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Should We Laugh? Cry? Both?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New Republic - By Jonathan Cohn - Nov. 23 (News Analysis) - The ritual is becoming familiar. Health care reform passes a major political hurdle. And progressives don?t know whether to laugh or cry. Last time, the occasion was a vote in the House of Representatives. Health care reform passed by the slimmest of margins, but not before conservative Democrats had extracted a major concession on abortion rights. This time, it was a vote in the Senate--not on whether to pass a bill, but whether to begin debating one. This measure, too, passed by the slimmest of margins, but not before conservative Democrats and one notorious independent made clear they were prepared to shut things down later if legislation includes a public insurance option. It?s no fun to watch this unfold. And yet this is the exactly the sort of drama you should expect for the next few weeks, as the Senate deliberations play out. The bill Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced last week is not everything it could be--not by a long shot. And progressives will try their ...

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Docudrama

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New Republic - By Jonathan Cohn - Nov. 18 (Special Report) - Sometime in August, McKinsey & Company created a PowerPoint document called “Health Care Reform and Implications for Key Stakeholders: What this Could Mean for Client X.” Over the course of 44 slides full of charts and graphs, the firm examines the potential impact of reform on insurers, doctors, hospitals, and the drug industry. McKinsey tells Client X that the presentation’s purpose is to “help inform your understanding of the broader healthcare system impact and what this might mean for your key customers and Client X going forward.” After a source supplied me with the document--which is marked “confidential”--I contacted McKinsey. A spokesperson told me that “Client X” is not a particular company. Instead, he explained, the document is a broad overview of how McKinsey expects health care reform to play out. (It also appears to be a presentation that McKinsey consultants could adapt based on a client’s particular situation.)

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Endless Obstacles Delay Veteran Benefits

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Miller-McCune - By Aaron Glantz - Nov. 12 (Special Report) - The Department of Veterans Affairs routinely delays disability claims by wounded soldiers for months and years, often shunting them into homelessness. But there’s a simple way for the government to get disabled veterans the help they deserve. It can trust them.

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On What Planet Does Barney Frank Spend Most of His Time?

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Pruning Shears - By Dan Fejes - Nov. 12 (News Analysis) - The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee has cultivated a pugnacious persona, but on financial reform he may be fighting for the wrong side.

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Enviro groups face some tough decisions on path to climate bill

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Environment and Energy Publishing - Nov. 06 (News Report) - For the past year, major environmental groups have framed the climate change bill as the movement's single most significant piece of legislation in several decades -- if not ever -- dedicating the bulk of their political muscle and heavy financial resources to passage of the effort. But as the bill moves forward, with this summer's historic House vote and yesterday's Senate committee markup, some question whether in their quest to get a bill, environmentalists and their allies are far too willing to compromise on historic priorities such as offshore drilling and nuclear power.

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Conservatives Rework Rhetoric After Loss in NY Special

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Independent - By David Weigel - Nov. 05 (News Report) - Jim Kelly walked into the lounge of the Hotel Saranac, his red tie undone and flapping against his shirt. He sighed. He plopped into a chair. “Four thousand votes,” he said. “That couldn’t fill up one side of seats at Shea

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Afghanistan Is About More Than The War

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Pruning Shears - By Dan Fejes - Nov. 05 (News Analysis) - Troop levels and insurgency strategies have dominated the discussion about Afghanistan, but there may be an important ulterior motive for those in favor of a ramped up military effort.

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Lobbying From The Great Beyond

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Congressional Quarterly - By Alex Knott - Oct. 30 (Special Report) - With a little planning, you can lobby Congress from beyond the grave. Every year, hundreds of Americans continue to make campaign contributions, lobby Congress and in some states cast votes after they have died. And it’s all completely legal.

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Anatomy of an Ethics Leak

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Independent - By Mike Lillis - Oct. 30 (News Analysis) - The news that “dozens” of House lawmakers are under scrutiny by ethics investigators — reported last night by The Washington Post — will likely stir a small storm in Washington, particularly on an otherwise quiet Friday when Congress is out of session.

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It Isn't Reform Unless It Gives Goldman an Aneurysm

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Pruning Shears - By Dan Fejes - Oct. 29 (News Analysis) - Various attempts to reform the financial system are bouncing around the capitol these days. The reaction of one of Wall Street's biggest players to them may be as good an indicator as any of how serious they are. It Isn't Reform Unless It Gives Goldman an Aneurysm

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Senators Slog While Unemployed Suffer

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Independent - By Mary Kane - Oct. 26 (News Report) - A protracted and very partisan Senate skirmish has left hundreds of thousands of jobless Americans without unemployment benefits — an impasse that Democrats leaders are hoping to break this week. They have their work cut out.

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Senate Dems to Obama: Um, a Little Help Here?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New Republic - By Jonathan Cohn - Oct. 26 (News Analysis) - After a weekend of furious activity, Democratic leaders in the Senate think they are close to getting the votes they need in order to pass an "opt-out" version of the public option. But they feel like President Obama could be doing more to help them, with one senior staffer telling TNR on Sunday that the leadership would like, but has yet to receive, a clear "signal" of support for their effort.

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Health care reform: A summary of recent distortions

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Angie Drobnic Holan - Oct. 24 (News Analysis) - The debate over health care reform has been defined by exaggerations and falsehoods. Republicans have falsely labeled the Democratic plan "government-run health care" and warned of death panels for the elderly and taxpayer subsidies for illegal immigrants. Democrats, meanwhile, have exaggerated the savings of their plan and made false claims about their favorite villains, the insurance companies.

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Pro-Israel Group's Money Trail Veers Hard Right

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Eli Clifton - Oct. 22 (News) - But an IPS investigation into the tax records of the donors to StandWithUs, which professes to be ideologically neutral, found a web of funders who support organisations that have been accused of anti-Muslim propaganda and encouraging a militant Israeli and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Some of these organisations have tied the origins of Palestinian nationalism to Nazi ideology, and suggested that a vast Muslim conspiracy - in a similar vein to the anti-Semitic Protocols of the Elders of Zion - is mobilising to undermine the U.S. constitution and impose Sharia law.

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Straight Guys Tell

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Advocate - By Michael Joseph Gross - Oct. 21 (Special Report) - You’ve heard the threats -- about how gay men in the shower might bring down the U.S. military with a wink, a pinch, or a flick of a wet towel. But where’s the truth in that? What’s it really like to serve alongside gay and lesbian service members?

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Why Did The DoD, And The White House, Oppose The Franken Rape Amendment?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Talking Points Memo - By Rachel Slajda - Oct. 21 (News Analysis) - On Oct. 6, the Senate passed an amendment that would guarantee rape victims employed by defense contractors a chance to take their case to court. The 30 Republicans who voted against it have been vilified. (See, for example, RepublicansForRape.org.) But the Department of Defense -- and, by extension, the White House -- also opposed the amendment. Why?

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Is Harry Reid Working The Inside Game For A Public Option?

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Talking Points Memo - By Brian Beutler - Oct. 16 (News Report) - "Reid and/or his staff has been in practically hourly conversations with a whole set of progressive players re how best to make sure we position ourselves to get a strong public option coming out of conference committee," said one progressive strategist, who asked not to be named. "He hasn't made any final procedural decisions yet RE how to get that done, but he's having really honest conversations [about] all his major options, pros and cons of each, etc. I'm actually pretty impressed, at least right now."

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Lindsey Graham: Not a Nuclear Wussypants

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Mother Jones - By Kate Sheppard - Oct. 16 (News Report) - When Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called for legislation last week to cap carbon emissions, he revived hopes that a cap-and-trade measure could pass the Senate this year. (He also got branded a "wussypants" by tea party protesters for his trouble.) But

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The Top Ten Things Worth Fighting For

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New Republic - By Jonathan Cohn - Oct. 14 (News Analysis) - As deliberations continue, in the floor debate and eventually in the House-Senate conference committee, the question is how these bills will come together. The best case scenario is that we get the best of both approaches--the far-reaching coverage and insurance reforms in the House and HELP bills, combined with the CBO-certified cost control of Finance. The worst case is that we get cost control like House and HELP, with coverage that looks like Finance.

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Snowe Voting Yes On Senate Finance Health Care Reform Bill

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Ryan Grim, Jeff Muskus, Sam Stein - Oct. 13 (News Report) - Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) said Tuesday that she intends to vote for the Senate Finance Committee's health care reform package. She cautioned that her vote should be seen as a sign of her faith in the process going forward, not as support for the final package that will arrive on the Senate floor. "Is this bill all that I would want? Far from it," said Snowe. "Is it all that it can be? No. But when history calls, history calls, and I happen to think that the consequences of inaction dictate the urgency of Congress to take every opportunity to demonstrate its capacity to solve the monumental issues of our time." Snowe's statement came several hours before a scheduled committee vote. "My vote today is my vote today. It doesn't forecast what my vote will be tomorrow," she said. It does keep her at the negotiating table and at the center of the debate; Snowe risked marginalizing herself if she voted no. Snowe is well aware of the math. Her vote, she said, comes with knowledge that Democrats don't need Republicans to pass the landmark legislation.

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Spending Bill Includes Provision to Block Release of Abuse Photos

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By by: Jason Leopold, - Oct. 10 (News Report) - Conferees on the Senate and House Appropriations Committees released a Homeland Security spending bill summary, which includes a provision that would allow President Obama to authorize "the Secretary of Defense to bar the release of detainee photos," essentially exempting the images from Freedom of Information Act requests.

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Healthcare Fundamentals: Why isn't anyone talking about what's dricing costs?

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

prosperitynow4u.org - By Gordon Townsend - Oct. 09 (News Analysis) - Healthcare reform – the most talked about subject in the media lately - replete with stories of catastrophic illness, death panels, public options, etc. It tough to find any concrete information that will let you make a good decision by wading through the rhetoric. Respond to the current public debate by asking the fundamental questions and not taking throw away statistics and people’s assumptions as genuine – whether they are your representative or your doctor.

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Truth-O-Meter: Statements on Health Care

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - Oct. 08 (Special Report) - PolitiFact fact-checks statements about health care by members of Congress, the White House, lobbyists and interest groups -- and rates them on their Truth-O-Meter.

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Speed-reading the health care reform bill?

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Angie Drobnic Holan - Oct. 08 (News Analysis) - With the massive health care bill about to come to the House and Senate, members of Congress are arguing about a reading assignment: How long should they have to read a bill that could be 1,000 pages long? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has promised 72 hours -- three days -- for a final bill to be available online before a vote. Centrist Democratic Senators have asked Majority leader Harry Reid for guarantees of 72 hours for bills in the Senate.

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The CBO Just Released Its New Health Care Score. Reason for Relief?

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New Republic - By Jonathan Cohn - Oct. 07 (News Analysis) - The good news, substantively and politically, is that CBO expects the measure would reduce budget deficits by $81 billion over the next decade and by even larger sums in the following decade, although it won't quantify that amount specifically because estimates are so imperfect that far out.

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