Health care: Harry Reid grows a pair, tells Baucus to STFU, Obama gets the message

(Rollcall)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday ordered Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) to drop a proposal to tax health benefits and stop chasing Republican votes on a massive health care reform bill.

Reid, whose leadership is considered crucial if President Barack Obama is to deliver on his promise of enacting health care reform this year, offered the directive to Baucus through an intermediary after consulting with Senate Democratic leaders during Tuesday morning’s regularly scheduled leadership meeting. Baucus was meeting with Finance ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) Tuesday afternoon to relay the information.

It's about time that progressives stepped up and stopped the nonsense that some democrats are trying to get away with on health care. When 76% of the country wants health care with a public option, and a supermajority exists in the Senate, then it's time to throw out bipartisanship. Especially when bipartisanship is only going to lead to a watered-down bill that puts more money in the hands of insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

On the White House end, Rahm Emanual signaled that there was some support for inserting a "trigger". This means that there would only be a public option if the insurance/pharma coalition of the greedy didn't meet targets.

On Monday, Mr. Emanuel said the trigger mechanism would also accomplish the White House's goals. Under this scenario, a public plan would kick in under certain circumstances when competition was judged to be lacking. Exactly what circumstances would trigger the option would have to be worked out.

This is a horrible idea. Pushing a [public option 10 years down the road dooms this health care initiative. This is literally a once-in-several-lifetimes opportunity. Ten years from now there will not be the will, either institutionally or publicly, to get this done.

The White House was warned yesterday to stop playing around.

(Washington Monthly)
Progressive Caucus Co-Chairwoman Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) warned Emanuel that he would lose the caucus' votes if the White House compromised on the issue and included a "trigger" that could delay a public insurance plan indefinitely. The trigger idea is backed by conservative Democrats but is anathema to liberals.

"We have compromised enough, and we are not going to compromise on any kind of trigger game," Woolsey said she told Emanuel. "People clapped all over the place. We mean it, and not just progressives."

House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said he was reassured by Emanuel. "He doesn't stand by that trigger," Waxman said. "He said the president and his administration and he are for a public plan as one of the options."

So then....

Politico reports that the President appeared to walk back Emanual's message, saying...

"I am pleased by the progress we're making on health care reform and still believe, as I've said before, that one of the best ways to bring down costs, provide more choices, and assure quality is a public option that will force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest. I look forward to a final product that achieves these very important goals."

It appears that the pressure that the President has been decrying is actually working.

It's a shame when Democrats have to be hounded and pressured into doing Democratic things.