Senate Healthcare Bill: Not Until 2011?

Here's the first media mention of any proposed health care bill in the Senate running into trouble as we head towards the 2010 mid-terms. I mentioned that yesterday. Reid is already hedging on Obama's timeline. Figuring in recesses, procedural delays, multiple unresolved issues and certain lobbies now stepping up their efforts against any bill, Oba-Pelosi Care may still meet the fate of Hillarycare in the end. If they get hamstrung, it makes sense for both parties to let this ride until after the mid-terms. Doing anything before that even in the early part of next year is playing with a loaded gun. We shouldn't give up hope, or the fight. The fat lady has not yet sung.

Without Snowe and Lieberman, Reid is at least one vote shy of the 60 he needs, and he risks losing weeks to a fruitless push for the public option. Should work spill into next year, breaks in the schedule and looming elections may open the effort up to the same types of criticism that dogged Democrats during their August recess.

“The longer any bill is hanging in the winds, the harder it is to pass,” said Sean Spicer, a former aide for the House Republican conference. “When you have a 2,000-page bill, there is always something you can find to rally opposition around.”

President Barack Obama is pushing Congress to send him legislation by the end of the year.

“Now it falls on the U.S. Senate to take this baton and bring this effort to the finish line,” Obama said yesterday.

Reid Won’t Commit

Reid last week wouldn’t commit to Obama’s timeline. He plans to recess his chamber for three days starting Nov. 11 for a Veterans Day holiday and the week of Nov. 23 for Thanksgiving.

Comments

[MarkJ]

You're overlooking another player in the way of ObamaCare: the Grim Reaper. Fun facts: five of the seven oldest serving senators are Democrats. The oldest is 92 and the "youngest" is 79. Most, if not all, of them have medical issues. Most of these senators come from states that have Republican governors or have just flipped to the GOP (e.g., New Jersey). If I were a Vegas bookie, I'd be laying better-than-even odds right now that at least three of these senators will be gone due to deaths or forced retirements by next summer. And I'd say the odds are very good all of the vacant seats will be picked up by the GOP through governor's appointments or special elections.

Obama had better pray for the continued health of Robert Byrd (D-WV, age 92), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ, turns 86 in January), et. al. because if any of them go to that big Capitol Hill in the sky in the next few months, ObamaCare is dead, dead, D.E.A.D.

[MDr]

I'm sure the GOP leaders in the Senate will bumble this like their counterparts in the House did. At best, they'll slow it down some, unless Reid goes nuclear. So, it all depends on Reid. Does he value his own scalp more than party loyalty? I've left out his principles as an option, because frankly, I've never been able to find that he has any.

Reid's in trouble back home, but not dead yet. Going nuclear would probably seal his fate. Another landmine is a Senate version of the Stupak amendment. If he doesn't add similar language to the current combined Senate bills, there is NO chance an amendment could be added on the floor. He may fool some constituents back home by voting for the amendment, but they'll be enough who'd understand what happened, that he'll be Daschled.

[mark l.]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/10/warner-obama-misplayed-health-care-debate/print/

"On Tuesday, he{mark warner] told The Washington Times' "America's Morning News" radio show the key points of the debate should be that the largest contributor to the U.S deficit is federal spending on health care, Medicare will go bankrupt in the next seven years and the average American family will spend 40 percent of its disposable income on health care insurance."

medicare going bankrupt?

it has nothing to do with the fact that obama is going to take 500 billion from it, to fund 'his' healthcare program?

2010 is going to be a cakewalk for the gop. the honest truth of the matter is that the obamacare package is taking money from the GOVT program to pay for senior retirement healthcare costs, and giving them to everyone.

this is going to go over like a lead balloon.

[WBestPresidentEver]

They need to set fire to this bill and do a new one that is simple and takes care of only what needs to be taken care of to provide health care to the ones that need it and the ones that are here legally only. We do not need a "complete overhaul ". This 2000 page bill is a bunch of Bullshit. It is a bad bill, and stupid ignorant people wrote it. SEIU, ETC. ETC.