Health Industry Rains Cash on Blue Dog Dems

Public health insurance option still splitting party after hectic summer break

(NEWSER) - House Democrats returned to work yesterday in the same position they were in before they spent their summer break getting an earful from the public, the Washington Post reports. House lawmakers are still expected to move first on the health care bill. But while broad support remains for some kind of health care overhaul, the split between moderates and liberals is as wide as ever on issues like the public health insurance option. More»

(NEWSER) - The Blue Dogs are threatening to sink health care reform in the House for reasons that don't seem to add up, Paul Krugman writes in the New York Times. The coalition of conservative Democrats—whose support President Obama needs—is crying loudly about fiscal responsibility, Krugman writes, while at the same time calling for changes—like dropping public competition for private insurers—that would inflate the plan's cost. More»

Right-leaning Dem weighs Arkansas gubernatorial run after 6 House terms

(NEWSER) - Democrat Mike Ross won’t seek a seventh term in Congress, the Arkansas rep said today. A leader of the Blue Dog Coalition of fiscally conservative Democrats, Ross said he’s considering running for governor in his home state, and another congressional term would conflict with a possible 2014 campaign. Such a move “wouldn't be fair to the people who elected me to Congress and it wouldn't be fair to my supporters in a race for governor,” he said. More»

She can't afford any more defections

(NEWSER) - A new survey of Democrats could mean a big political headache for Nancy Pelosi. The Hill rounds up 25 in the House who are expected to vote "no" on health care reform. Pelosi can afford no more than 37 defections, and the count doesn't include the 12 Stupak Democrats who are threatening to sink the bill over abortion language or members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus who might do the same over immigration provisions . More»

House Reps suggest rebranding government-run plan

(NEWSER) - Some House Democrats think the public option would sound better if they renamed it “Medicare,” or maybe “Medicare Part E,” as in “Medicare for Everyone.” They think that rebranding could bridge the gap between liberals and centrists who oppose the plan. “People don’t know what a public option is,” a spokesman for Jim Oberstar tells the Hill. “Medicare is a public option.” More»