I saw this earlier today over at CNN. I’m not seeing any other mentions about it on other news sites (I have not hit all the sites I usually check, however). It seems that some 40 “Blue Dog” Democrats are balking at the House health care “reform” bill.
As the Democratic leaders worked feverishly to finalize details of the legislation for a planned Friday rollout, the Blue Dog Coalition sent a letter late Thursday night saying the bill “lacks a number of elements essential to preserving what works and fixing what is broken.”
Forty of the group’s 52 members of the group signed the letter, making it clear that a major block of the House Democratic caucus wanted some concessions in order to get their votes. Shortly after the letter’s release, a group of the Blue Dogs huddled in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office with other leaders for nearly two hours.
Arkansas Democratic Congressman Mike Ross, a leading negotiator for the Blue Dogs on health care, told reporters he, Rep. John Tanner, D-Tennessee, and Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Florida, also met with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday to go over their concerns.
“The message to him was the same as to the leadership — that we could not support the current bill,” Ross said.
Boyd told CNN that no deals were struck Thursday night, but that the group agreed to meet with House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel and Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, on Friday. Boyd and other members representing rural areas pushed leaders to adjust the rates that rural doctors and hospitals are paid by Medicare for health care services.
There has been no announcement of a House bill as of this writing anywhere on the usual big news sites, so it would seem that the Blue Dogs have effectively stopped the bill for now.
This is, frankly, very big news. Pelosi does not have the votes or that bill would have already rolled out, to much shouting. So what made the Blues jump the way they did?
I’m guessing that they do not like the poll numbers they are seeing in their districts.
This is getting interesting, no?
Or maybe they took the time and actually read what they are supposed to vote on?
I know it would be a novelty, but who knows, maybe they did this time.
The media could have reported that a ‘bipartisan effort successfully put the brakes on this legislation. But, no, it was instead reported that “blus dog” Democrats (the bad kind–who sometimes vote with Republicans) killed it.
Have you ever noticed in the media that when Republicans vote with the Democrats, the Republicans are called “bipartisan”. But when Democrats vote with the Republicans, the Democrats are called “blue dogs”? Lesson: bipartisanship is good only when its the Republicans that do the compromising.
Or perhaps there really is not a viable way to fund the plan?
What Roland said.
And what you said, of course.
I am an independent and I can say that I find it refreshing when politicians (blue dogs) actually can think on their own, and not go along lockstep with the supposed leaders of their party. I am an independent voter, and intend to stay that way.