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The Sideshow

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Other Politics
Posted on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 09:52:22 AM EST
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The Congressional Budget Office (PDF) has preliminarily scored the Republican health care alternative proposal. Not surprisingly, the GOP plan is a joke. But it is also a sideshow. There is apparently only one Republican who might vote for health care reform. Her name is Olympia Snowe. What I would like to see is her plan submitted to the CBO for scoring.

Because the only plan competing with the current proposal might come from Snowe/Ben Nelson/Joe Lieberman and the gang. John Boehner is irrelevant. Democratic leadership, starting with President Obama, decided to make Olympia Snowe relevant. Let the CBO score her plan, whatever it might be. Then let's compare that to the current proposals. The Boehner Plan is a sideshow.

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    The Sideshow | 25 comments (25 topical)

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    But their plan is only 300 pages, while Pelosi's (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by steviez314 on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 10:12:37 AM EST
    is 2000 pages, so their plan must be better.

    Well, that's how they keep score in Stupidville.

    So a better plan (none / 0) (#4)
    by Wile ECoyote on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 10:45:47 AM EST
    would be 10,000 pages long.  How about 100,000 pages?  Speaking of stupidville.

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    Ah yes (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by Steve M on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 11:12:06 AM EST
    Pointing out that a shorter plan isn't automatically better is the EXACT SAME THING as arguing that a longer plan must be better.  Such mental prowess on display here.

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    You Steves stick together (none / 0) (#14)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 11:25:39 AM EST


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    Interchangeable really. (5.00 / 1) (#15)
    by oculus on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 11:26:38 AM EST


    Parent
    That's true (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by Steve M on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 01:42:13 PM EST
    and as a different Steve would say, FTFY.

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    Let's see, first acronym in search: (none / 0) (#22)
    by oculus on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 01:49:44 PM EST
    "fixed that for you."  But the Steve-related one disses the sacred Yankees.

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    Sacred my *** (none / 0) (#23)
    by Steve M on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 01:57:25 PM EST
    Best Steve tribute ever: LINK

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    I should have put "sacred" in quotes. (none / 0) (#24)
    by oculus on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 01:59:44 PM EST
    That was for BTD.

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    I didn't point out any length (none / 0) (#17)
    by Wile ECoyote on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 11:29:15 AM EST
    of plan was better.  A democrat 200 page bill be just as bad as a 2000 page bill.

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    "Democratic" when used as an adjective (none / 0) (#25)
    by sallywally on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 04:41:14 PM EST
    as you did use it. Just a little editorial grammmatical comment.

    Parent
    Outside of the health care debate (none / 0) (#2)
    by magster on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 10:19:41 AM EST
    I would like to see the DNC and others agressively run national ads about how much of a joke the Republicans are now to set the tone for the 2010 elections.  This health care proposal would be a good topic.

    First: Define yourself. (5.00 / 4) (#3)
    by Fabian on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 10:24:06 AM EST
    then you can define your opponent.

    Attacking the GOP on their dead in the water health plan isn't terribly useful unless you can point to your bright shiny new health care plan in contrast.

    People prefer to vote FOR something.  

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    I don't know (none / 0) (#5)
    by magster on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 10:48:04 AM EST
    the Republicans haven't done anything to define themselves other than anti-Obama and have their masses all fired up.  

    Nothing like a Sarah Palin wink and a "you lie" outburst with a 'do you want your leaders to be these a**h*les?' ominous commercial to get me motivated.

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    If the Republicans every actually get it (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by tigercourse on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 11:13:14 AM EST
    together enough to start hammering "jobs, jobs, jobs!" they'll actually have something to run with.

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    That is actually something that needs to (none / 0) (#8)
    by Inspector Gadget on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 11:00:26 AM EST
    be stopped cold, and NOT expanded any further than it already has been. The negative finger pointing is generally exaggerated or outright fabrications and is almost always something that hasn't got a drop of substance. Hillary LIED about landing under fire and we can prove it...yadda, yadda, yadda. Let's crush people with petty accusations.

    Focus on the R's in your district. Best governor the state of washington had in my lifetime was an R. Even my diehard D parents voted for him and were disappointed when he decided not to run again.


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    Were the Democrats any better at (none / 0) (#12)
    by Inspector Gadget on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 11:22:19 AM EST
    defining themselves as more than anti-Bush/Cheney over the previous 8 years? I thought the Democratic party shattered itself in front of our eyes last year.

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    It worked yesterday (none / 0) (#13)
    by jbindc on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 11:25:10 AM EST
    Especially among Independents - you know, the swing votes that can decide elections in close races?

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    If the DNC is going to spend money (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by Inspector Gadget on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 10:51:30 AM EST
    on ads, they need to sell whatever this ambitious agenda is that Obama has for the people. We need to know why we should give him more than two years of this cushy majority where he could be rapidly pushing through great policy and repair plans for what got broken and stop this obsession with bipartisanship. If the people benefit, and love what the D's are doing, the R's are going to have to get on board if they don't want to disappear.

    The DNC needs to talk to the people, but not negatively about others. They need to tell us what it is they are working on, why it is to our benefit that we pay them great big salaries to focus on these particular projects, and why we should think any D is better than an R. Information ads. Drop the d@mn spin, and tell the whole truth!

    I can't determine anything from words that have absolutely no action to back them up.

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    According to AP, today Pres. is holding (5.00 / 2) (#7)
    by oculus on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 11:00:16 AM EST
    largest evah mtg. with Native American leaders.  One item on the agenda:  improve federal government-provided health care.

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    :) A few years ago I spent time working (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by Inspector Gadget on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 11:19:20 AM EST
    for the gov't at the Yavapai Nation (Ft McDowell, AZ). Could not have enjoyed the people more. The tribe gave thousands of dollars a month to every adult tribal member (profit distribution from the casino). They spent it at Walmart while their schools and medical facilities were sorely neglected.

    Every single tribe is different, though. If Pres is speaking to the leaders, he needs to offer them assistance in how to make their nation's run more efficiently. Even those I worked with would tell me they wished they could get money management advice, educational guidance, and counseling on various topics.

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    My former spouse worked part time (none / 0) (#16)
    by oculus on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 11:28:36 AM EST
    years ago for an Indian medical clinic in our urban area.  Not a state-of-the art place.  Federal money through BIA I think.  But prior to casinos.  

    Parent
    The 2008 campaign was about setting (5.00 / 2) (#18)
    by Anne on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 12:06:03 PM EST
    an agenda; the 2010 campaign is going to be about results, and that's probably the number one reason Obama says he wants a health care bill before the end of the year.

    It is because it is going to be about results that the Dems did not dare consider passing a bill and implementing it beginning in 2010 - too much of a risk that it would not be all it was advertised to be, and why give the GOP actual ammunition when we could just keep this as theoretical as possible - and make sure the theory is as glowing as possible?

    I know there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that Republicans are going to get me the liberal - okay, "progressive" - agenda I want, but after ten months, it's not looking like the Dems are going to do it, either.  Oh, they're going to be able to check off some legislation from the laundry list of "things we promised to do," but the content of the legislation is going to be less than satisfactory, which is going to further demoralize a base that is losing hope that the change they wanted is ever going to come.

    And we all know that a demoralized base stays home on election day.

    The DNC is going to find it hard to raise money - I haven't given money to a national Democratic organization in over a year, and I have no intention of starting now.  It's not enough anymore to terrorize people with the threat of Republican rule when a Democratic party that has control of the WH and the Congress continues to fail on issue after issue.  It's clearly not a matter of, "if we had more money, we would be able to..." and I'm just tired of the BS.

    Honestly, if people cannot see how whacked out the Republican Party is, God help them.  But even if there is a nuclear internecine war between the Michelle Bachmann wing of the party and the Olympia Snowe wing that leaves the Dems in perfect position to retain and increase their power, someone's going to have to tell me what good it will do when the guy in the WH is still more interested in reaching out to the oh-so-reasonable "other side" than he is in advancing the agenda and causes of the so-called base.


    Parent

    Well if Snowe (none / 0) (#19)
    by lilburro on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 12:10:21 PM EST
    wishes to propose a trigger amendment, it will be scored by the CBO no?  Isn't it just a matter of time?

    Score it now (5.00 / 2) (#20)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 12:20:56 PM EST


    Parent
    The Sideshow | 25 comments (25 topical)

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