The White House and congressional Democrats, fed up with a failed effort to woo Republican support, may proceed without the opposition party in passing comprehensive healthcare reform, reports signaled Wednesday.
Speaking to the New York Times, White House powerbroker and chief of staff Rahm Emanuel declared that the Republican party was standing in the way of progress. His remarks seem to mark a shift from more conciliatory language previously being used by the White House.
“The Republican leadership,” Emanuel quipped, “has made a strategic decision that defeating President Obama’s health care proposal is more important for their political goals than solving the health insurance problems that Americans face every day.”
Democrats can pass healthcare reform without Republicans using a rule that allows them to pass a measure with a simple majority, or 50 votes. This method was used to pass President George W. Bush’s tax cuts.
The White House floated a trial balloon this weekend through comments made by President Barack Obama, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, all of whom said a public option was not a dealbreaker for a healthcare reform bill. But those comments didn’t spark any Republican enthusiasm, and only caused an uproar within the liberal wing of the Democratic party.
“The White House has also interpreted critical comments by Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican negotiator in a crucial Finance Committee effort to reach a bipartisan compromise, as a sign that there is little hope of reaching a deal politically acceptable to both parties,” the New York Times’ Carl Hulse and Jeff Zeleny wrote Wednesday.
Observers note that Grassley didn’t seek to distance himself from comments made by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who declared that the Democratic bill included death panels — a charge that factual analyses have found spurious.
“Citing a packed schedule, Mr. Grassley has also put off plans for the bipartisan group of Finance Committee negotiators to meet in either Iowa or Maine, the home of another Republican member of the group, Senator Olympia J. Snowe, before Congress resumes,” Hulse and Zeleny added.
Grassley says he’ll still negotiate.
“It may be more difficult than it was before,” he told the paper. “I am intent on talking. I am intent on seeing what we can do.”
This video is from CNN’s AC 360, broadcast Aug. 18, 2009.
2 comments:
I think it was pretty clear in November that people wanted health care reform. Why do we need Republicans? If they had got their way, there would be no Medicare.
I'm not sure why the White House still want to reach out to the Republicans since they made it clear from the start they want no part in health care reform. My only guess is that President Obama wants the Republicans to exhaust themselves like they did with the stimulus and Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Or he wants the Republicans just look worst and worst as time goes on.
Post a Comment