The Process! The Process!

It’s not a good sign that, less than an hour into this health care summit, they are already arguing about process–and, specifically, the use of reconciliation to pass this bill on a majority vote in the Senate, rather than the 60 votes that it would take to stop a filibuster.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered what, for my money, is the best sound bite of the first hour (and one you are likely to be hearing a lot in the coming weeks): “Those people sitting at that kitchen table, they don’t want to hear about process. They want to hear about results.”

Meanwhile, Lamar Alexander–leading off for the Republicans–once again asserted that Congress is simply not capable of passing comprehensive reform.

Ladies and gentlemen, I think the parameters of this conversation have now been defined.

Related Topics: Barack Obama, health care summit, lamar alexander, Nancy Pelosi, Uncategorized
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  • pafro

    Poor old Lamar just got busted for lying as well by the President. He is really, really unhappy about it.
    We should have someone independent who has been paying attention (like some CBO accountant) that can rule when someone lies and toss them off the island.

  • towandavt

    From the kitchen table…yes, that’s right Nancy! Process, schmoscess, give us Medicare for all!

  • deconstructiva

    …uh, oh, KT, you may need to play referee (or issue a timeout) with Obama and Alexander arguing the same CBO premium #’s – who’s right?

  • towandavt

    Lamar is a tool. This is not news!

  • afguy

    Isn’t that the entire Conservative philosophy in a nutshell – the government is incapable of doing something BY DEFINITION?
    .
    Unfortunately, the “visuals” (God, I hate that word) of this are the GOP doing everything in their power not to even try to be constructive.

  • nflfoghorn

    What about those sitting in the man cave? The throne room?

  • pafro

    This Sunlight Foundation stream is a great place to watch this, as it lists how many bribes and from whom the person on the screen at any given time has taken.
    http://www.sunlightfoundation.com/live/
    Tom Coburn: $172,000 from insurance industry

  • http://twitter.com/ktumulty Karen Tumulty

    I just posted a link. Thanks.

  • kevin

    “Republicans are the ones who campaign on a theory that government doesn’t work, and then get in office and prove it.”

  • kevin

    I love hearing Republicans talk about how government intervention is ineffective, but if we set up a Rube Goldberg system of obscure tax credits and fine-print policy incentives, we think that maybe people will get to the desired goal somehow.
    .
    For all their talk about believing in individual will, they seem to assume Americans can be conditioned like Pavlov’s dog.

  • towandavt

    Kevin – and that’s the truth!

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