Blue Mass Group

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UPDATE: Statement from Neal’s office

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From Neal's press secretary:

As you may have seen, Speaker Pelosi just held a press conference in Washington where she told reporters that she did not have enough votes in the House at this time to pass the Senate health care bill. The Speaker's comments follow President Obama's interview with ABC News last night where he asked Congressional Democrats to review all their options regarding health care reform legislation. Those discussions are taking place now.

Congressman Neal voted for comprehensive health care reform twice last year. First, as a member of the Ways and Means Committee, one of three committees that has jurisdiction over health care reform in the House of Representatives. And second, when the House passed landmark health care legislation in November to expand coverage to millions of Americans.

He continues to be a strong supporter of legislation that makes health care more affordable, accessible and accountable for every American.

 OK, so this is not "It's dead, Jim." And perhaps a good reason not to panic about the panic.

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From TPM:

I live in Northampton, MA. I just spoke to a legislative aide in the office of Richard Neal, my representative, and asked how he would vote if the only alternatives were the Senate bill or no health care legislation. She told me he would vote against the Senate bill, because of concerns it would reduce payments to Massachusetts hospitals. I asked in disbelief if that was sufficient reason to leave 30 million people uninsured, and she said "Well, hopefully it won't come to that."

You have got to be kidding me. Neal's numbers are (202) 225-5601 (DC), (508) 634-8198 (Milford), and (413) 785-0325 (Springfield).

Mr. Neal doesn't seem to get it … but we should be encouraged that Barney Frank seemed to respond to similar outrage.

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Comments

  1. I intend to call my Congressman Mr Neal and remind him that virtually every town in his district voted for Scott Brown and that means they DO NOT WANT THIS HEALTHCARE BILL PASSED. You can see the map I referenced on my diary from the Globe today.

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    p>Thanks for the contact information. I will forward them to my Republican friends and the Brown campaign email list.

  4. You know who I feel some sympathy for? The members of the Democratic caucus from Republican districts who fell in line on two tough votes — cap and trade and health care — only to see both initiatives go nowhere because nobody else, either from the left wing to the right wing of the caucus, is willing to take the tough votes when it matters. Now they’ve cast two probably fatal votes for nothing.

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    p>I’d be pissed at Pelosi, the Democratic leadership, and these recalcitrant members if I was one of these members. So much for providing cover for your fellow Democrats.

    • Agree entirely.  Though I don’t blame Pelosi.  She may be the one person in DC I respect right now.  

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      p>Imagine how some Democrat who voted for HCR from a tough district must feel right now about douchebags like Nadler and Grijalva who come from super-safe districts but won’t vote for the bill because it’s not pure enough.  

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      p>No, they want to keep this fucking conversation going through NEXT summer.  They want to put everything on hold until they can get a reconciliation bill through FIVE standing committees and then through the full Senate!  

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      p>Every day this dominates the news, this poor bastard bleeds political capital — both from disaffected independents and from disaffected liberals.  

  5. What is in the Senate bill, as it stands, that will result in positive change?  And please don’t say coverage for children with pre-existing conditions . . . what about their parents?  Does it eliminate the s-CHIP program or not?  As for Brown voters doing so because they were voting against “health care reform” – well, yes, but if Obama were pushing environmental reform or anything else – that is what they would vote against.  In fact, according to a Research 2000 Poll conducted immediately after the polls closed Tuesday night, of the only swing voters who count – the 18% who voted for Obama in Nov. 2008 and then voted for Brown in the special election – 82% want the private health care insurance markets to include a public option, similar to Medicare.

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    p>Is this about passing something, anything quickly for political expediency, or is it about passing something that works?  Explain it to me.

    • 30 million people would have health insurance.  Is that positive?

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      p>And on the “political expediency” argument… how about not imperiling the rest of the Democratic agenda?  

  7. I’m not sure how Americans with health care unable to afford rent or food (with a middle-class tax hike thrown in) is a more “progressive” policy than Americans with food and rent unable to afford health care.

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    p>But at least it will give Obama something to wave around at his next big speech.

  8. I prefer no health care bill to the Senate bill. The Senate bill is a corporate giveaway with no real reform. Insurance companies will still deny coverage for preexisting conditions, they will just relabel it as fraud. What else is supposedly in the Senate bill that anybody is supposed to like?

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    p>The Senate has the votes to provide a public option through reconciliation. They never had 60 votes to produce health care reform. The difference is that now they will acknowledge that fact. The remaining question is whether they are willing to do what they can.

  9. Isn’t this just an example of negotiating? If you want to get something, you have to be prepared to withhold your vote. Whatever Neal is trying to get, he’s not going to get it by saying “I’ll vote for whatever you want, regardless of what I want”.  

  10. I have called and emailed Congressman Neal’s office. I have requested others to contact their congressperson also. So far 6 said they would. Thank you Becky, Jen, Tom, Bob, Susan and Judy.  Below is an email I am sending to grassroots leaders that I know:

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    p>

    Our party is committing political suicide over healthcare legislation.  We need an intervention!

    May I suggest now is the time for grassroots leaders like yourself to call their congressperson and more importantly to get others to do so.  Do you remember 1994.  It will happen again if our party, specifically the House Democrats, do not show some backbone.  

    The house can pass the Senate bill and then tweak it later using reconciliation.  That is the only viable solution.  There is talk about breaking the bill up and passing it is parts.  That is not a viable solution for several reasons.   (I will not bore your with them now).  Brown’s win will not be the last nail in the coffin of Healthcare Legislation.  The last nail is being driven home by the Democrats.  By our very own party!

    Please do not standby and let that happen.  I have been a party activist all my adult life.  I have read about politics all my adult life.  I am respectively telling you that any other political organizing over the next week or so is a waste of time and akin to rearranging the chairs on the Titanic.

    Call your congressperson.  Get others to call their congressperson.  Now is the time to use your influence.  Tell them they must PASS THE SENATE BILL FIRST THEN FIX IT LATER.  

    Thank you.

    Michael

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    p>  

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