I know damned well Congress is doing absolutely nothing. How do I know that? Because no egotistical little jerk is running before the cameras every ten minutes for a bit of attention. and that's what would be happening if anything were actually happening.

Silence means nothing is happening. Period.

So let's say the White House posts a "bill", then it turns out nope there's still no Republican votes for this and the only way to pass a bill is with reconciliation. Then... what happens after that? Would we pass the Senate bill plus a "sidecar" that amends the Senate bill until it matches whatever the White House proposal says?

The whole idea of an Obama bill now seems weird. Unless it's ridiculously scaled down and is essentially a GOP bill, it has no chance of passing the Senate, and maybe not even then if liberal Dems revolt. If you want comprehensive reform, there still is only one option. Say it with me Steve: Pass. The. Damn. Bill. (and then amend it with a sidecar)

This is just more of that 11th Dimensional chess that Obama is playing and only he and his devout followers understand what is coming next...The rest of us can't be trusted to understand the intricacies involved here...better off sticking with checkers....

Do any of these guy know what the hell they are doing? Seriously. This whole thing is a mess, no one knew what Obama wanted because the were looking back to 1992? It looks like they learned the wrong lesson. Health Care last time got so big and complex trying to make everyone happy that it collapsed upon itself. It seems like this one is doing the same thing. Keeping Insurance companies, Hospital Organization and PhRMA happy is hard work and gets complex. On the other hand openning up Medicare for all would be very simple and easy to understand. Can't have that!

Steve Benen: "There have been talks about striking a compromise deal, but the discussions have gone nowhere."

Are you sure about that, Steve? If the discussions have gone "nowhere", why would Tom Harkin say, "we had an agreement, with the House, the White House and the Senate. We sent it to [the Congressional Budget Office] to get scored and then Tuesday happened and we didn’t get it back"...?

Say it with me Steve: Pass. The. Damn. Bill.

Here's what I don't get. There aren't the votes in the House to pass the Senate Bill. Since you can't pass anything without getting 51 votes in the Senate for a bill that the HOuse finds acceptable, why the insistence on passing the Senate Bill (i.e. the crappiest, weakest, and least popular incarnation).

You want a strategy? Here is a strategy. Find 51 votes in the Senate for a bill that will include a public option. Then let the GOP filibuster it for the next month. When the filibuster runs out of gas, pass a vastly improved bill.

In 20 years, nobody is going to care whether the bill passed in February or March or April.

Seems clear the WH will have to post its own bill. In addition, it needs an executive summary that lists the WH's primary requirements (such as Obama verbalized at the meeting with Repubs a couple of weeks ago and many times earlier). That way he can hold whatever they propose to that standard, specifically. So when he says it must cover x-million Americans, he can ask them point-blank whether their proposal does that, and proceed to have it scored by CBO if they claim it does. The point of the 2/25 meeting has to be to eliminate any wiggle room for the Repubs to continue their BS claims. As well, the WH bill should clearly include the major points the Repubs have been asking for that are reasonably in alignment with the WH's goals, including tort reform and sales across state lines.

PASS THE DAMN BILL

The longer Democrats hold on to this thing the happier Repubs are. The only way to get it off the table, is to pass it.

What I tell you three times is true.

The longer Democrats hold on to this thing the happier Repubs are. The only way to get it off the table, is to pass it.

The longer Democrats hold on to this thing the happier Repubs are. The only way to get it off the table, is to pass it.

Of course, the Obama administration could take H.R. 676, the Medicare for All Act, slap a new name on it, and call it a day.

Our work is done here.

They had better do something in short order. Failing to pass health care was the reason Clinton lost the Congressional majority to the thugs two years into his first term. History is about to repeat itself. Nothing succeeds like success. If the Dems beat the thugs in a couple of major votes, the tea-partiers will start looking like the losers they really are, and the Dems can hold the Senate.

What if the White House posted Wyden-Bennett? Since any bill that's not the Senate bill would have to clear the 60 vote threshold, and since Brown has vowed to join a filibuster of anything that looks like what we've been discussing for 9 months, it seems like there are only 2 ways forward on this. One, the House can pass the damn Senate bill and we can be done with it for the time being. This is starting to look unlikely given the attitude of much of the House Democratic caucus. Or two, an entirely new bill with enough Republican support to overcome a filibuster can be proposed. We know that Wyden-Bennett has both a lot of progressive support (I don't know if it has enough to pass or not, but I know it has a lot), and we know that Wyden-Bennett can get at least one Republican vote (Bennett obviously). Bennett also gives some cover to Snowe, Collins, and Brown to vote for it. Seems to me like for the White House to propose its own bill would be a big mistake if its anything like what they've been talking about, since we already have 2 bills that are like what the White House has been talking about that don't seem to have the support to pass. On the other hand there's something out there that advances portability while being more or less as effective at universal coverage and cost control as the House and Senate bills, that there's reason to believe can pick off a couple of Republicans. If the White House posts its own bill, it seems to me like it has to be Wyden-Bennett.

The rest of us can't be trusted to understand the intricacies involved here...better off sticking with checkers....

Yeah, that's about right. Except too many here don't seem to be advanced enough for checkers and prefer ramming things down throats and hitting people with clubs. Anything more advanced than that is seen as weakness.

And look, it's not that we can't be trusted to understand the intricacies of Obama's plan. It's that if Obama or anyone associated with him explains his strategy, then they just gave away the plan, which would significantly decrease it's effectiveness. But all the same, I think the main problem is that many folks here don't really care about policy. They just want to see Republicans clubbed and cheer while we ram things down their throats. It's about payback and not policy, and they're perfectly fine giving up on any future political strategies if it means we get the one item we're working on now; whatever that happens to be.

Sorry if politics is too complicated for you, but some of us understand how this works. But hey, if you think politics is simple, go for it. If you make it as far as school board member, I'll be amazed. Meanwhile, I'll put my faith in the first black president, who slaughtered his opponent in an election many here said he wouldn't survive. Or have we forgotten that already? Like it or not, Obama clearly knows more about how this works than any of us.

PASS THE DAMN BILL

Is there anyone who cares what is in the bill anymore? Seriously.

Personally, I don't care what the political fallout is for the Dems if they fail to pass a bill. All I care about is that they pass a bill that a. can be defended as good policy, b. will be popular with the public, and c. lowers my premiums.

So far, the Senate Bill is 0-3 on that score. Is it theoretically possible to salvage the Senate Bill thorough reconciliation? Possibly, but I don't see too many in the "PASS THE DAMN BILL" camp worrying about what would be in the reconciliation. As long as Congress passes something they are happy.

As distasteful as "policy-be-damned" attitudes are when they emanate from Rahm Emanuel, they are positively nauseating when they come from random Democrats who aren't being paid to shill for the insurance industry.

Except too many here don't seem to be advanced enough for checkers and prefer ramming things down throats and hitting people with clubs.

It isn't that people prefer to use clubs. Its that some of us recognize that sometimes you have no choice. And when you are faced with an opposition party that utterly refuses to negotiate in good faith, then you better be prepared to break out the clubs.

It's that if Obama or anyone associated with him explains his strategy, then they just gave away the plan, which would significantly decrease it's effectiveness.

Sort of how Rahm (inexplicably) said that the WH needs Lindsey Graham's support to close GTMO and handed him a blank check to demand whatever he wants on national security issues?

I am less than impressed with the WH's ability to play its cards close to the vest.

The White House has said it intends to "post online the text of a proposed health insurance reform package"

Note the language: health insurance reform. Not health care reform. When I first heard this shift in language a couple of months ago, "Game over," clicked into my head.

Obama and his DLC friends have squandered the huge amount of political capital with which they entered the WH along with a historic opportunity to create in the U.S. the kind of health care system that every other industrialized country manages to provide for its citizens.

"Health insurance reform," my cute antique patootie.

GEEZ, when will these people quit fucking around trying to get Republican votes for healthcare already and just jam the healthcare legislation through with all the popular segments utilizing reconciliation and have something to actually run on in November ? The American people could care less about the process, they want results. You have to show them you can govern.

I rather trust President Obama on this upcoming deal--having learned by now that
he is the brains of the operation.
Maybe Republican obstructionists are in for a surprise?

Indeed, a month ago, when reform was poised to be a historic success, Obama's specific decision on this point was seen as a shrewd and wise move.

Shrewd? Wise? I don't think those words mean what you think they mean.

If the Democrats want to have a prayer of regaining some momentum, they need to do what Steve says with this bill -- pass it simultaneously with passing an amendment that makes the changes that will improve it as a matter of policy and politically -- and then start ramming reasonably progressive bills and executive decisions through one after another -- at a pace so dizzying, Sean Hannity won't know where to start and will be racing from one more Obama "outrage" after another. The Democrats want action because they care about what is done and making this a better society. The independents want action because, well, they admire action. Nobody wants inaction resulting from trying to find an imaginary midpoint between those who want to do something positive and will listen to all interested parties and work very hard to come up with a good piece of legislation, and those who simply want to kill the legislation, period.

So all the remaining nominees on holds should be recess appointments -- every fucking last one of them. Terrorism trial in New York -- it's the right place to do it and if you don't like it you can go to hell. Aggressive credit card regulation and bank regulation. Put the Employee Free Choice Act on the agenda, and let the Republicans filibuster it and the Blue Dogs join the Republicans and pay the price with their base. I'm sure there's more. Anything you can do with 51 votes, including Biden's, do it.

Doctor BioBrain wrote, Meanwhile, I'll put my faith in the first black president, who slaughtered his opponent in an election many here said he wouldn't survive.

The problem with that logic is that electioneering tactics and strategy are not the same as governing tactics and strategy.

Doctor BioBrain wrote, Anything more advanced than that is seen as weakness.

No, as square1 pointed out, anything else is pointless.

It's been what, years now?, since Krugman pointed out that the Republicans are a "revolutionary power." You can't negotiate with them; the only thing you can use is the club.