Health care legislation took a major step toward the finish line today, when the White House and congressional leaders reached a deal on one of the major remaining issues: a proposal, known was the Cadillac tax, to impose a 40% levy on expensive insurance policies. Indeed, it was with the end in sight–and the prospect of a difficult …
Congress
The Insurance Industry Plays Both Sides
In a terrific piece of reporting, National Journal’s Peter Stone has revealed that even as the health insurance industry was publicly supporting the Obama Administration’s drive for health care reform last summer, it was secretly funding ads against it during that crucial period:
The Shot Heard Around the World
Okay, I think I’m done with the Revolutionary War allusions, but for Dems Mass AG Martha Coakley’s close race is a real scare. And even scarier: that the DSCC has been forced to spend money on her (we’ll soon see how much). Precious money that could have been used to defend Harry Reid — as if his week could get worse, Blanche Lincoln, …
Ford Eyes Gillibrand Challenge; Schumer Eyes Ford (And Not in a Good Way)
Kristen Gillibrand may not have been their first choice to fill Hillary Clinton’s New York Senate seat (ahem, Caroline Kennedy) but the White House is sticking by her after former five-term Tennessee Rep. Harold Ford told the New York Post exclusively (note the interesting choice of Gotham publications for a Democrat):
It’s true: I am
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Michael Steele, Liz Cheney and the Carnival of Buncombe
National politics is a circus, a carnival, a battlefield, a 24-7-Drudge-Cable-Politico mudfest–and yet still, somehow, serious adults find a way to run the stuff.
Think about the terribly boring suits in the Congressional leadership, on K Street or in the best White House offices. It has always been thus. Think too about the past …
2010 as 2006 (or 2008) again?
If House Dems had their way, it would be. Democratic observers have taken delighted note of the increasing number – three in the last week – of former GOP members running for their old seats. “Not only did President Bush and Congressional Republicans create the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, but now a bunch of …
Health Reform: The Issue to Watch
With the House returning to session tomorrow, the final stretch of negotiations over health reform begins in earnest. While there are plenty of differences to be worked out between the House and Senate bill, the so-called “Cadillac tax” is emerging as the main flashpoint. Here’s a brief story I wrote on this for TIME.com.
The Red Coats Are Coming
Trouble for Democrats seems to be brewing in Massachusetts where a special election to fill Teddy Kennedy’s Senate seat is due to be held a week from Tuesday — on January 19. It’s hard to imagine a Republican winning in solidly blue Massachusetts but GOP State Senator Scott Brown has been steadily gaining on the Democratic candidate, …
Silver Linings
Here’s a slightly belated posting of a story that came out this morning on time.com on what Chris Dodd and Byron Dorgan’s retirements could mean for Dems in 2010 and beyond. There’s the obvious silver lining for Democrats to Dodd stepping down: Richard Blumenthal has a much better shot at the seat. I’d say that Blumenthal’s …
UPDATE: Health Reform and the States
As Karen noted earlier today, she and I have a story in this week’s magazine about how much states will be on the hook if and when federal health reform passes.
The impetus for the story was, in part, the growing number of governors across the country publicly slamming the idea of expanding insurance coverage to millions of …
Health Reform and the States
Although the battle over passing health reform is being waged here in Washington, the front lines for implementing whatever passes will be the states. In the new issue of the print magazine, Kate Pickert and I look at what that means.
The latest evidence of the Governors’ growing concern about what lies ahead came in the State of the …
Dorgan Announces He Won’t Run Again
Senator Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, made the surprise announcement today that he would not seek reelection. His retirement moves North Dakota into the “toss up” category — a blow for Democrats in a state that will be tough defend (McCain won it with 53% of the vote). Dorgan had long been worried that North Dakota Governor …
The Health Care Dealmaking: Will We See It On C-SPAN?
Remember this promise by candidate Barack Obama during the presidential campaign?:
But the last point I want to make has to do with how we’re going to actually get this plan done. You know, Ted Kennedy said that he is confident that we will get universal health care with me as president, and he’s been working on it longer than I
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