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You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Max Baucus Thinks That Unnecessary Republican Votes Are More Important Than Fixing Health Care

Max Baucus Thinks That Unnecessary Republican Votes Are More Important Than Fixing Health Care

by Tim F|  July 9, 200911:10 am| 44 Comments

This post is in: Domestic Politics, Politics, Democratic Stupidity

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Everyone in Washington understands that health care reform is by far the most important piece of legislation that Democrats will pass this year. They also understand that their party will be judged on the quality of what they pass. Max Baucus undoubtedly knows that Republicans desperately need the bill to fail. If they can’t kill it entirely, literally the only positive development for Republicans if they can cripple it to the point that its half-assed implementation makes Democrats look incompetent buffoons. So how do you explain this?

Roll Call reports today that Baucus “continued working with Republicans on a bipartisan health care bill Wednesday, despite an urgent warning from Senate Democratic leaders that the potential cost of wooing GOP votes could have a devastating effect on Democratic support for the measure.”

Apparently, as Baucus sees it, the opinions of his leadership and the White House are nice, but if he make the bill just bad enough to get a handful of Republicans to support it, Democrats will accept it, concluding that it’s better than nothing. As the article explained, “Baucus’ calculation, Democratic sources said, is that Democratic leaders and President Barack Obama would be hard-pressed to ignore any measure that attracts bipartisan support if the Finance chairman is actually able to get it done.”

Don’t get me wrong. Baucus is not a complete idiot. Almost no one in DC rakes in more insurer cash, so he certainly has naked self-interest as well as this bizarre fetish for process over policy goals.

Whatever the problem is with Max Baucus, he is Harry Reid’s problem. If reforming health care matters more than one Senator’s process fetish then Reid needs to put everything on the table. Make Baucus decide whether compromise with a bad-faith partner matters more than his committee seniority. If that is too drastic, pick any of the dozens of plums that the Senate offers a senior legislator like Baucus. This is Reid’s test. Talk isn’t working. If Reid fails, I cannot see how he has much credibility left as Majority Leader.

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44Comments

  1. 1.

    Keith

    July 9, 2009 at 11:13 am

    Harry Reid’s victimization schtick was only effective as a minority leader. Now that they are in the majority, they need someone with a different mindset. Saying “Oh, my, oh, my if only we had X more votes we could defeat those mean Republicans” only works to a point, and that point got crossed ages ago.

  2. 2.

    Screamin' Demon

    July 9, 2009 at 11:19 am

    The Johnson treatment: It’s my way or the highway.

    The Reid treatment: Can’t we all just get along?

    Somewhere in hell, LBJ shakes his head in disgust.

  3. 3.

    SGEW

    July 9, 2009 at 11:19 am

    I cannot see how he has much credibility left as Majority Leader.

    We keep on using this word “credibility.” What do we mean? With whom? Who believes anything anyone says?

    The “credibility gap” has never been closed.

  4. 4.

    Ted the Slacker

    July 9, 2009 at 11:32 am

    OT, apologies, but Hoestroika alert.

    Jim DeMint: “we’re about where Germany was before World War II where they became a social democracy.”

  5. 5.

    Brien Jackson

    July 9, 2009 at 11:34 am

    This fucking drives me crazy. Not that Reid is teh awesome or anything, but the simple reality of the Senate is that the chairs of the major committees, especially the Finance Committee, are just more powerful in an institutional capacity than the Majority Leader. That’s a direct reaction to the Johnson leadership, it’s the way Senators like it, and it’s the entire reason people like Harry Reid wind up Senate Majority Leader. I mean, look how many people were swearing up and down that Democrats should have made Hillary Majority Leader, and how quickly she made it known she wanted no parts of it. Because it’s a crap job that people vastly overestimate by imagining the Leader is more or less equivalent to the Speaker of the House.

  6. 6.

    BDeevDad

    July 9, 2009 at 11:35 am

    And this is why I wanted Hillary to stay in the Senate and become majority leader. She worked well with the Reps but would know when to tell them to get lost.

    BTW, an ad for SarahPAC, really?

  7. 7.

    geg6

    July 9, 2009 at 11:37 am

    Fuck Baucus. Man, I’ve been reading about this asshole throughout the whole health care reform battle and he is nothing but a tool who wants nothing more than to suck off insurance companies and Republicans. And expecting the invertebrate Harry Reid to grow a pair and hammer him is a loser’s game. Fuck. I hate these people.

  8. 8.

    maye

    July 9, 2009 at 11:39 am

    big feature story in today’s L.A. Times re the Baucus-Grassley love fest:

    http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-baucus-grassley9-2009jul09,0,5713295.story

  9. 9.

    BDeevDad

    July 9, 2009 at 11:40 am

    @Ted the Slacker: Wow a twofer. Godwin and Hoekstroika in one statement.

  10. 10.

    Brien Jackson

    July 9, 2009 at 11:42 am

    @BDeevDad:

    ^ See?

  11. 11.

    Zifnab

    July 9, 2009 at 11:44 am

    BTW, an ad for SarahPAC, really?

    Sarah Palin is paying John Cole money to keep his servers up. Consider it a win for us.

    This fucking drives me crazy. Not that Reid is teh awesome or anything, but the simple reality of the Senate is that the chairs of the major committees, especially the Finance Committee, are just more powerful in an institutional capacity than the Majority Leader.

    I don’t think anyone is cutting Baucus any slack on this either. But you see a lot of willful neglect in the Senate. It’s not Reid’s fault, he’s just not strong enough. It’s not Baucus’s fault, he has to cater to his Republican colleagues. All the other Senators are helpless to intervene. We have to compromise away the bones of the bill or we’ll never get any half-assed watered down legislation passed. Ho-hum.

    At some point, someone has to light a fire under these slugs. And it’s not going to happen within the Senate.

    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/7/8/751349/-Lincoln-Coming-Around-on-Public-Plan

    Lincoln has been one of the targets of Blue America PAC’s ad campaign attempting to get Lincoln to reconsider her opposition to a public plan. It seems to be working, though as Greg points out, she left a little wiggle room there–“or a non-profit plan that can accomplish the same goals” as a public plan.

    It seems like the onus rests on the general public to get these guys moving. I wouldn’t mind seeing a few ads run in Montana, asking residents to speak to their Senator about his foot dragging. I can’t imagine a cheaper media market than Montana. :-p

  12. 12.

    sstarr

    July 9, 2009 at 11:45 am

    So, in Washington State many people are facing a 17% rise in premiums. Gotta love that non-socialized medicine. Go free market!

  13. 13.

    The Saff

    July 9, 2009 at 11:45 am

    I honestly don’t get a good vibe about health care reform (especially the public option), and posts like this one are the reason why (not you, specifically, Tim F; I mean the stories coming out of Washington). I am beyond frustrated at Baucus and other Democrats waffling about the public option or waxing philosophical about needing to get Republicans on board.

    I sometimes don’t even want to pay attention to what’s going on because it makes me angry but then I realize that ignorance isn’t an option because this issue is too important.

  14. 14.

    Tim F.

    July 9, 2009 at 11:46 am

    @BDeevDad: The ad provider pays for the space and we run whatever they give us. If Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter and Pat Toomey want to waste their ad money here it’s fine by us.

    Still, all things considered I wouldn’t mind having the PETA steak ad back. Nothing put me in the mood for lunch like that ad.

  15. 15.

    Zifnab

    July 9, 2009 at 11:49 am

    @maye: Oh gag me. That’s the most nauseating reporting I’ve read in weeks. At least we know one more J-School grad that finished his degree on his knees. Yik.

  16. 16.

    Johnny B. Guud

    July 9, 2009 at 11:50 am

    If Reid fails, I cannot see how he has much credibility left as Majority Leader.

    The funny thing is that, in the politically weakened state that Reid is in, not to mention his complete ineptitude at being a “leader” for the Democrats, is that the GOP is equally inept. I mean, they have no candidate to speak of to challenge Reid in Nevada, and I believe the one candidate they initially had was indicted.

    You can’t make this stuff up.

  17. 17.

    linda

    July 9, 2009 at 11:52 am

    and, if you haven’t read this wapo story, i highly recommend it. and note the accompanying chart of former staffers and who they’re working for/advising now. esp baucus and grassley:

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2009/07/06/GR2009070600763.html?sid=ST2009070502858

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/05/AR2009070502770.html

  18. 18.

    BDeevDad

    July 9, 2009 at 11:55 am

    @Tim F.: I was more curious about what your advertisers were thinking, not John et al. Second thought was, I’ll click that.

  19. 19.

    Persia

    July 9, 2009 at 11:57 am

    @Tim F.: I miss the steak ad too. I’d trade it in for a heartbeat for that creepy Christian Mail Order bride ad.

  20. 20.

    BombIranForChrist

    July 9, 2009 at 12:05 pm

    I don’t know much about political history, but is Reid a particularly weak Senate leader? He seems to be. I know the Senate is a big group of childish egos, as easy to manage as a pit of vipers, but still, he really seems to be almost a figurehead. Can he get anything done? Do Senators even respect him?

  21. 21.

    Charity

    July 9, 2009 at 12:07 pm

    So if we click the SarahPAC ad, Balloon Juice makes money?

    I don’t actually have to DONATE, I can just click, point and laugh, is that right?

  22. 22.

    chrismealy

    July 9, 2009 at 12:07 pm

    If we got a new majority leader who would it be? Who’s the 31st most liberal Senator?

  23. 23.

    kay

    July 9, 2009 at 12:07 pm

    @BDeevDad:

    I wanted HRC to stay in the Senate too, for the same reasons. I would love to have her on talk shows, taking on nitwit Republicans. It might be fun for her. An “I told you so” moment, because she was right about health care in 1993, and conservatives were dead wrong. It’s gotten so bad. I bet even she never dreamed how bad it would get.

    Incredibly, she stubbornly refuses to take orders from me.

  24. 24.

    Adrienne

    July 9, 2009 at 12:14 pm

    @Zifnab:

    It seems like the onus rests on the general public to get these guys moving

    Au contraire mi amour. This switch didn’t happen because of pressure. Sen. Lincoln is one half of the Walmart twins from Arkansas. She became open to the idea of the public option at the same time that Walmart pulled their switcharoo and got behind reform. She’s just following her master.

  25. 25.

    Jay in Oregon

    July 9, 2009 at 12:17 pm

    @Ted the Slacker:

    To borrow a turn of phrase from Atrios:

    I’m old enough to remember when DFHs were called unpatriotic, America-hating traitors when making such comparisons during the Bush Administration.

  26. 26.

    Adrienne

    July 9, 2009 at 12:22 pm

    . It’s not Baucus’s fault, he has to cater to his Republican colleagues

    Bullshit. We can pass this without one fucking Republican. Fuck every single one of them with a rusty screwdriver. We might need to heavy handedly twist some arms to do it but there is NO fucking reason why there should be even a whiff of a threat that a Democrat would vote to sustain a filibuster – NONE. Don’t like the bill? Vote against it. But don’t join the Republicans in obstructing your party’s most important legislative agenda by supporting a filibuster.

    It’s unforgivable and needs to be presented in just that matter. Support a filibuster on healthcare and see the national party publicly support your primary challenger. As much as I hate to say it, this is where we need to take a cue from Republicans and crack some heads.

  27. 27.

    Xenos

    July 9, 2009 at 12:56 pm

    If I did not know better I would say this was all an excellent feint – keeping the moderate Republicans and the lobbyists working on Baucus as if he were some sort of magic bullet. Meanwhile a functioning bill is put together and it passes out of committee, gets cloture, and gets passed with Baucus voting against it.

    This would require some real deftness and principle, so I guess that rules it out as a possibility.

  28. 28.

    Demo Woman

    July 9, 2009 at 1:11 pm

    Last night I had a dream that Sen. Kennedy died. My first thought was how unfortunate it was that he died before health care reform was passed. If Baucus has his way, we’ll all be dead before health care reform is passed.

  29. 29.

    John Harrold

    July 9, 2009 at 1:31 pm

    Is anyone really surprised? Pandering to special interests is how the political process works in the US. It didn’t magically go away when the Democrats took control of everything. We’ve seen it with the prescription drug program, DOD appropriations, and TARP. We’re seeing it with the climate change bill and we’re going to see a lot more of it with any health care legislation that eventually passes.

    Ignoring this aspect of our political system is at best going to leave some people feeling disappointed. More realistically, it’s just going to result in a program that’s expensive, inefficient, and very difficult to change.

  30. 30.

    BDeevDad

    July 9, 2009 at 1:36 pm

    Has anyone read Total Cure: The Antidote to the Health Care Crisis It was just recommended to me and I was hoping someone here had heard of it.

  31. 31.

    LorenzoStDuBois

    July 9, 2009 at 1:42 pm

    I mean… there’s no mystery, right?

    Baucus can’t say: “I have to make this a crap bill because I suck off insurance companies.”

    Baucus can say: “I have to make this a crap bill because I want to be bipartisan.”

    That’s the long and short of it, right? Am I missing something?

  32. 32.

    Betsy

    July 9, 2009 at 1:59 pm

    @Ted the Slacker:
    Last night, historians the world over wondered why for a moment they felt like they were being stabbed in the eye.

  33. 33.

    Schnooten

    July 9, 2009 at 2:19 pm

    Harry Reid has credibility left as a majority leader?

  34. 34.

    Comrade Stuck

    July 9, 2009 at 2:21 pm

    If Reid fails, I cannot see how he has much credibility left as Majority Leader.

    If Reid fails, democrats fail and presnit Obama fails. Right now they are noodling around between doing what’s right and angering the insurance and greater health care industry, like they always do before making a decision that could piss off big campaign contributors. More often than not, unfortunately, they give in to fears of running short of cash next election. But this time, my gut tells me, for what it’s worth, that when the witching hour comes, the fear of pissing off the country and the left base will win out. They may end up making some compromises, like with Med liability lawsuits, and around the edges of a public option. But a decent PO will get passed. It won’t be done with 60 votes because Nelson and Carper and maybe one or two others in big insurance states won’t vote for cloture. It will need to be done with 51 votes. They will be shaking in their boots at having to do it partisan wise, but will do it. I hope. If not, liberals will abandon them, at least for the time being, and there will be threads about Obama needing to keep his poll numbers up to 40 or 45 % approval, al a Bush.

  35. 35.

    gbear

    July 9, 2009 at 2:41 pm

    Don’t like the bill? Vote against it. But don’t join the Republicans in obstructing your party’s most important legislative agenda by supporting a filibuster.

    This is the issue in a nutshell. Bachus can vote against the bill if he doesn’t want to support it, and another 8 blue-dogs can join him if they can’t get behind the bill. It only takes 51 votes to pass the thing.

    The most important issue is that you don’t vote to obstruct the process against your own party. You don’t join the freaking other side when the only thing they want is for you and your president to fail. The senators working for the bi-partisan solution are either not seeing the forest for the trees or else just using it as a smokescreen for their indentured status to the insurance industry.

  36. 36.

    Bob In Pacifica

    July 9, 2009 at 2:55 pm

    Is this a continuation of the “proper dog grooming” piece below?

  37. 37.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    July 9, 2009 at 3:11 pm

    @Bob In Pacifica: Yes. And we have a Bauchus overseeing the grooming of this steaming pile of shit they want to call health care reform.

    As an aside I have contacted both of my Senators (Sununu and Shaheen) and gotten responses on the public option part of health care reform. Sununu was no surprise, but Shaheen evaded my question when I specifically asked if she supports the public option. The evasive answer really pissed me off. I am continuing to press the issue with her office.

  38. 38.

    Bill H

    July 9, 2009 at 4:33 pm

    Everyone in Washington understands that health care reform is by far the most important piece of legislation that Democrats will pass this year.

    Well, insofar as extending health insurance to those who presently don’t have health insurance can be considered “health care reform,” sure. That will not make a lot of difference to the millions who go bankrupt and are thrown out of their homes due to a health crisis despite having health insurance, of course. It won’t make a lot of difference to people who have insurance but can’t go to the doctor because they don’t have the money to pay the $500 deductible, so they never get to the point where the insurance will pay a doctor bill.

    Extending health insurance to people who don’t have it is a good idea, so let’s do that if it’s the best we can do, but let’s not be hypocritical and call it “health care reform,” because it’s not.

  39. 39.

    zhak

    July 9, 2009 at 4:53 pm

    What you have here is a bunch of ineffectual people (the US Senate) secure in the knowledge that they’re the best & grandest & most important group of one hundred people evah.

    They are bad lawmakers.

    But their egos tell them otherwise.

    And, you know, they already have excellent healthcare. So — screw the little people.

  40. 40.

    bob h

    July 9, 2009 at 5:27 pm

    What nobody seems to realize is that the Republicans are no longer a factor worthy of the respect given them. They have been abandoned by the American people. They are dust.

  41. 41.

    jacksmith

    July 9, 2009 at 5:54 pm

    AMERICA’S NATIONAL HEALTHCARE EMERGENCY!

    It’s official. America and the World are now in a GLOBAL PANDEMIC. A World EPIDEMIC with potential catastrophic consequences for ALL of the American people. The first PANDEMIC in 41 years. And WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES will have to face this PANDEMIC with the 37th worst quality of healthcare in the developed World.

    STAND READY AMERICA TO SEIZE CONTROL OF YOUR NATIONAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM.

    We spend over twice as much of our GDP on healthcare as any other country in the World. And Individual American spend about ten times as much out of pocket on healthcare as any other people in the World. All because of GREED! And the PRIVATE FOR PROFIT healthcare system in America.

    And while all this is going on, some members of congress seem mostly concern about how to protect the corporate PROFITS! of our GREED DRIVEN, PRIVATE FOR PROFIT NATIONAL DISGRACE. A PRIVATE FOR PROFIT DISGRACE that is in fact, totally valueless to the public health. And a detriment to national security, public safety, and the public health.

    Progressive democrats the Tri-Caucus and others should stand firm in their demand for a robust public option for all Americans, with all of the minimum requirements progressive democrats demanded. If congress can not pass a robust public option with at least 51 votes and all robust minimum requirements, congress should immediately move to scrap healthcare reform and request that President Obama declare a state of NATIONAL HEALTHCARE EMERGENCY! Seizing and replacing all PRIVATE FOR PROFIT health insurance plans with the immediate implementation of National Healthcare for all Americans under the provisions of HR676 (A Single-payer National Healthcare Plan For All).

    Coverage can begin immediately through our current medicare system. With immediate expansion through recruitment of displaced workers from the canceled private sector insurance industry. Funding can also begin immediately by substitution of payroll deductions for private insurance plans with payroll deductions for the national healthcare plan. This is what the vast majority of the American people want. And this is what all objective experts unanimously agree would be the best, and most cost effective for the American people and our economy.

    In Mexico on average people who received medical care for A-H1N1 (Swine Flu) with in 3 days survived. People who did not receive medical care until 7 days or more died. This has been the same results in the US. But 50 million Americans don’t even have any healthcare coverage. And at least 200 million of you with insurance could not get in to see your private insurance plans doctors in 2 or 3 days, even if your life depended on it. WHICH IT DOES!

    If President Obama has to declare a NATIONAL STATE OF EMERGENCY to rescue the American people from our healthcare crisis, he will need all the sustained support you can give him. STICK WITH HIM! He’s doing a brilliant job.

    THIS IS THE BIG ONE!

    THE BATTLE OF GOOD Vs EVIL!

    Join the fight.

    Contact congress and your representatives NOW! AND SPREAD THE WORD!

    God Bless You

    Jacksmith – WORKING CLASS

  42. 42.

    steve s

    July 9, 2009 at 8:30 pm

    A simple rule would fix things. If Harry Reid grew a pair, he’d then announce, “We support our members’ rights to vote their consciences. If they really oppose a bill, let them vote against it. But we won’t permit Democrats to obstruct the voting process itself. So if you vote against cloture on a bill we like, we’ll take your committee assignments away and give them to a Democrat who will advance our agenda.”

  43. 43.

    pattonbt

    July 9, 2009 at 9:37 pm

    I never believed game changing health care reform would get passed. And I wont hold Obama responsible, because I never thought he could do it.

    But I do believe one of the most important first steps has taken place – Walmart saying go for it. Once business doesnt want to have to pay for health care, a la Walmart, they will tell their underlings in the Senate to make it so and it will get done.

    Sure, the insurance companies will hold sway and make sure they get some suck off the teat safety net out of the deal, but they cant stand up to the likes of the Walmart’s when the chorus grows.

    But, unfortunately, we just arent ready yet. The senators in place have neither the ideological belief, the necessary will or the fear or reprisal (loss of money or election) to make them move forward in an honest and citizen friendly fashion. The R’s just arent legislatures and truthfully are only concerned with gamesmanship, pissing off libs and sucking up dollars and the D’s just arent the kind of D’s who think this is a priority enough to make them move on it.

    So I expect we probably wont see decent reform for at least another decade if not two. A lot of dead wood needs to be cleared out of the senate and a lot of other Walmart like companies have to start clamoring (and paying their bidders) for change.

Comments are closed.

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  1. Harry Reid’s Final Test « Voting While Intoxicated says:
    July 10, 2009 at 5:18 pm

    […] Harry Reid’s chance to prove he is not completely useless as a leader is now. Successful health reform is vital to both the country and the Democrats’ political future. […]

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