The Wall Street Journal today looks at the behind-the-scenes deals that helped Democratic leaders pass a massive health care package over the weekend.
Illinois Democrat Melissa Bean is cited, along with Oregon's Kurt Schrader and Jim Cooper of Tennessee, as having pressed party leaders for assurance that the massive costs of the bill would be met with new sources of revenue. In particular, they extracted a pledge that a tax on "high-cost insurance plans" would be included in the Senate bill and would become part of any eventual legislation. The proposal had been part of the House bill, but was absent from the version passed Saturday night.
Ironically, two of the most liberal Democratic Representatives voted "no" on the House bill. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio says he voted against the bill because it did not go far enough in curbing the power of private insurance companies.
And in a statement on his website, Washington state Democrat Brian Baird explains that he could not support the bill because "we do not yet have reliable estimates of how this legislation will impact the premiums paid by people who already have insurance." Moreover, Baird objected to the way in which Democratic leaders rushed the legislation through the House with very little opportunity for debate or amendments from the floor.
So, while much of the media has lately focused attention on the glaring divisions within the Republican Party, a snapshot of the Democrats shows little unanimity there either. Moreover, traditional labels of "moderate" and "liberal," Blue Dog and Social Democrat do not necessarily offer insight into how Democrats will vote on important legislation.
Comments
As a firm believer in health care for all, I find I must sadly agree with Dennis Kucinich and his reasons for voting against this bill today. What a disappointment our legislators have handed us. It seems that the goal is to keep the money pouring in to the insurance sellers. Even the people who already have insurance have no idea where their premiums will end up, with the emphasis on 'up'.
Leftyswife, you are a moron!
Leftyswife,
Considering health insurance is a post-depression modern construct we are now supposed to feel entitled to it, even if some must be jailed for 5 years as a penalty for not doing so, which may be a virtual death sentence for some? I'm glad your sense of entitlement is worth the deaths of others to accomplish. Will you still feel the same when it's your neighbor who is carted off in hand cuffs? What if that same neighbor has a number of family members and he or she was the main bread winner?
Yes, blame it all on someone else, never yourselves, for being selfish enough to allow such a thing to happen in America. From the Japanese internment to the Civil Rights Movement to now, the Democratic Party should be known by its true name: Party of Death. The death of democracy, of liberty, and life.
We're not supposed to point out truths are we? They're not politically correct.
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