stop. Simultaneously, Republican members are trying to sneak grenades into the heart of the law, crafting modifications which they admit are meant to destroy it. But that presents them with a conundrum when they head back to their states and districts and face constituents who stand to benefit from the law right now — seniors who are entitled to free checkups, and young adults, who can now stay on their parents’ insurance until they turn 26, for example. “I’m a practical guy. I believe redoing the bill and replacing it is the best for everybody. Until that day comes, if you have a legitimate need under the current structure, I’ll help you meet it,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). “It’s like the stimulus funds — I voted against it but, you know.” There hasn’t been such partisan warfare about a bill or law since, perhaps, Republicans (and a few Democrats) passed Medicare Part D — the prescription drug benefit — back in 2003. In a fight that in some ways mirrored the health care reform debate Democratic principals trashed the bill and the legislative process until the moment it became law. There was no talk of “death panels” but it was no secret that Democrats hated that bill, wanted to do it themselves — make sure it was paid for, close the doughnut hole, and otherwise improve it. At the time, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) was ranking minority member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee‘s HealthSubcommittee. He was one of the Medicare bill’s most vocal critics, but he changed tone after his constituents served to benefit from it. Sherrod Brown “I worked with senior centers. I recall I sent out missives of some kind… to seniors and senior groups to make sure that they could benefit from this under the law, but again, making sure that the drug companies and insurance companies watching them, that they weren’t gaming the system with higher premiums and taking people off formularies, and all the things that the drug and insurance companies are pretty good at doing.” .In Republican Ohio today, Brown sees a different dynamic.  “All I can see is a bunch of conservative Washington politicians who have been benefiting for their whole political careers… from tax-payer financed health insurance taking benefits away from seniors and taking benefits away from families,” he said.

Well, let’s see where the vote goes today… then maybe we can get on to funding the FAA.

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• US judge deals new blow to Obama health reform (alternet.org)
• Senate schedules Wednesday vote on repeal of health-care law (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Obama Open to ‘Tweak’ of Health Care, Not Repeal (abcnews.go.com)
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House Passes Repeal…Something only 26 % of Americans Support (AP poll). Now what?

Breaking down by party lines the Republicans got Repeal voted through 245 to 189, and it now heads to the Senate where Harry Reid has stated he will block it’s being raised. Although Republicans are expected to find any kind of trick possible to get it brought up in the Senate, it is doubtful that it will happen.

Republicans rejected a procedural maneuver by the Democratic minority to make repeal ineffective unless a majority of the House and Senate withdraw from the federal health benefits program within 30 days after passage by each chamber.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said the effort was “an attempt to derail an appeal of the Obamacare bill.

Now the Republicans in the House say they will be proposing a new Health Care Bill starting tomorrow, and Democrats may use this as a way to alter the existing law by bringing in a Single Payer policy, which many of them wanted originally.

Whatever happens, there is very little chance that the current Health Care law will be taken away and the Republicans, instead of creating legislation to increase jobs, has wasted most of the start of their majority presence in the House. The question, then, is why is this man laughing?

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Poll Results that contradict the Republican rhetoric…

The McClatchy-Tribune News Service came out with some poll results which are counter to what McConnell and the Republimucks say. The article starts here and there is more at Cleveland.com.

clipped from www.cleveland.com 51 percent of Americans want to keep or expand health care law A majority of Americans want Congress to keep the new health care law or actually expand it, despite Republican claims that they have a mandate from the people to kill it, according to a new McClatchy Newspapers-Marist poll. The post-election survey showed that 51 percent of registered voters want to keep the law or change it to do more, while 44 percent want to change it to do less or repeal it altogether. Driving support for the law: Voters by margins of 2-1 or greater want to keep some of its best-known benefits, such as barring insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. One thing they don’t like: the mandate that everyone must buy insurance. At the same time, the survey showed that a majority of voters side with the Democrats on another hot-button issue, extending the Bush era tax cuts that are set to expire Dec. 31 only for families making less than $250,000.

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