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Rockefeller and Obama Meet, Discuss Health Care
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President Obama met privately with Senate health care reform advocates today, including Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). This comes a day after Rockefeller said he can't support the bill Sen. Max Baucus unveiled today in its current form. No details just yet, but I'll get them to you as soon as they're available.
Late update: In a statement, Rockefeller says "The President and I met today to talk privately about health care reform. I do not want to go into the specifics of the meeting but I will say that nothing is clearer than the President's commitment to providing affordable and effective health care for all Americans and he and I are united in our efforts to deliver on this promise.
The President is aware that I have concerns with the current Senate Finance bill offered by my friend Chairman Baucus. He is also aware that I have made clear I cannot vote for this bill in its current form. I am working to improve the Finance bill in Committee and it is my great hope that substantial progress can be made.
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FreeRider
September 16, 2009 5:28 PM
Go, Rocky, Go!!
Baucus' bill includes a provision that bars even legal immigrants whose status is set to expire within one year from receiving tax credits. It excludes illegal immigrants from participating in the exchange with their own money.
What a grade A ass.
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CT Voter
September 16, 2009 5:49 PM in reply to FreeRider
A grade A ass whose sole goal appeared to be bipartisanship. And that appears to be an epic fail, as well. Is there anything constructive coming out of this?
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jerryfatheart
September 16, 2009 6:00 PM in reply to CT Voter
The most constructive thing could be that it went over like a lead balloon and that not even Republicans like it, forcing (silly, right?) the Democrats to actually produce a more progressive bill, with a public option. This is Andrew Sullivan's suspicion, at least.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/09/baucuscare-doa.html
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CT Voter
September 16, 2009 6:16 PM in reply to jerryfatheart
Well, when you've got Rockefeller pondering aloud about the "big, big tax" this might impose on the middle-class, maybe this IS the way to get a public option included. Hope so.
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jerryfatheart
September 16, 2009 6:20 PM in reply to CT Voter
Fingers crossed. Greg over at the Plum Line has a little bit of detail from Rockefeller about the meeting with Obama:
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/happy-hour-roundup-82/
* Is Senator Jay Rockefeller, staunch defender of the public option, optimistic that Obama may still be supportive of it? Rockefeller met with Obama today, and subsequently put out a statement proclaiming, suggestively, that “he and I are united in our efforts to deliver” on the promise of “affordable and effective health care for all Americans.”
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mans_best_friend
September 16, 2009 7:01 PM in reply to CT Voter
If that turns out to be true, this won't just be chess vs. checkers, it will be six simultaneous 3D chess matches vs. checkers.
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jerryfatheart
September 16, 2009 5:43 PM
Who else was there? Could be that Obama was seeing how much ground the pro-reform crowd would give, or it could be that he's giving them marching orders on which kinds of changes/amendments need to be made.
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bluebell
September 16, 2009 6:06 PM
Wouldn't it be easier to just let the Republican Party write the bill?
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Indie Pro
September 16, 2009 6:08 PM in reply to bluebell
hilarious.
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CT Voter
September 16, 2009 6:26 PM in reply to bluebell
At least it would have been done before now. . .
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Progressive Party
September 17, 2009 8:30 AM in reply to bluebell
Hell, he let the lobbyists write the bill!
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The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve
September 17, 2009 10:15 AM
So, I guess I'm the only one noticing that if Obama had met privately with, say Baucus or Snowe, we'd be seeing a blazing headline saying this is the latest "tell" telegraphing that the public option is totally, completely dooooommed, dooooooomed, dead, deceased, died and gone to meet it's maker, an ex-parrot. He meets privately with Rockefeller, however, and we get straight up reporting of what is known and crickets when it comes to the hyper-parsing and speculation.
Not dissing the crickets. Applauding the crickets. It's the proper response to the absence of information.
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