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   Dan Savage, the brilliant and foul-mouthed sex columnist, has become one of the most important ethicists in America. Are we screwed?
 The federal government is supposed to issue new rules about debt levels for students in for-profit colleges. In the meantime, the states are working on their own regulations.
 There arent nearly enough counterterrorism experts to instruct all of Americas police. So we got these guys instead.
 Last year there wasn�t a single fatal airline accident in the developed world. So why is the U.S. health care system still accidently killing hundreds of thousands? The answer is a lack of transparency.
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October 6, 2009
MAYBE JINDAL BACKS THE DEMS' PLAN, TOO.... Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) had an op-ed on health care policy yesterday, making the conservative case for reform. We talked a bit yesterday about the ways in which Jindal, who declared the end of the debate on reform, is confused about public opinion. But let's take a closer look at the substance here. Jindal presented a 10-point agenda, which he argued would "increase the affordability and quality of health care," and would "offer a path forward toward significant bipartisan reform." Timothy Stoltzfus Jost scrutinized several of the specific ideas in Jindal's 10-point plan, and found them familiar.
Maybe we should include the Louisiana governor on the (growing) list of Republican who support Democratic health care reform plans? Ezra Klein took a closer look at Jindal's proposal and reached the same conclusion as Jost: "It's a bit hard to 'lead' on health-care reform when your brand-new proposals are about to be passed by the other party.... At the beginning of his op-ed, Jindal laments that 'a majority of so-called Republican strategists believe that health care is a Democratic issue.' But the rest of his op-ed simply proves that they're right." Keep a couple of relevant angles in mind here. First, Jindal is one of a small number of prominent Republican leaders who at least seems to take health care policy seriously -- before seeking elected office, he spent nearly all of his career working on the issue -- and considers himself a genuine "wonk." When presenting specific ideas he thinks the GOP can get behind, Jindal ended up pointing to measures Democrats already support. And second, this only helps reinforce the fact that Dems have embraced ideas that Republicans used to support, before they decided undermining the White House was their top priority. Democrats, in other words, have already presented an approach that should enjoy bipartisan support. Jindal's piece doesn't present an alternative, so much as it reinforces the value of the Dems' pitch. —Steve Benen 1:30 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (16)
Comments
What, read a 1,000 page document? As many Republicans said this summer at the town hall shoutfest I attended, the reform bill is "just words." These people are willfully ignorant. What more can you do for them? Posted by: pj in jesusland on October 6, 2009 at 1:35 PM | PERMALINKHaven't Repubs been screaming about electronic medical records for months, and how it will allow ACORN to invade our privacy or something? Posted by: Speed on October 6, 2009 at 1:38 PM | PERMALINKLOL -- so why doesn't President Obama publicly announce, by gosh, this Jindal guy is brilliant! When the Congress enacts his proposals in our legislation, I'm going to have him at the signing ceremony! Take yes for an answer, already.
. First, Jindal is one of a small number of prominent Republican leaders who at least seems to take health care policy seriously -- before seeking elected office, he spent nearly all of his career working on the issue -- and considers himself a genuine "wonk." I consider myself to be a genuine rocket scientist. But that doesn't mean I really am one. No matter what Piyush Jindal considers himself to be, his public statements, including this op-ed, show him to be a poser at best. Posted by: Lifelong Dem on October 6, 2009 at 1:39 PM | PERMALINKlies for the stoopids -- just jindal and the WaPo doin' thar jobs... Posted by: neill on October 6, 2009 at 1:40 PM | PERMALINKSo Jindal is a Democratic Health Reform supporter, go figure! However, I will point out a couple of factual errors. The exchanges are not 'purchasing pools'. That would be what a co-op is. Also, allowing young adults on their parents health plan is already being done, at least in Illinois. Anyone up to the age of 26 can be designated a dependent on their parent's health plan as long as they don't have access to another plan (through their own job, for instance). Let's get that Senate bill moving so we can have a reform bill by year-end already!! Posted by: Gridlock on October 6, 2009 at 1:51 PM | PERMALINKAla Stephen Colbert, Obama should say to Jindal: Didn't jindal refuse stimulus money before he changed his mind and took credit for the good the money was doing? Seems like he is setting himself up to take credit for the inevitable health care bill that will be passed once baucus and his boys quit their grandstanding. Posted by: CDW on October 6, 2009 at 2:37 PM | PERMALINKSeems like he is setting himself up to take credit for the inevitable health care bill that will be passed once baucus and his boys quit their grandstanding. He is, and it's in Obama's and the Dems' interest to graciously let him do it, and it incidentally won't help Jindal get anywhere he wants to go in the GOP. He's running in the general and skipping the primaries. Posted by: shortstop on October 6, 2009 at 3:14 PM | PERMALINKI too think Obama should thank Jindal for agreeing with "90%" of his plan and make the most out of the "bipartisan" agreement he has been able to obtain from current and retired Republicans alike. I actually don't agree with all of these ideas, think single payer would be better, etc., but I don't know whether to feel discouraged or just contemptuous of people who, like Jindal, are actually afraid to agree with a proposal that you just know he would love if only the "right" person were president. Posted by: Barbara on October 6, 2009 at 3:37 PM | PERMALINKyep. Slap 'em all on the back, say thanks a bunch ya bunch of yahoos fo your support. Now on to climate change. It seems that if health care reform passes, the R's might regret having thought strategy a bit. There wass a sort of a nixon goes to china thing here: Who else but demos can get a bill through that even purports to reduce the rate of growth in Medicare spending? That, + tort reform, would have been two things the R's wanted; The D's get universal coverage... Oh. Wait. That requires a brain, foresight, and concern for the nation over petty party advancement and cheap political point scoring.... silly me. Now, why should the D's care what the R's think? They are awol, so f,,, em. Bobby Jindal certainly is a genuine something that starts with a "w" and ends three letters later with a "k", but it's not "wonk", and the Brits would recognize it immediately. There isn't really any way to tell what a politician genuinely believes, because he or she knows it is irrelevant. What matters is what the audience believes, and how closely you can mirror it, because you won't really be expected to follow through on what you "believe" anyway. Getting up on a soapbox and blathering is what Bobby Jindal does, it's what they all do, some more successfully than others. Don't mistake any of the blather for a reflection of his core beliefs. Mr. Jindal is simply holding a figurative finger to the wind. Posted by: Mark on October 6, 2009 at 8:02 PM | PERMALINKmark - wanker is 6 letters long and ends in an 'r'. i don't know what other word you might mean, but am curious. Posted by: inkadu on October 6, 2009 at 9:31 PM | PERMALINKI wonder what part of Jindal's plan includes exorcisms? Posted by: thrashbluegrass on October 7, 2009 at 2:59 AM | PERMALINKThere is as much liberalism as there is conservatism in Jindal's self-proclaimed "conservative" plan. Posted by: Scott A. Robinson on October 7, 2009 at 1:25 PM | PERMALINKThere is another analysis of Jindal's plan here: http://politicalderby.com/2009/10/07/jindals-10-point-healthcare-plan/ Posted by: Bob on October 7, 2009 at 1:27 PM | PERMALINKPost a comment
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