As Karen just noted, in an interview with Katie Couric that aired just before the Superbowl, President Obama called for another bipartisan meeting on health care. After being pummeled by accusations of back-room deals and sharp partisanship, Obama said he would convene a half-day meeting where Republicans and Democrats would be able to …
Democratic Party
The Unsustainable U.S. Health Care System
Here’s a newsflash for those fretting that Democratic health reform will lead to a “government takeover of the health care system” – the feds will account for more than half of all U.S. health spending by 2012 even if nothing changes. According to a report out today from economists at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, …
Could Dems Lose the Senate?
Sure, it’s improbable, but — as Charlie Cook points out in my new time.com story out this morning — it’s now mathematically possible. After all, virtually no one predicted the Dems could win back the Senate in February 2006. On the bright side, I bet Russ Feingold breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when Tommy Thompson joined a hedge …
So is Health Care Reform Dead or Just in a Democratically Induced Coma?
Despite Scott Brown’s victory, there’s still a lot of debate over the fate of health care reform around Washington and in living rooms across America. (There’s even some debate here at Swampland.) Every day we try to read the signs and report back how things are looking. Should supporters feel hopeful? Are Democrats just plotting their …
The HHS Budget and What it Says about Reform
At a news briefing today, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius talked about funding for her agency contained within President Obama’s proposed 2011 budget. She talked about more money for community health centers, information technology, and drug and cancer research, among other priorities. But toward the end of the …
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 …
In the ArenaUncategorized
More Historicity
After last night’s venture into Walter Russell Mead’s four American foreign policy traditions (Jefferson, Jackson, Wilson and Hamilton), we have Chuck Lane plumbing another foursome today: the four American political traditions that the brilliant historian David Hackett Fischer–I mean, you really have to read this guy; it’s both deeply …
Democrats Hope to Spend Now to Save (Their Seats) Later
A story from me about the logjam of spending Congress will spend the next three weeks chewing through. The spending issue is becoming increasingly sensitive, especially since three Blue Dogs — fiscal conservative Dems who usually come from swing districts — have now announced their retirement. CW states that Dems weren’t likely to lose …
Obama’s “Pep Talk”
President Barack Obama journeyed to Capitol Hill for a rare Sunday visit as the Senate pushed through the weekend on health care reform. The president spent more than 40 minutes rallying the Senate Democratic caucus, underlining to them the importance of passing a bill not only to the economy, but to the 2010 elections and “the …
Chuck-ing Health Care
We’re in the grip of election fever here in DC. Could (gasp!) Jon Corzine lose the governor’s race in New Jersey? What might a Bob McDonnell victory in Virginia mean for Republicans? For that matter, what could a Doug Hoffman win in the NY23rd mean? But, just in case you forgot, there is still a national debate going on on heath care …
Grassley: The One Who Got Away
If there had ever been any hope for real GOP support for President Obama’s health care plan, it came in the form of Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, who has been negotiating behind the scenes for months with his good friend Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus. But was getting Grassley on board ever a realistic proposition? And what does …
In the ArenaHealth Care
Dr. No
The sun rises in the east. The sky is blue. Bill Kristol advises Republicans to vote against health care reform. The first time he tried this, in 1994, he established a reputation for tactical “brilliance,” as he managed to intimidate Bob Dole–whose life was saved by government health care–into opposing the Clinton effort. The …