Dems Fast-Track Health Care Overhaul

If there is one, which we hope there isn't. Good idea, say Dems.

(NEWSER) - In the circus that is the Senate these days, a couple of anti-public-option Republicans—Tom Coburn and David Vitter—rolled out an amendment to the health care bill Friday requiring members of Congress to enroll in any such plan that might come to pass. When Dems didn’t object—Sherrod Brown, Chris Dodd, and Al Franken tried to cosponsor, but were rebuffed—GOP senators upped the ante and added in the president. The amended amendment would extend the mandate to the whole executive branch. More»

Eye constituents' votes in 2008, not polls on health care

(NEWSER) - The upcoming Senate debate on health care reform, like the House vote before it, will be more a referendum on President Obama than a reflection of constituents’ concerns, Andrew Gelman, Nate Silver, and Daniel Lee write. What happened in the House is clear: 31 of 39 Democrats who voted no on the bill come from districts that fell to John McCain last year. Though the Senate calculus is trickier, an analysis reveals that it will likely mirror the lower chamber. More»

The Senate's not all it's cracked up to be

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama may come to regret using House Democrats as “expendable shock troops” in his battle to pass health care reform, writes David Rogers of Politico. Obama has focused on the Senate as his crucible of compromise, but the House—bolstered by a Rules Committee able to test competing reform options—is a better venue for complex, multi-faceted issues like health care. Besides, the Senate ain’t what it used to be. More»

Grassley says death panel language gone from Senate bill

(NEWSER) - The White House has chosen to fight fire with fire in its battle for health care reform, the Washington Post reports. An email from David Axelrod posted on the White House web site expresses bafflement at the "lies and distortions" of opponents. Axelrod, whose email went up after Sarah Palin defended her claims against death panels, suggests supporters strike back with “a chain e-mail of our own." He lays out Obama's broad goals as well as "common myths" about reform. More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama’s failure to get health-care reform on a faster track, despite early legislative victories, is a personal one, Sam Youngman writes in the Hill. “While it is shocking to consider that Obama is anything less than one of the best communicators in modern political history,” Youngman writes, “when it comes to health care, he simply has not been able to make the sell to people who do have health insurance.” More»