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Morning Must Reads -- Confusing movement with progress on health care
By: Chris Stirewalt
Political Editor
10/23/09 8:50 AM EDT
Wall Street Journal -- Offer to Let States Opt Out of Health Plan Gains Support
Harry Reid is sending up trial balloons faster than Richard Heene.
Having seen his plan to shift a quarter-trillion dollars of Medicare payments to the deficit get popped by a dozen members of his own party, the majority leader has turned to the issue of having a new government insurance plan. He may either push for a public option that isn’t called that or something called a public option that doesn’t work as one.
Writers Greg Hitt and Janet Adamy say that Reid is heading toward a national public option that individual states could choose to reject.
It would be sort of like imposing the federal gasoline tax but saying states could opt out of the highway system. And some governors argue that Washington can’t constitutionally force their states to participate in any federal plan – including the Obama-backed fines for those without insurance.
But Reid needs something that will bring the moderates on board without driving away the liberals.
“The proposal, which was described by other senators and congressional aides, represented a first overture by the Nevada Democrat to solve one of the knottiest issues dividing his party: whether to create a national plan that would serve as a low-cost alternative to private insurers. House Democratic leaders are strongly behind a government-run plan, though exact details have yet to be finalized.
Whether the Senate will embrace any form of the idea is unknown. Republicans are lining up in near lockstep against it. Moderate Democrats are concerned, too, and responded Thursday with wariness.
Sen. Ben Nelson, who has met twice this week with Mr. Reid, said it would be ‘very difficult’ for him to support any proposal that creates a national plan -- even one that allows states to opt out. The Nebraska Democrat wants to empower states to experiment with their own public plans, he said, ‘the nature of which would be determined by the states, not the federal government.’”
Washington Post -- In Massachusetts, Obama won't promote state's plan
President Obama’s fellow Axelrod client Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has needed some love from the White House as his 2010 reelection looks in doubt. But one of the reasons Obama has been slow to offer Patrick a boost is that Massachusetts is the laboratory for the very kind of health plan the president is proposing.
The program, implemented by former Gov. Mitt Romney, is eating the state budget alive. And the discussion now is mostly about what kind of care the state needs to ration.
But Obama will go to the Bay State today to talk about green jobs and raise money for Patrick, and is looking to avoid the topic of health care altogether.
Writer Ceci Connolly thinks this is a mistake, and that Obama should embrace the “more nuanced picture that offers guideposts for federal lawmakers” within the state plan.
“But Romney said Massachusetts proved that a public option is not necessary to achieve near-universal coverage. Constraining costs involves refashioning how care is delivered and paid for, he said.
Two commissions have made cost control recommendations to the legislature that focus largely on coordinated care that pays based on health outcomes rather than the number of procedures performed. Although he has traveled to New England often and speaks about health care virtually every week, Obama has not held a single event focused on the Massachusetts experiment. By contrast, the White House has staged presidential appearances in Wisconsin, Ohio and Minnesota to spotlight innovative models.”
The Hill -- Healthcare for Christmas: Reid under pressure to slow down
Writer Alexander Bolton looks at the timetable on a Senate health vote and says that the Thanksgiving target was too optimistic.
With Sen. Olympia Snowe demanding plenty of time for a floor debate and for economists to review the legislation, November may fly by before a Senate vote and the start of negotiations with the very liberal and increasingly cranky House.
“Snowe said that she and other centrists have pushed Reid to show them a CBO cost analysis and give them time to review the healthcare reform bill before bringing it up for debate on the floor. Otherwise, they are threatening to vote against a motion to bring up a bill.
‘It’s something that I and Democratic centrists have really pushed on,’ said Snowe, ‘a final CBO score and a chance to review the language at the outset, before the process begins.’
Reid may be more willing to listen to them after the failure of the so-called doctors’ fix, which lost a 47-53 vote Wednesday.”
Politico -- Palin backs Hoffman in NY-23
Sarah Palin is backing her first non-GOP candidate and you can tell it feels good to her. Her Facebook-based endorsement of Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman for the vacant seat in upstate New York pits her against her party and gives her a stake in what has become a proxy war among the branches of the GOP.
While the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia are tests of Obama, New York’s 23rd district is the test of the libertarian movement inside the GOP. If Hoffman can beat liberal Republican Dede Scozzofava, the libertarian insurgents will claim victory, even if the seat goes to Democrat Bill Owens. Democrats will claim victory if they win as a result of a feud among their opponents. Republicans will not claim a win of any kind.
Palin’s part in this race – which comes just weeks before the release of her aptly-titled book “Going Rouge” – may foreshadow the kind of role she hopes to play in the remaking of the party. She may hurt her preferred candidate with independent voters in the district, but her goals go beyond one House race.
“In her statement, the GOP's 2008 vice-presidential nominee sounded a clear anti-party tone.
‘Best of all, Doug Hoffman has not been anointed by any political machine,’ Palin wrote. ‘Doug Hoffman stands for the principles that all Republicans should share: smaller government, lower taxes, strong national defense, and a commitment to individual liberty.’”
Peggy Noonan -- It's His Rubble Now
Noonan sympathizes with the tough task President Obama has faced, but tells him to quit complaining and get on with the job.
“The problem isn't his personality, it's his policies. His problem isn't what George W. Bush left but what he himself has done. It is a problem of political judgment, of putting forward bills that were deeply flawed or off-point. Bailouts, the stimulus package, cap-and-trade; turning to health care at the exact moment in history when his countrymen were turning their concerns to the economy, joblessness, debt and deficits—all of these reflect a misreading of the political terrain. They are matters of political judgment, not personality. (Republicans would best heed this as they gear up for 2010:
Don't hit him, hit his policies. That's where the break with the people is occurring.)
The result of all this is flagging public support, a drop in the polls, and independents peeling off.
In this atmosphere, with these dynamics, Mr. Obama's excuse-begging and defensiveness won't work. Everyone knows he was handed horror. They want him to fix it.”
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