A little more than a week ago, Tom Coburn did something fairly courageous by political standards. At a town hall meeting in Oklahoma, the conservative Republican senator referred to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a “nice lady” and criticized Fox News. (He was briefly booed for the Pelosi comment.) After an audience member mentioned …
Who isn’t mad at the airlines these days? First, they took away our free meals. Sure, those meals were microwaved, bland and often gummy, but still. Then, airlines started charging for checked bags. This will not stand, we declared! Well, it did stand and now nearly all airlines charge for the privilege. But there was an adverse …
I was planning to write about the ridiculousness of Republicans claiming the health reform law will require 16,000 new IRS agents, but many others beat me to it. Here’s the whole scoop on this lie. (Here’s a crib sheet from Ezra Klein.)
Distortions like this chip away at the credibility of Republican critics of health reform. There …
Mitt Romney is a competent politician and competent politicians usually know how to duck questions about topics they don’t want to talk about. They respond briefly and vaguely and then turn to something slightly related, but far less politically toxic. This is the pivot and it’s a skill every politician must have down pat. So why does …
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a possible contender for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, has announced he will join a growing number of states challenging the legality of the health reform law.
This further distinguishes Pawlenty from another top contender for the nomination, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. (Romney, you may …
One advantage the GOP had in the health debate was its total disregard for nuance when it came to messaging. Again and again, Republicans over-simplified provisions in the Democratic plan and convinced a lot of Americans that reform was bad in the process. They said the bill would gut Medicare by slashing half a trillion dollars in …
Policy can never be separated from politics and this morning we got another reminder.
After the New York Times reported yesterday that insurers might try to avoid issuing policies for kids with pre-existing conditions – despite that the reform law meant to prohibit this – the AP reports this today:
After nearly a year battling
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The Senate just passed the House reconciliation bill 56-43. It turns out Senate Democrats didn’t come close to needing Joe Biden to break a tie, with only Sens. Blanche Lincoln, Ben Nelson and Mark Pryor voting against the bill. Because a small section related to student loans had to be removed, the legislation goes back to the House one …
Early this morning, the Senate parliamentarian identified some technical problems with the student loan provisions included in the reconciliation bill. This means if and when the Senate passes an altered bill, it will have to go back to the House for another vote. Of course, the Senate bill is already law, so this does not endanger …
“We feel like we’ve been pregnant for 17 months, let’s get on with it already.” Those were the words of Democrat Rep. Louise Slaughter, chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, on Saturday, as she moved health reform one step closer to the finish line.
Well put. After all the hearings and debates and town halls; after the Gang of Six …
A funny thing happened on the way to the congressional switchboard earlier this week.
On Wednesday, Rush Limbaugh told his listeners to call Congress and tell them to vote no on health care reform. That’s no small thing. With his millions of fans, this is the kind of advice that could crash the congressional phone system.
But …
Aren’t there better and tougher targets for Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck than an 11-year-old boy without a mother?
Marcelas Owens, a young boy who’s been appearing on TV and at press conferences with Democrats who are trying to sell their health care plan, is a new fascination for some right-wing pundits, who have been saying …
Politico’s Ben Smith has a smart take on President Obama’s decision to delay his trip abroad. (Obama was scheduled to leave the country on Sunday, the day House Democratic leaders are hoping to hold their vote on health care.)
The decision to cancel his trip may look like a sign of urgency but it’s also, in the language of
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