Just picked this up over at Talking Points Memo – saying my main man Mike is wary of voting yes for the Senate bill because he’s afraid it can’t get fixed. Gives some sound reasons but still I think he has to keep the eye on the prize.
I guess he emailed supporters saying this:
House Members will now likely be asked to vote on the Senate bill without changes, making it available to the President for his signature.
Congress will then vote on amendments to that legislation through a process known as reconciliation. At this writing, it is not at all clear what legislative changes will be made to the final bill. Reconciliation is a complicated and dangerous process. In this instance, it requires the House to adopt the Senate bill and then trust that the Senate will pass, and the President will sign the reconciled bill that “fixes” any problems in the existing Senate bill. There is great risk in this course of action.
Maybe this is a negotiating tactic. Caps is tight with Pelosi and I can’t see him letting her down come game time. But to be sure, it probably is time to get on the phones to his office.
They have come this far and have to get it done. If it requires the House taking a leap of faith that the Senate does what needs doing on reconciliation then its a leap worth taking.
If he’s wary about the Senate bill, he’s got good reason. He’s no dummy. He has been committed to healthcare reform all along. I know I don’t know every piece in that bill. Who knows…maybe the Senate bill isn’t necessarily a good thing for Massachusetts.
that there are concerns with a huge loss of medicaid dollars for Massachusetts if this bill isn’t done right – I also beleive that is one area where Capuano has concerns with the bill…..Also I am sure his relationship with Speaker Pelosi will play into his final decision.
…that the Senate bill isn’t good enough to vote for. B/c Lynch is such a lover/champion of the progressive house bill… Yah.
While I’m of the ‘get-r-done’ mindset on most things, the perfect should never be the enemy of good, there’s so much going on here beyond the ‘get it done’ slogan.
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p>For starters, the Senate bill is crappy. Really, really crappy. Cornhusker kickback intact, crappy. There’s no way on earth that should be the law of the land.
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p>So the Senate says it’ll pass a reconciliation bill to fix the worst of the worst… if only the House does it first. Why on EARTH should the House believe them, when Obama could almost immediately sign the bill into law and be done with it?
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p>The Senate should have to pass the reconciliation bill first, under careful collaboration with the House. If the House passes the bill and a reconciliation sidecar, the chances that the Senate will keep its part of the bargain range somewhere between zilch and “HAHAHAHAHA they fell for it” (heard inside Rahm’s office, no doubt).
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p>Furthermore, there’s no reason on Earth why the House should pass the bill and reconciliation bill if the Senate doesn’t at least put up a majority vote through reconciliation on the public option. 41 or more Senators have already signed on the letter, with more senators saying they support it than in that 41. That should be a mandatory part of the deal… if we aren’t going to get a public option, then I want a vote on it so I at least know just who the lying liars are that need to be primaried ASAP.
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p>The members of the House understand the different rules of the Senate. It’s far easier for the House to get this done.
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p>Yeah, it sucks when you’re the giver in a relationship and the other body is the taker. But, know what? They’re married. They’re stuck with it. You do the best you can for everyone, even if it means you gotta give more right now. And hey, don’t like it? Don’t run again in the fall. Until then, do the best you can, even if it means you feel a bit taken advantage of.
In the Globe today Cap singles out the Medicare reimbursement issue for his potential NO vote…
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p>I agree with him on this… good negotiation tactic Cap!
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p>Still wouldn’t want him to be a Senator. Vote Quimby!
And the House won’t have a co-equal relationship with the Senate until it punches the Senate in the nose.
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p>Want to make a bet whether there’s a fair vote on a public option in the senate (and if Capuano gets the Massachusetts funding restored) by threatening to let this bill die? There sure as hell won’t be if the House (and Capuano, for Massachusetts) doesn’t play Hardball.
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p>In politics, if you give in without a peep and go along to get along, you get nothing. If you whine, kick, scream and say, “hell no, we won’t go” suddenly you get shit. That’s the way it is and the way it’s always been. The Senate will cave in, our state’s funding will be restored and there will be a vote on the public option, if the House sticks to their guns.
The letter from Capuano is posted on TPM.
I urge anyone who wants to comment about this post, to read it first.
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p>P.S. I think it’s very important for the Senate to feel as much pressure as possible from the House, until the final vote passes. Being wary, expressing concern, etc., are exactly what Capuano and all other House progressives should be doing right now.
“It”, the Senate bill, isn’t worth passage.
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p>Pass the reconciliation sidecar first, then the Senate bill. And no, I don’t trust the Senate.