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August 31, 2009
ENZI GIVES UP ON GOOD-FAITH TALKS; WHITE HOUSE NOTICES.... Let no one say the White House was impatient. Republican Sen. Mike Enzi, ostensibly a member of the Finance Committee's farcical Gang of Six, kept trashing health care reform. President Obama and other Democratic leaders kept pretending Enzi was negotiating in good faith, reality notwithstanding. This weekend, however, Enzi delivered the Republicans' weekly address, and he went too far. Enzi denounced the Democratic reform proposals, using painfully dishonest rhetoric, and even lending credence to the "death panel" garbage. It was an ugly display for anyone, but that the scripted remarks came from a Gang of Six member made Enzi's diatribe particularly ridiculous. Apparently, the White House has seen and heard enough. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters today that Enzi obviously is no longer committed to the process that the senator has been involved with for months. "It appears that at least in Senator Enzi's case, he doesn't believe there's a pathway to get bipartisan support, and the president thinks that's wrong," Gibbs said. "I think Senator Enzi's clearly turned over his cards on bipartisanship and decided that it's time to walk away from the table." Gibbs added, "The president is firmly committed to working with Democrats, Republicans, independents, anybody that wants to see progress on health care reform." That group, at long last, no longer seems to include Mike Enzi. His role in the process won't be missed. The idea of including Enzi in the talks in the first place never made any sense. Krugman recently noted that negotiating with Enzi on reform is "the quest for bipartisanship gone stark raving mad." If that quest is over, and I sincerely hope it is, it's a very positive development. The less Enzi is involved in the process, the better the chances of a quality bill becoming law. —Steve Benen 4:00 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (17)Comments
You'd think they'd have enough stuff that Grassley's said that they'd have plenty of reason to publicly give up on him, too. Posted by: low-tech cyclist on August 31, 2009 at 4:02 PM | PERMALINKoh fer christ sake, enzi is just the tip of the repugnant iceberg... to continue this bipartisan charade into september is to play health care reform as the titanic... come to think of it, the obama admin has been doing a good job at that for weeks and weeks now... Posted by: neill on August 31, 2009 at 4:05 PM | PERMALINKMy question is, why the hell was this clown ever involved in negotiations anyway? I can understand Grassley, given he's the ranking Republican on the committee and I can certainly understand Snowe, but why should the White House give a damn about the opinion from a nothing Senator from freaking Wyoming? It mystifies me. Posted by: gf120581 on August 31, 2009 at 4:11 PM | PERMALINKOK. So Enzi's dropped trou. Grassley's gone stark raving mad. These efforts at giving us a watered down health bill have failed--not for lack of trying on Obama's part, we might add. Can we have a real health reform bill now please? Posted by: Chocolate Thunder on August 31, 2009 at 4:19 PM | PERMALINKSteve, don't be as naive as the White House. They'll walk back these comments, as they always do, and continue on with the death kabuki that will result in the end of any reform chance. Posted by: Go, Sestak on August 31, 2009 at 4:19 PM | PERMALINKScrew bipartisanship on health care. It is crystal clear that the Republicans have concluded they can retake the house and probably the senate if they just remain the party of NO. I say we give the American people what they want and need. If the Republicans win in 2010 let them win because the Democratic best plan has been tried and failed, not because the disloyal opposition was able to block it or water it down to nothing. Use reconciliation. Don't let the Republicans talk us out of passing the best bill possible. I would much rather die fighting like lion than whimpering like a whipped dog. Posted by: Ron Byers on August 31, 2009 at 4:24 PM | PERMALINKIt only took the White House eight months to discover what most Democrats outside Washington knew since January 20. Posted by: fry1laurie on August 31, 2009 at 4:28 PM | PERMALINKCongressional Democrats and President Obama - get er done! My party is using what it can to obstruct this needed change for our nation's citizens! Work for the people who haven't enough capital to play the Washington insiders' game! Work for American citizens who are denied health coverage when they qualify simply because their private carrier is already rationing its coverage! Work to pass legislation that will once again restore competition to the marketplace (THE primary tenet for our economic culture!) in the health industry! Work to bring needed positive change to Americans who are in a world of hurt right now! Again, WORK TO GET ER DONE! -Kevo Posted by: kevo on August 31, 2009 at 4:31 PM | PERMALINKRon Byers, you pretty much nailed it. If the Democrats stick to their guns, the electorate will either reward them or punish them. Same goes for Republicans. It's that simple. Posted by: Paranoid Floyd on August 31, 2009 at 4:40 PM | PERMALINKSomebody better tell Mike Fuckus that his little "bipartisan" charade is over. Posted by: TCinLA on August 31, 2009 at 4:57 PM | PERMALINKI swear the commenters on this blog are the only people who don't see what is going on. The WH will talk up a bipartisan Health Care Reform bill before, during and after Congress passes the Democrats only Kennedy Health Care Reform Act of 2009. The WH will probably let Grassley come to the signing ceremony and take home a pen. Posted by: tom in ma on August 31, 2009 at 5:16 PM | PERMALINKWhat is it gonna' take for Obama to finally say Fu*k you to these people. How long must we endure this bipartisan facade that only amounts in stalling and mocking the whole process. "Please sir, may I have another" Whap! If Obama can't get a bill out of committee then bypass the committee. The members obviously don't care how many more thousands have to die or go bankrupt for lack of reform. By God start deducting a thousand dollars a day from their pay for each day they delay on getting a bill out of committee and we'd have a bill tomorrow. Posted by: bjobotts on August 31, 2009 at 5:49 PM | PERMALINK"...I swear the commenters on this blog are the only people who don't see what is going on. .." -tom in ma. Don't be too sure because Rahm is only concerned about getting industry money to dem coffers rather than republican coffers and won't allow anything to upset them so much that they will just fund dem opposition only. That's why he told House Progressives to shut up and sit down and stop demanding a public option or no reform bill and yet said nothing to Blue Dogs who said if there is a publilc option then no reform bill. "Bipartisan" is the excuse they'll use to drop a public option making the reform bill just a Private ins. giveaway and enriching dem coffers for election time. Posted by: bjobotts on August 31, 2009 at 6:01 PM | PERMALINK
Really? Care to provide a link? If money for Democratic coffers was really the issue then why didn't Obama & the WH staff just do like they did the issue of FISA, etc, i.e., make nice noises about reform during the campaign and then quietly do nothing or grab what they could for themselves when actually in office? Seriously, they could have simply "forgotten" about HCR and gotten those industry contributions far, far more easily then bring the issue up and draw all this attention and heat this summer. So why didn't they do that? The inability of too many progressives to see the obvious truth is beyond me. I guess it's the usual knee-jerk cynicism that is operating. But these people who see co option and hypocrisy in the actions of the people they were bellowing paeans about just a few months ago astonishes me. Just another example of the liberal circular firing squad in action. And I'm sure the reason why the Democrats lose big in 2010 will be a complete mystery to them as well. Posted by: Dr. Morpheus on August 31, 2009 at 6:57 PM | PERMALINK"The president is firmly committed to working with Democrats, Republicans, independents, anybody that wants to see progress on health care reform. Oh please oh please oh please let this mean he's about to drop the hammer on the GOP. Posted by: JW on August 31, 2009 at 7:04 PM | PERMALINKLow-tech and everyone are right: Grassley has to be the next one called out. Posted by: Cal Gal on August 31, 2009 at 9:05 PM | PERMALINKDR Morpheus Glenn makes the case. All the links you need- http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/08/19/obama/index.html Highlight-Glenn responds to a Matt Yglesias peice I'm really surprised that there's anyone, especially Matt, who actually believes this -- that the Obama White House is merely an impotent, passive observer of what the Democrats in Congress do and can't be expected to do anything to secure votes for approval of the health care bill it favors. As the leader of his party, the President commands a vast infrastructure on which incumbent members of Congress rely for re-election. His popularity among Democrats vests him numerous options to punish non-compliant Democrats. And Rahm Emanuel built his career on controlling the machinations within Congress. The very idea that Obama, Emanuel and company are just sitting back, helplessly watching as Max Baucus, Kent Conrad and the Blue Dogs (Rahm's creation) destroy their health care legislation, is absurd on its face. Kabuki mostly Posted by: SnarkyShark on September 1, 2009 at 4:38 AM | PERMALINKPost a comment
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