My recap of where things stand, from the new issue of dead-tree TIME.
Nancy Pelosi
Rangel Steps Down: Who’s Next?
Charlie Rangel today announced he’ll temporarily lay down the gavel to the Ways & Means Committee, Congress’s top tax writing panel, after being admonished by the Ethics committee for two corporate sponsored trips to the Caribbean. So, the question is: who succeeds him? ABC News reported that Michigan’s Sander Levin, the No. 3 …
Health Care Endgame: A Timeline
Inside Heath Policy (pay wall) gets a peek at a Democratic memo nailing down specific target dates for passing health reform. The three steps outlined in the missive largely track with what we already know to be the most realistic path to passage, and they gel with the Easter recess deadline being bandied about by Democrats and …
Re: For All You Health Care Junkies
Everybody is trying to count votes. The AP sniffs out 10 Dems who say they are open to switching their votes in favor of reform.
Ten House Democrats say they have not ruled out the possibility of switching their earlier “no” votes to “yes” on the big health care overhaul. That’s giving Democrats a glimmer of hope in the face of
…
Morning Must Reads
–As if Blanche Lincoln’s re-election effort wasn’t hard enough already, it just got worse for the Senator. Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, a fellow Democrat, just threw his hat into the ring for a primary challenge.
–Jim DeMint continues to seek a role as conservative king-maker in Republican Senate primaries, setting up an …
Aloha Neil Abercrombie
There’s a legend in Hawaii about a surfer named Eddie Aikau. In the 70’s Eddie was the top lifeguard in Waimea Bay on Oahu, winning dozens of surf competitions. He was always the guy willing to risk his life, no matter how rough the water, to make a save. Eddie volunteered for the 1978 Polynesian Voyaging Society’s 30-day, …
Nancy Pelosi Talks Process
On ABC’s This Week Sunday morning, the House speaker lays out a process.
Well, let me say I have this in three — just so you know, how we sequence this. First, we zero in on what the policy will be, and that is what we’ll be doing following the president’s summit yesterday.
Secondly, we’ll see what the Senate can do. What is the
…
Health Care: Can Nancy Pelosi Get It Done?
Today’s NYT has what looks like a pretty pessimistic assessment. While my predictions are worth just what you are paying for them here, my sense has been the opposite. I think a major health care bill is more likely than not to pass.
After what she managed to get her caucus to do last year, I would never, ever bet against the Speaker …
A Last Word On The Health Care Summit
Common ground? Not so much. Here’s my story for TIME.com.
Morning Must Reads
–Robert Gibbs insists today’s health care summit won’t be “kabuki theater.” Biden goes off message and says it might.
–Mike Allen has an excerpt of Pelosi’s opening remarks.
–Mark Blumenthal reminds us that not too many people actually watch these things.
–It looks like Michael Bennet’s public option letter may have panned …
Health Care Summit: A Viewer’s Guide
The White House health care summit is set to begin at 10 a.m. EST today at Blair House. Kate Pickert and I will be watching throughout the six hours, and will be posting developments as we see them. Please join us here in Swampland throughout the day, and let us know what you think of the proceedings.
In the meantime, here are a few …
Evening Miscellany
—Tech President charts the origin of that jobs graphic.
–A politician may finally be allowed to use John Mellencamp songs at rallies: John Mellencamp.
–It’s impersonation day; the NRCC channels Nancy Pelosi in a fundraising e-mail and Charlie Crist ghostwrites a CPAC address for Marco Rubio.
—Bush 43 asks, “Who the [heck] is …
Health Care Summit Details Released – Do the Dems Have a Deal Already?
The White House just released details for the Feb. 25 bipartisan health care summit President Obama called for. (h/t Greg Sargent) Here are the invitees and here is a letter about the format, in which Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says that before the summit, “we will post online the text of a proposed health …