10 Who Can Make or Break Health Reform

Marathon sessions fail to reach a deal as tempers fray

(NEWSER) - The Democratic leadership is scrambling to make progress on health care reform before Congress breaks for its August recess, but last night's marathon negotiations failed to break the stalemate—and may even have increased the number of issues up for debate. "We're making progress," Nancy Pelosi said as she left the Capitol. But talks with Blue Dog Democrats aren't moving anywhere, Politico reports. More»

Senate majority leader banks on 60 votes, infuriates Baucus

(NEWSER) - Harry Reid is preparing to bring a health reform bill that includes a public option to the floor of the Senate, gambling that his 60-member caucus will support the plan if it contains opt-out measures for individual states. The majority leader and other senators met with Barack Obama yesterday to discuss strategy, although the president did not explicitly endorse the approach. Polls show a clear majority supports a public option, and Nancy Pelosi is bringing a bill containing one through the House. More»

Kept up fight for comprehensive reform as other Dems wavered

(NEWSER) - President Obama may be the one history remembers for pulling off the biggest domestic policy reform in decades, but Nancy Pelosi "emerges from this battle as the real powerhouse in Washington," Julian Zelizer writes for CNN . Wielding both a "clear ideological agenda" and the "pragmatic political tactics" to round up votes, Pelosi is the clear heir to Ted Kennedy's legacy, Zelizer writes. More»

Compromise looking more distant than ever

(NEWSER) - President Obama's health care summit left pundits from across the spectrum feeling more pessimistic than ever about the chances of crafting a bipartisan agreement on reform.

• "It was a talking-point festival," writes Peggy Noonan at the Wall Street Journal. The Republicans put forth seemingly unconnected statements, and the "boorish" Democrats appealed to sentiment in an effort to win support for a bill that they obviously plan to "bully through Congress."

In wake of Massachusetts, Harry Reid says 'there's no rush'

(NEWSER) - And suddenly, "there's no rush" to get health care reform passed. So says Harry Reid in comments echoed up and down the party line today. Democrats essentially called a halt to President Obama's No. 1 priority now that Scott Brown's win in Massachusetts has gummed up the works. Coming just a day ahead of the State of the Union, the comments make it unlikely that Obama will lay out a specific path forward tomorrow. More»