I don't think the WashPost blogger cares a whit for process or politics or reason: he just wants Congress to pass the health care bill no matter what. Here's his latest prevarication:
Democrats haven't even begun the work of defining it [reconciliation] as an up-or-down vote, and a process they'll gladly forgo if the Republicans agree to let the Democrats have an up-or-down vote without using reconciliation.Question: what's stopping the Democrats from holding an up-or-down vote in the House? Nothing, except they don't have the votes. Unless he's talking about the Senate, where voting rules don't suddenly change because you support a certain piece of legislation. Have your up-or-down vote, already, and stop whining about the Republicans.
Also, in his heads-I-win, tails-you-lose reasoning, if the Republicans don't show up for the health care summit, it only proves their recalcitrance and if they do show, it will only showcase their bad faith. Except for one thing: Republicans contend that the health care legislation is so compromised with bad policies and backdoor deals that Congress should start over, and most Americans agree.
Related - WSJ "Another liberal crackup": "Democrats have responded by blaming 'obstructionist' Republicans, who lack the votes to block anything by themselves."
Extra - MacsMind: "Political hari-kari"
More - Yes, it was awful Zogby but Rasmussen found the same results: 61% to 28% say start all over.
And yet 63% "think lawmakers should keep trying to pass comprehensive health care reform," according to last week's Washington Post/ABC poll:
ReplyDeletehttp://voices.washingtonpost.com/behind-the-numbers/2010/02/americans_spread_the_blame_whe.html
They hate it, but they want it! Just like a prostate exam.
Here's the only poll that affects policy:
Top recipients of PAC money from insurance companies/HMOs since 2004:
Baucus (D-MT) $141,250
McConnell (R-KY) $110,750
Nelson (D-NE) $106,123
Kyl (R-AZ) $106,000
Gregg (R-NH) $103,500
Grassley (R-IA) $95,000
Lincoln (D-AR) $91,000
Enzi (R-WY) $87,000
Chambliss (R-GA) $86,750
Ensign (R-NV) $85,750
AVERAGE SENATOR $37,267
Ezra Klein is a child. Maybe, when he grows up, he will have something useful to say. But, that time is not now.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Klein's not serious and battle-tested, like the perceptive William Kristol or the savvy David Brooks or the sage Charles Krauthammer or the shrewd Joe Conason.
ReplyDeleteCall me when he acquires the awesome gravitas of those great thinkers.