Yet Another Obama Health Care Bill?

My highy honed senses smell mud in the water - per Fox News, Obama is going to introduce yet another health reform bill, incorporating Republican ideas from the health summit:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday President Obama will soon propose a health care bill that will be "much smaller" than the House bill but "big enough" to put the country on a "path" toward health care reform.

A senior administration official told Fox Obama's proposal will be introduced Wednesday.

"In a matter of days, we will have a proposal," Pelosi said, pointing to Obama's forthcoming bill. "It will be a much smaller proposal than we had in the House bill, because that's where we can gain consensus. But it will be big enough to put us on a path of affordable, quality health care for all Americans that holds insurance companies accountable."

Melody Barnes, a top Obama domestic policy adviser, did not dispute Pelosi's characterization of the new plan as smaller in scope - and quite possibly in cost - than either the House or Senate health care bills.

"It's going to be matter of drawing on these different ideas and coming up with the right proposal," Barnes said in an exclusive interview with Fox. "That's what my colleagues are working on. That's what they're talking with Congress about. We'll see what it looks like when the proposal is sent forward."

Asked how White House staff is putting the new proposal together, Barnes said they are "borrowing" from conversations at Thursday's health care summit.

"We're going to be borrowing from those conversations...to come up with a bill that we hope can receive bipartisan support," Barnes said.

When asked if White House staff, as Press Secretary Robert Gibbs indicated Friday, would work on GOP ideas for health reform over the weekend, Barnes identified two: tort reform and allowing insurers to sell policies across state lines.

This could be a variation of the non-existent Plan B, but what is the point?  Are the House and Senate supposed to start committee work and mark up a new bill?  What happened to jobs, jobs, jobs?

Or is this just a dodge by the White House so that some one else can deliver the news that it is the current Senate bill modified (if possible) by reconciliation or bust?

Let me tap my inner paranoia for a moment - maybe Congress will pretend  to kick a new bill around for a while.  Eventually, when the current clamor has died down and the spotlight has moved elsewhere, they can decide a new bill is hopeless and what they really need to do is pass the Senate bill with reconciliation modifications.  Remember, until the current Congress expires next January the Senate bill is alive.

Now, that "hey, look over there" plan is probably a loser, but it allows Pelosi et al to defer the day when they have to introduce their hard core to reality.  And who knows what the morrow will bring?

IN AN UPDATE:  In an UPDATE Major Garret tells us that this is not a retreat - the new bill will be smaller yet comprehensive, like a Brooklyn Decker bikini.  Can't wait to see it.

Comments

[Omar Watts]

"what they really need to do is pass the Senate bill with reconciliation modifications."

Well the Senate bill is open until the end of this Congressional session, but any reconciliation needs to happen by the end of the budget process which is sometime in April. Of course they could just then shift to some sort of nuke option.

This new smaller bill will just be a few crumbs to the GOP but still an add on to current Senate bill. The GOP will still balk. The Dems say the GOP will pass nothing and then claim reconciliation is their only option. The then pass Senate bill and some sort of reconciliation bill then lose in November. We are then stuck with a huge new entitlement program forever.

[Kevin B]

"And who knows what the morrow will bring the horse may sing?"

[Andrew_M_Garland]

"Do The Right Thing" Bill
Motto: A new law does not have to be long and complicated to be effective
- - - - - -

Future News:

Congress has debated the "Do The Right Thing" bill for a week, and it is expected to pass today. Senate approval should follow in short order.

A leading Congressman spoke anonymously to avoid "electoral difficulties":

"None of us has read any of the bills this year before voting for them. Or, for that matter, after voting for them. Even the sponsors don't know the contents; this is left to the staff and lobbyists.

We certainly are ashamed. It is clear to all of us that we cannot go on this way. The average bill is now 1,500 pages, and the details of government have gotten out of hand."

'Do The Right Thing' will give us open, consistent, dynamic government. It grants President Michele Obama (now in her 3rd successful term in office) all principles and powers to consider all matters and then "Do the right thing". The Congress retains the important function of advising on the President's actions should she desire this.

The Congress is now free to do what it does best, arrange for hospital admissions and allocate liquor licenses.

[Neo]

Two words ... "shell game"

The White House hopes to confuse the hell out of everybody.

[Clarice]

Maybe. Maybe they are hoping to save something by getting a small, reasonable incremental bill passed.And yet the session ends in April along with the viability of the Senate bill.

Buffett's telling them to do this; surely all the pros are saying this.

Just mabe reality has forced it's ugly head into the West Wing.

[Danube of Thought]

My guess would be that it's got a public option and lost of other measures that federalize health insurance, but that with some ineffectual tort reform window-dressing and interstate sales, they're hoping to get Collins and Snowe. And maybe Voinovich.

[Clarice]

You are a cynic,DoT.

Look, Obama (a0 wants to get something he can out his name on;(b) he has to get off healthcare fast as it's killing him and his party (c) if he did hat you suggest he'd only drag this out further.
I hope you are wrong.

[Tom Maguire]

Two words ... "shell game"

The White House hopes to confuse the hell out of everybody.

I think they want to confuse the shell out of everyone.

Good point by Omar about April being a key month for reconciliation.

I suppose Hary could parade around Obama's new new bill for a few weeks, then announce that obstructionist Republicans have no one to blame but themselves.

And after the big Rep wins this November, does Congress repeal healthcare only to have Obama veto the repeal?

Or do Senate Dems filibuster the repeal measure? Or do Senate Reps repeal via reconciliation?

Gosh, do I not want to find out.

[Danube of Thought]

As I said on another thread, I can't reconcile what's been said by the WH and Pelosi with anything other than a new bill.

[matt]

this whole thing has been completely mismanaged from the outset and the stink of incompetence is clinging to Obama, Pelosi, and Reid like a $20 Olongapo hooker's perfume.

I have to believe the majority of the Democratic caucus is completely befuddled at this point and will bet most of them haven't read more than executive summaries of any of the garbage in each iteration.

If this was a Harvard Business School case study it would be titled "Confederacy of Dunces".

[Janet]

I don't know what's going on with these health care bills anymore. I'm reduced to writing my Senators...
Senator Webb and Warner,
For the love of God, just leave us alone!
Sincerely,
Janet

[Clarice]

(Pardon the do over but this is an extreme case of cat on my right arm_
*Look, Obama (a) wants to get something he can put his name on;(b) he has to get off healthcare fast as it's killing him and his party (c) if he did hat you suggest he'd only drag this out further.
I hope you are wrong.***

[Danube of Thought]

I do too, C.

Thanks, Matt. I hadn't had occasion to consider Olongapo hookers in many years.

[Clarice]

(And two errors in the do over..Pardon me while I go and shoot myself)

I agree with you DoT --this new thing has to be a new bill.

And the latest iteration is not that we'll actually see it on Wednesday--only that Obama will TALK about it then--oh, cool, drag this out until Maguire begs for mercy...

[Extraneus]

It's easy to underestimate these dunces, I'll say that, but they've obviously been scheming over this for months. Surely this is a devious move, and can't be as dumb as it appears.

[MarkO]

Olongapo hookers? Damn. There's so much I've missed.

[MikeS]

The President has said that he supports free markets, he want more competition in health care, and he wants a comprehensive bill.

Republicans ought to compromise with the President by grouping interstate competition, personal tax deduction for health insurance purchases, tort reform, tax CUTS for medical devices, expanded HSAs, and some subsidies to increase the numbers of medical professionals into a comprehensive bill.

[Hooch McCord]

"And after the big Rep wins this November, does Congress repeal healthcare only to have Obama veto the repeal?

Or do Senate Dems filibuster the repeal measure? Or do Senate Reps repeal via reconciliation?"

If the GOP is lucky enough to win majorities in both houses in November, I hope one possibility is the GOP excludes any funds from Obamacare from the next budget. Then Obama can veto it and shut down government.

Since the "benefits" don't kick in until after 2012 elections, I'd be willing to settle for the GOP winning majorities and the Presidency in 2012 and repealing the whole thing (by bypassing the filibuster if needed just as the Dems would do to get it in place). I agree that once a program is in place it is harder to eliminate, but by 2012, Obamacare still really isn't in place...except for taxes.

[Rick Ballard]

"Surely this is a devious move, and can't be as dumb as it appears."

Consider Cadillac's tenure in Mass. Consider Altgeld Gardens. Consider the outcome of CAC. Consider the fierce struggle raging between Christine Romer and Christine Romer regarding the efficacy of Stim I. Consider the performance of the Harvard Endowment due to investment decisions made by the other half(wit) of the President economic advisory team, Larry Summers. Consider Turbo Timmy at Treasury.

Name one adviser to the President or cabinet secretary who has been other than a wholly political scumbag dwarf timeserver cretin being during their time on earth.

It may be a fantastically clever political plan. The President may also actually have a unicorn in the basement of the WH next to his rainbow generator.

[MarkJ]

Q: What's the difference between a Democratic congressman and an Olongapao hooker.

A. Actually there are three differences:

1. You'll at least get kissed as you're being screwed.

2. The hooker provides an actual service in return for your money.

3. The hooker can't raise your taxes if she's not satisfied with how much you paid her.

[MikeS]

I think people are predisposed to the idea that Obamacare would be a boondoggle.

I'd like to see a sneak preview of a political add asking voters if their Representative is still trying to convince them that HCR will reduce the deficit or reduce heath care premiums.

[daddy]

Did somebody mention Olongapo Hookers?

FWIW,

One story (the best I know) of the origin of the name Olongapo (the town outside the old Navy Base in Subic Bay, Philippines) is as follows:

"According to popular legend, there once was a group of warring tribes who lived in the area in and around what is now the modern city. A wise old man, seeing the perils of disunity, exerted great effort toward uniting the warring tribes. There were, however, some who bitterly opposed his idea, and one day the old man just disappeared.

After a long search, the old man's body was found, but with the head missing. It is said that the tribesmen launched search parties to locate the severed head of the man. (To the Sambal, decapitation was the only permissible form of assassination.) These efforts proved to be futile, and the search was eventually called off. A boy, however, vowed to himself that he would not stop searching until he found the elder’s head. He searched for weeks, but found nothing. Then, one day, he chanced upon what appeared to be the old man’s head, resting on top of a bamboo pole. The boy ran back to his people crying, “Olo nin apo! Olo nin apo!” (“head of the elder” in Sambal; translates as “ulo ng apo” http://olongapo-subic.com/olongapo_city_subic_bay_zambales_museum_legend.htm in Tagalog), running hysterically from village to village.

The phrase stuck, and that, according to legend, is how the area got its name, Olongapo. To this day, the old man’s head acts as a symbol of the unity of the people of what is now a modern city."

The etymology of the word "Hooker" will take me a bit longer tonight, and probably even involve an Obama quantity of alcoholic beverage consumption to get it right. Doctor?

[Rick Ballard]

It may be that Obapeloreid are using the threat of a "simplified" bill to force the House to pass the Senate bill in order for reconciliation to proceed. I wouldn't bet on a positive outcome for that maneuver either.

[MikeS]

I'm no expert on Pacific Island fragrances, but I'm pretty sure that's not perfume.

[daddy]

And I just want all you guys to know that on my last walk down Magsaysay, just before we bailed out about a year back, Jolo's was dead, The Mariposa had long since burned to the ground, Muff Divers was boarded up, P-3 Alley was dead as a door nail, The Apple-dead, New York- dead, The Country Western joint-dead, and just about every thing else as well, except for Kong's Restaurant and The Corkroom number 3, both of which were on life support.

But Clark (AngelesCity) was booming!

"Aim High Olongapo" was the latest City Slogan.

[Clarice]

Hooker's origin is actually right here in D.C. daddy.

[narciso]

Actually the Asuang, the Phillipine vampire legend, that Lansdale exploited in his campaign against the Huk, is the pertinent
metaphor here. daddy if that is true about
those fine establishment,(sarc) then truly Abu Sayyaf has won

[Rob Crawford]

The etymology of the word "Hooker" will take me a bit longer tonight, and probably even involve an Obama quantity of alcoholic beverage consumption to get it right. Doctor?

American Civil War, Union general by the name of Hooker, famous for his large number of camp followers. I can't recall if he was a customer, if he just didn't discourage them as sternly as some wanted, or if it was just slander.

Some claim that same war gave us "sideburns" by way of General Burnsides.

[JM Hanes]

Well, shoot. This discussion has been jumping pages all day.

DoT, I posted a response to your comment on reconciliation vs. conferencing at what I suppose is the ostensible end of the Turnabout thread.

Maybe it's time to give up chasing my own tail on this topic.

[Clarice]

I'm chasing your tail , too, jmh. metaphorically, I mean. I now have absolutely NO IDEA what the Dems have in mind, and I doubt they do either.

[narciso]

They care nothing about law, precedent, propriety, as Andy Stern has put it, they
care little about' the power of persuasion than with the persuasion of power' so much like the Unthinkable that Herman Kahn once
pondered (ie; nuclear war) one considers how it comes about, and you've put forth a plausible scenario, JM

[Clarice]

Fox has now updated the ditsy Nancy smaller bill announcement and suggesting that Wed he's coming in with the Senate bill plus something about tort reform and interstate insurance sales.

More Carp..

Utterly nonsensical.

[Danube of Thought]

Daddy, I take it as a given that Pauline's has long since been shut down. I always loved the sign announcing that customers had to check their guns at the door.

[BobDenver]

If the Democrats do have a master plan at the moment it appears quite effectively disguised. At this point there's only one thing this group of Underpants Gnomes knows for sure: "Phase 3 is profit!"

[Blue]

I vaguely recall an ad outside Tan Son Nhut calling attention to the 'Jet Stream Car Wash' -'Air Starts Our Specialty'. Not completely lost in translation.

[Daddy]

I don't know if I'm proud of or ashamed of the clientele at this thread, but I'm happy to be a part of it:)

That being said, may I throw out a goofy bit of family history that may interest as it wanders around and sort of approaches General Burnside, who was mentioned up above. Parts of this I'll simply post from a letter I wrote back home to my startled Mom a few years back.

As preface, my 102 year old Granny from Old Virginia, Lottie Moon, died about 1990.

"What an unusual life 102 year old Lottie Moon must have had, what with her father being born in probably 1822, and being too old to fight for the Confederacy, but being able to have many of his sons, her elder stepbrothers, fighting in the conflict. I know she also was fond of telling that story of her stepsister's playing "Dixie" on the piano when the Yankee's invaded the property, and of how her relatives were successfully able to hide the wounded Confederate soldier under the pile of potatoes in the cellar as the enemy cased the joint. I don't know if her yellowed, cherished antique letter from the Confederate soldier was actually from that particular wounded Rebel, or from some other that they had cared for during the "recent unpleasantries", but certainly she was proud of it and that family history. Then of course with her Momma being the side-saddle post mistress mailman of the Fluvana Virgina community, since all the boys were dead or fighting in the war, and then somehow winding up marrying her elder widowed 'cousin' who somehow sired Lottie Moon at the ripe old age of 66, well, don't that just about beat all?"

Now Lottie Moon being an unusual name, we were always told as kids that she was named for some famous Methodist Missionary to China in the late 1800's. Which we bought.

But then a few years back my 5th grade daughter was doing a report on famous Civil War Women, and while googling she unexpectedly came upon, "Lottie Moon- Confederate Spy!" Duh, duh duh!!!

"This second Lottie Moon, daughter of a doctor who later moved the family to Ohio, was also born in pre-civil war Virginia, and by all accounts, was seriously into liking Army men. "She was engaged to be married 26 times of which she actually left 3 men waiting at the alter. One of the unfortunates was Union General Ambrose Burnside..."
Another account is as follows:
"The South's most clever and notorious Spy, Lottie Moon of Oxford, by various tricks and ruses, was able to move back and forth across Union and Confederate lines with ease. At one time she traveled with President Lincoln's party itself, and General McClellan gave her a pass. Playing the part of a highly nervous, arthritic English invalid, Lottie Moon was pampered by the Lincoln inspection party as they traveled along the front lines. Military surgeons verified the invalid's story after an examination. Lottie's joints cracked as they were tested, the doctors not realizing Lottie had the ability to make the cracking sound by throwing her jaw out of place." (Can you say, Walter Reed Army Hospital?, but I digress)
"With her pass, Lottie carried the news of the conspirators and Copperheads to Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy at Richmond. Using different disguises she moved freely back and forth across enemy lines.
Even when caught as a spy, she managed a parole through General Ambrose Burnside, a Northern General, who years before had courted Lottie at her Oxford home. Even though humiliated by her at the Church altar, when Lottie walked out leaving the red-faced General without a bride, Burnside was never able to end his infatuation with the beautiful madcap. The next suitor whom Lottie married, took no chances. He carried a small gun with him into the Church, whispering to Lottie as they went up the aisle, "There will be a wedding here tonight or a funeral tomorrow."
Lottie's sister, Virginia (Ginnie) also did courier duty for the south, using every trick in the book. Just before one search, she snatched a dispatch from her bosom, dipped it into a pitcher of water and swallowed it in three gulps. After the war Lottie became a European correspondent (journalist), a prominent lecturer, and a popular novelist...Restless Ginnie moved around the county and eventually ended up in Hollywood where she had bit parts in two movies, "The Spanish Dancer" and "Robin Hood" in the 1920's. From there she headed east to New York and held court in Greenwich Village until her death at 81."
Other such interesting and outlandish details of this Lottie Moon, including her Momma and her sister being caught smuggling Opium, Morphine and weapons on riverboats to Memphis, are easily sourced on the internet, simply under a search for Lottie Moon Confederate Spy. Apparently Lottie then tried to get General Burnside's pants off him in order to get her sis and Mum out of the clink, but though Burnside seems not to have taken advantage of her, he did let her go. Wonder what Custer would have done? Or U.S. Grant for that matter, especially with a jug of 40 rod in hand? Sadly I guess we'll never know. But at least my wife and kid's will know, after hearing the unvarnished truth, that though this family is full of journalists and mail deliverers and couriers and gals gone wild 'bout boys in military uniforms, that there is no possible way that our slave owning septuagenarian Confederate farmer, nor his teenage 50 year younger sidesaddle mailman wife, nor his Rebel veteran sons, nor his potato piling, piano playing Dixie chickster daughters, would ever dream about naming young Lala after the Confederacy's most famous and notorious Civil War spy; it had to be the insane Methodist Missionary to China that was her namesake---even though they themselves were Souther Baptistsd. Yep, that's the story I'm sticking too."

Well, JOMer's enough of that. It was so much fun learning about Lottie the Spy, and it was so long ago, we wound up preferring it was her as the namesake, rather than the Missionary, especially as the other branch of the family is the Salem witches.

Than k you for your indulgence. Hope you didn't mind this nutty OT digression away from Phillipino Hooker's, but oh well.

[Phil Osi]

While browsing the net, I noticed lots of people don't want that health care reform to be passed. What's actually the advantage of that health care? If people could benefit, why not go for it? this is just my opinion though.

[Extraneus]

Nobody commented on daddy's Lottie Moon post? Well I enjoyed it first thing this morning, daddy. Keep those nutty digressions coming any time.

[sbw]

I enjoyed it, too, Daddy. Thanks!

[srp]

Why doesn't Obama just say "You know, I never liked that mandate idea in the first place, let's just subsidize pre-existing condition people directly. We'll pay for it by blah, blah [taxing the air you exhale--CO2 neutral!--ed]]." I bet he'd get a lot farther with that and still be able to advance the cause of collectivism. Fortunately, he's too clever by half and keeps insisting on some intricate scheme.

[The Health Dude]

"Health is wealth" is known to all and everyone wants good health. That means no one wants to leave this wealth. So, Let us build a food habit discipline, keep pace with work, rest and or exercise to Achieve good health, The ultimate wealth.