Obama’s Healthcare Full of New Bribes

Real Change You Can Believe In

President Obama told us that there was a new sheriff in town – that the days of buying votes were over. Didn’t last long…

Just look at the most recent incarnation of health care “reform.” We all knew about the bribes to Mary Landrieu and Ben Nelson, but now, Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) has put out a more complete list of just how much change has been going on:

• THE CORNHUSKER KICKBACK: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska will be exempted from an annual fee on insurers; the exemption could also apply to nonprofit insurers in other states, possibly including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Supplemental ‘Medigap’ policies such as those sold by Mutual of Omaha are exempted from the annual fee on insurers, something that would help other companies selling such policies. A physician-owned hospital being built in Bellevue, Neb., could get referrals from doctors who own it, avoiding a new ban in the Senate bill that will apply to hospitals built in the future.”

• THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE: Sen. Mary Landrieu Voted For Health Care Bill After Sen. Reid Gave Her A $300 Million for her state’s Medicaid program

• THE U CON: Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) Added $100 Million For A Hospital That He’d Like To Get For His State.

• GATOR AID: Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) Secured Extra Benefits For Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries.

• HANDOUT MONTANA: Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) Got Medicare For Residents Of A Small Town With Asbestos-Related Illnesses.

• North Dakota Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad, both North Dakota Democrats, would enjoy a provision bringing higher Medicare payments to hospitals and doctors in ‘frontier counties’ of states such as — let’s see here — North Dakota!

• Hawaii Got A Special Exemption For Higher Medicaid DSH Payments.

• Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Got $600 Million For Medicaid. “SEN. PATRICK LEAHY, D-VT., negotiated $600 million in additional Medicaid benefits for his state over 10 years.

• Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) Got Special Treatment For Union Workers. “Longshoremen were added to the list of high-risk professions shielded from the full impact of a new tax on high-value health insurance plans.

• New Jersey pharmaceutical companies were given a $1 billion research subsidy because of Senator Bob Menendez.

• A $5 billion reinsurance program for health plans was expected to largely benefit union members (it was believed that Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow had this added.

Read the original article JedEckert.com

Petition to recall LA Senator Mary Landrieu

Clarice Feldman

Senate Democrats to W.H.: Drop cap-and-trade

By LISA LERER

Bruised by the health care debate and worried about what 2010 will bring, moderate Senate Democrats are urging the White House to give up now on any effort to pass a cap-and-trade bill next year.

 “I am communicating that in every way I know how,” says Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), one of at least half a dozen Democrats who’ve told the White House or their own leaders that it’s time to jettison the centerpiece of their party’s plan to curb global warming.

 The creation of an economy-wide market for greenhouse gas emissions is as the heart of the climate bill that cleared the House earlier this year. But with the health care fight still raging and the economy still hurting, moderate Democrats have little appetite for another sweeping initiative — especially another one likely to pass with little or no Republican support.

 “We need to deal with the phenomena of global warming, but I think it’s very difficult in the kind of economic circumstances we have right now,” said Indiana Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh, who called passage of any economy-wide cap and trade “unlikely.”

 At a meeting about health care last month, moderates pushed to table climate legislation in favor of a jobs bill that would be an easier sell during the 2010 elections, according to Senate Democratic aides.

 “I’d just as soon see that set aside until we work through the economy,” said Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.). ?“What we don’t want to do is have anything get in the way of working to resolve the problems with the economy.”

 “Climate change in an election year has very poor prospects,” added Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.). “I’ve told that to the leadership.”

 At least some in the Democratic leadership appear to be listening.

 Asked about cap-and-trade last week, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said: “At this point I’d like to see a complete bill but we have to be realistic.”

 Moderate House Democrats who voted in favor of the cap-and-trade bill just before the July 4th recess came under fire back home, and Republicans have vowed to make the issue a key line of attack during next year’s elections.

 Some Democrats would prefer to deny them that target.

 “I’d prefer to do energy, because I think you could get a really broad consensus on a lot of energy legislation,” said Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) ?

 But supporters of the climate bill say that cap-and-trade is an inextricable part of any energy package for next year.

Read the rest of the story on Politico pg2

Dems Already Done In By Buyers’ Remorse?

Posted by Charles Cooper

Whenever the Republicans fear that the political gods are aligned against them, they can always find cheer in knowing that at least they are not the Democrats.

Over the weekend, the Democrats got the 60 votes they needed in order to move their health care proposal onto the floor of the United States Senate for debate. A lot of good it did them. The moment faded almost immediately after key blue dog Democrats ran to the microphones to oppose any bill carrying a public option provision. The only celebration going on within Democratic circles was limited to the ranks of Panglossian optimists and congenital spinmeisters (often, one and the same.)
But this is shaping up to be a lot less than advertised. No less a party personage than the Democratic National Convention chairman Howard Dean spent Monday giving voice to the growing concern shared by Democratic activists about the way this story is unfolding. Speaking with the Huffington Post, Dean said that health care reform was in “deep trouble” and that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid likely would need a miracle to win the day.

“I didn’t anticipate being in this position. I thought it would pass. Maybe Harry has some magic up his sleeve. But I don’t see how he gets those four votes [Sens. Joseph Lieberman (Conn.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.)] without compromising the bill.” Check out his on-air interview with MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan, where he offered a blunt critique of his fellow Democrats.

This rates as quite the memorable moment. Even with their commanding numerical lead in Congress, the Democrats still can’t summon the necessary party discipline to pass their political agenda. Remarkably, the few Senate holdouts – or at least those playing hard-to-get – are showing the rest of Washington D.C. how the game ought be played. Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu played her cards beautifully in gouging the administration for an extra $100 million for her state – and this just to get Landrieu’s vote to proceed with the debate. No telling how much of a bribe she’ll demand for Louisiana in order to get her to support something that even remotely resembles the health bill that Mr. Obama wants.

Watching the negotiations between the sides. Washington Monthly’s Steve Benen had it right when he wrote that “Lieberman, Nelson, & Co. don’t much care if this once-in-a-generation opportunity implodes, while reform advocates care very much. These rather obvious bargaining positions create a playing field that is anything but level.”

The liberal-left wing of the Democratic Party’s been down this road before – recalling Democratic support to authorize the use of force against Iraq – and they’re afraid of another double cross. In this case, they fear that the leadership will trade away too much in order to win enough votes for passage. (Dean warned as much in his MSNBC appearance, suggesting that conservative Democrats opposing the public option are trying to turn the bill into a “hodgepodge of nonsense.”)

And here’s the danger for the party leadership: If the legislation bears little resemblance to the lofty promise articulated in President Obama’s address to Congress last February, there’s real risk that Democratic activists will sit on their hands in 2010.

If that’s the case, maybe half a loaf is worse than nothing at all.

Read the original article on CBSBlog

What to watch for in today’s debate

By CHRIS FRATES

Nancy Pelosi did it. Can Harry Reid?

Two Saturdays ago, Pelosi passed health reform on a squeaker of a House vote. Today, Reid can’t spare a single Democrat as the Senate decides whether to start debate. If not, President Barack Obama’s reform hopes suffer immeasurable harm.

 That said, things were looking good at daybreak, as Reid can be reasonably confident of 59 votes, with Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) a yes vote and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) leaning yes. The holdout: Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), who has been a fan of reform generally but faces a tough 2010 re-election fight.

In theory, Reid’s job should actually be easier than Pelosi’s. The House voted on final passage. Reid is just asking the Senate to begin debate. But the vote is more than that – it’s a test lab for the ideas, arguments and battle tactics that both sides will carry into an epic showdown over health reform next month.

 The debate runs all day with the vote scheduled for 8 p.m. To cut through all the speechifying and straight to what matters, POLITICO offers these things to watch.

 Harry Reid’s three-step.

 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is now a fully owned subsidiary of the Senate Majority Leader’s office and its fate and the political fortunes of its author are intimately intertwined. Reid needs to deliver reform.

 “His entire political future is predicated on a campaign that ‘I get things done and I can get things done for this nation and Nevada,’” said Nevada political analyst and columnist Jon Ralston. “It really undermines that campaign if he can’t get it done.”

 Reid’s decision to include a public insurance option was largely viewed as a political move to satisfy the labor unions and progressive activists he’ll need to campaign for him when he runs for re-election next year. That’s Harry Reid, the endangered Senate candidate.

 But Reid comes to the chamber in two other roles. As Senate ringmaster, he’s trying to keep his diverse constituency safe and away from too-tough votes. But as White House point man, he’s trying to deliver Obama-style reform, on an Obama-style schedule, before the end of the year.

 Those roles can conflict on the Senate floor. Already, the White House has signaled a preference for the “trigger” on a public option but Reid picked the plan with a state opt-out, arguably a more liberal version that could cause him trouble with moderates.

 Listening to Lincoln

 Look for Lincoln, Landrieu, Nelson and fellow centrists to go to great lengths to explain how their vote is not a vote for reform, but simply an OK to talk about reform.

 “If you don’t like the bill, then why would you block your own opportunity to amend it?” Nelson said earlier this week.

 Aside from the obligatory nods to small-d democracy, the real clue to Harry Reid’s future headaches is what else they say. Expect to hear Nelson’s concerns about federal funding for abortions, Sen. Joe Lieberman’s stiff opposition to a public insurance plan and Landrieu’s worries about how the plan will affect small businesses.

 Already, Lieberman and Nelson have said they’ll join Republicans in blocking the bill if their concerns aren’t met. Watch to see if any other moderates go that far Saturday.

 And listen for how forcefully the centrists make their demands. Landrieu spoke up and got an extra $100 million in Medicaid funding sent to Louisiana.

 But what will Lincoln say? She’s been cagey for months and has tried to calibrate her remarks – particularly on the public option – to avoid upsetting either side of the debate. Today’s her day to speak up and lay down the must-haves – part of the maze of moderate demands Reid must navigate before he can pass a bill.

 The future Republican TV ads

 In many ways, Saturday’s vote is the real kickoff to Campaign 2010 for the Senate. Republicans will begin sharpening their attacks into what will become familiar refrains over the next year should reform pass.

Read the rest of the article on page 2 Politico