NPR’s Julie Rovner gives us the history of the individual mandate:
For Republicans, the idea of requiring every American to have health insurance is one of the most abhorrent provisions of the Democrats’ health overhaul bills.
“Congress has never crossed the line between regulating what people choose to do and ordering them to do
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The former president is in “good spirits” Thursday after being admitted to the Columbia Campus of New York Presbyterian Hospital for chest “discomfort.”
According to his counselor, Douglas Band, Clinton underwent a procedure to place two stents in his coronary artery. Hillary Clinton is en route to New York City from Washington, and …
Donna Brazile forwards this, dated a few days ago, from our friend Minyon Moore, who is traveling with Bill Clinton:
Bill Clinton has been in hiding. Not literally, of course. But in practice–totally. Since his dispiriting turn in the 2008 elections–offending Ted Kennedy, calling Obama a “fairy tale,” bumbling in South Carolina–the former president made the hard call: He volunteered to leave the public spotlight so that his wife could become …
If the changes in the health care bill are indeed enough to bring Joe Lieberman aboard, it looks as though we are back to the point where all eyes are on Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson as potentially the 60th vote to bring the bill over the finish line in the Senate. As you might imagine, Nelson is getting pressure from all sides. One of …
In the upcoming issue of dead-tree TIME (just $1.99!), I have this update on what lies ahead for Harry Reid, the public and private battles he is waging, and why the Democrats are feeling an even greater urgency to get the job done on health reform.
Alas, somewhat disappointingly.
A source close to Bill Clinton confirms that the cellphone call he received while talking to reporters in the Capitol was indeed from the Secretary of State. However, he informs us that the intriguing ringtone we heard this afternoon was a generic jazz one, which the former President picked because, …
Former President Bill Clinton was the guest at the Senate Democrats’ weekly policy lunch. The subject: health care. Taking responsibility for the collapse of his attempt to pass health care reform in 1994, Clinton urged the caucus not to waste this opportunity. “I do think it’s good politics to pass this and pass it as soon as you …
Jay Newton-Small is preparing a fuller account, but you can hear the audio of his Q and A with reporters here:
(Our audio wizard Caitlin Thompson thinks we should award bonus points to the first Swampland commenter who can identify Hillary’s ringtone on his cell phone.)
UPDATE: Here’s a clip that zeroes in on that mystery ringtone:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Harry Reid have now formally requested President Obama to address a joint session of Congress:
Our nation is closer than ever to achieving health insurance reform that will lower costs, retain choice, improve quality and expand coverage. We are committed to reaching this goal.
We would
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In the ArenaUncategorized
This is the silly season among my dear colleagues in the press. We’re at the ugliest stage of the health care sausage-making–and so there are all sorts of dire predictions going around. Of course, the wingnuts are the worst. You can see blog posts with sentences like this almost every fifteen minutes:
Suddenly, six months into his
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Billings, Montana
Here’s a dispatch from the road on Obama’s migration west. As I note in the story, Gore made a surprise stop to the floor of the convention in Los Angeles when he arrived that Wednesday to see his daughter speak. Obama is currently not scheduled to set foot in the Pepsi Center but his aides won’t rule out that he …
Barack Obama and Bill Clinton chatted over the phone today, dispelling rumors that the former president has been reluctant in his endorsement of Obama. Clinton insiders explained his absence in New Hampshire, saying he wanted to give his wife, the candidate, the spotlight to do the unity event alone. The Obama campaign has said …
