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Will health care summit be a photo-op and excuse for ‘nuclear’ option?
Tony Ondrusek is founder and publisher of Insurance & Financial Advisor and IFAwebnews.com.
President Obama has proposed a health care “summit” on Feb. 25 that will bring together Democrats and Republicans to discuss health care reform and move the issue forward.
Many have said it is a starting point, others believe it is simply a photo-op designed to show that the president wants bi-partisanship in the debate.
In his own words announcing the summit, Mr. Obama said, “Bipartisanship cannot mean simply that Democrats give up everything that they believe in, find the handful of things that Republicans have been advocating for and we do those things, and then we have bipartisanship. That’s not how it works in any other realm of life.”
Sounds to me like this is his backhanded way of saying that the Democrats will NOT be leaving the hugely unpopular Senate- and House-approved versions of health care reform, and starting from the ground up. Sounds to me like he will be coming to the table with what the Democrats have proposed, and seeking to convince Republicans to accept what Americans have already rejected.
If Republicans don’t embrace his plans — in front of cameras, much like the president promised for two years and which was not followed for one split-second by the Democrats — will that give the president a reason to give a thumbs up to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to push for passage of the Senate version, or allow for reconciliation, also known as the “nuclear” option?
This could be President Obama’s ploy to attempt to bully Republicans to follow his health reform agenda. If they balk at his plan — on camera — will he be emboldened to go before the American people and say, “See, I told you that they don’t want to work together?”
Let’s hope that the president is genuine in his desire to work with the other side of the aisle. Let’s hope that he listens to the will of the American people (remember the Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts elections?) and drops the Democrat plans, and encourages BOTH parties to start from scratch to create a systematic, well-considered plan that will not only be popular with the American citizenry, but be in its best interest.
4 Responses
- Steve Says:
February 11th, 2010 at 12:44 pmThat is stupid, Republicans have had input to the Senate Health Care Bill. There Ammendments have been adopted and included in the Bill. Republicans just don’t want to see President Obama succeed.
Obama should use reconciliation to pass the Bill.
- Thad Says:
February 11th, 2010 at 1:44 pm“Bipartisanship cannot mean simply that Democrats give up everything that they believe in, find the handful of things that Republicans have been advocating for and we do those things, and then we have bipartisanship.”
Funny, I thought that was EXACTLY what they’d been trying to do with the anti-abortion language and removal of the watered-down public option.
Conservatives hate the healthcare bills because they cost too much, liberals hate them because they do too little, and people on both sides hate the Senate bill because it forces everyone to buy insurance.
What we’re looking at is a pair of bills that are not conservative, not liberal, and not moderate, and satisfy nobody but partisan Democrats.
- J.R. Says:
February 16th, 2010 at 11:05 amDave, You are beginning to sound like a spoiled child. You complained because there was no televsion coverage and now complain because thre will be TV coverage. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Who can win in a sitiuation like that?
- Roch Lorens Says:
February 16th, 2010 at 10:38 pmAgain, can someone remind me why this is the “change” president we’ve been waiting for?
