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House Dems To Coakley: Don't Lose If You Want Health Care Reform
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
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Leading House progressives say that if Democrat Martha Coakley loses her bid for Senate in Massachusetts next week, that may well be it for health care reform.
"I believe that to be true," said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), House progressives' point person on health care reform. "I think there are enough people who see such severe problem with the [Senate] legislation," that they can't vote for it under any circumstances.
In a brief interview with TPM, I asked Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) whether he could be persuaded to vote for the Senate bill if it became clear that that was the only way to pass reform. "I would not vote for the Senate bill as it is, period," he told me.
The other option would be to squeeze a series of votes in the House and Senate through a narrow window between election day next Tuesday, and the day Scott Brown (hypothetically) is sworn in.
As I noted earlier this week, if Coakley loses her election next week, leaving Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid one shy of the 60 votes he needs to pass a revised, final health care bill, Democrats could still advance reform by passing the Senate bill in the House word for word. But that option may exist only in theory.
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i said GOOD DAY sir
January 14, 2010 1:17 PM
If that's the case, the House Dems must be suicidal.
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Steve LaBonne
January 14, 2010 1:41 PM in reply to i said GOOD DAY sir
Or maybe they want to PREVENT the party from committing suicide by passing a bad bill that could turn out to be quite unpopular. Of course, that kind of thing- i.e. actual thinking- doesn't appeal to the "just pass anything" crowd.
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dtOZONE
January 14, 2010 2:31 PM in reply to Steve LaBonne
If it comes down to they lose if they pass nothing and lose if they pass what they got, then they'll just pass what they got and look effective.
Just killing the whole thing isn't going to make for better legislation, it's gonna make for a Republican majority too.
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Steve LaBonne
January 14, 2010 2:45 PM in reply to dtOZONE
But so would passing a bill that turns out to be really unpopular, especially with key Dem constituencies like labor. You can disagree with their calculations but just calling them "suicidal" is a symptom of complete lack of thought.
This really is moot, though; Coakley isn't going to lose. And while a lousy candidate she'll be a decent Senator.
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Darrius
January 14, 2010 2:15 PM in reply to i said GOOD DAY sir
If that is really the cast then they are suicidal, however I doubt that it the case. Democrats have to, must, at all costs, pass a health care reform bill now. The Senate has no room for any more serious compromise and Senators are just bigger politicians than house members so they are more difficult to push.
At the end of the day HCR is going to look 90+% like the Senate bill. They should hurry up and pass it. THIS FIGHT NEEDS TO BE OVER.
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admiralmpj
January 14, 2010 4:25 PM in reply to Darrius
Yeah, as much fun as this all has been (not), we kinda need to get onto Jobs, Jobs, Jobs...
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EastWest
January 14, 2010 8:26 PM in reply to i said GOOD DAY sir
Not suicidal. Heroic.
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barbara63
January 14, 2010 1:45 PM
Franken and Sanders, two of the more liberal members of the Senate, both obviously supported and voted for the Senate version of the bill. Enough said.
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Big River Bandido
January 14, 2010 10:56 PM in reply to barbara63
Neither man faces the voters in 2010. Every member of the House does.
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Connecticut Man1
January 14, 2010 2:09 PM
They have until early February before the Mass. election can even be certified, regardless of who wins. Still time for fixes.
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barbara63
January 14, 2010 7:39 PM
I'd like to ask Jan and the other members of the Progressive Caucus how much progressive legislation they've actually passed in the last 30 years and how much more they think they'll pass if they manage to block healthcare reform.
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jsdc007
January 14, 2010 8:09 PM
Coulda woulda shoulda.
The Dems are a bunch of political morons who couldn't get this bill signed, sealed and delivered over the past year. And now they're about to blame Martha Coakley? Please. If the alternative to the Dems weren't so wretched and so frightening, I'd say the hell with them.
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dannyluv
January 14, 2010 8:28 PM
Maybe they should have thought about it more when they were dismantling all the good parts of reform to satisfy LIEberman. At this point, the Senate version is a steamy pile and since no real leader stepped up from the White House to speak a single word of support for a public option, or any real cost controls, there isnt much there to try to save. We were scr-wed and I am supposed to care if Obama saves face by passing something that does very little to change things? I have a problem with people that know what to say to get me to vote for them, then when the time comes to fight for something, they cave and compromise away everything. I saw very little principle or moral integrity and even less action backing up those beautiful speeches.
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al Fubar
January 14, 2010 8:34 PM
I HOPE that this is bluster from the House, intended to light a fire under the WH and party establishment about the need for an all in effort to hold that seat. And maybe just to vent a bit. I were a House member I'd be plenty pissed off at being held hostage by a few Senate prima donnas.
Historical experience says to never underestimate the ability of Dems to form a circular firing squad, but if there was ever a time not to let better be the enemy of decent, this is it.
If Dems can't shove SOME kind of health bill though the door when they already got 60 Senate votes, what claim do they have to be taken seriously as a governing party?
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Armchair Firebrand
January 14, 2010 9:18 PM
This is a sad state of affairs indeed. The only way to break the Republican stranglehold on the Senate is to modify the chamber's procedural rules to prevent frivolous Republican filibusters. Read more @ http://armchairfirebrand.wordpress.com/
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toddincabo
January 15, 2010 12:11 AM
Man, If that seat is lost to a teabaggin' prick......bad news all around.
Hopefully the people of Mas. will wake up and understand what a screw up this would be.
You think it's bad now trying to pass...anything...wow...hang it up.
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Grace1988
January 15, 2010 12:36 AM
Women and Men, Democrats, Independents, and Republicans for Scott Brown!
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