Grassley Admits That GOP Leadership Is Urging Him To Block Public Option
Grassley Admits That GOP Leadership Is Urging Him To Block Public Option
In an article over the weekend, the National Journal highlighted congressional Republicans’ strategy to defeat efforts to reform health care. With Democrats having such a large majority in the House, the article noted that “Senate Republicans know they may be the last chance to stop the legislation this fall.” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, has taken the lead role in negotiating the bill for the GOP. But at the same time, Grassley said Senate Republican leadership is encouraging him not to negotiate:
Grassley contended that Republicans should be delighted that he’s on the job. …[He] said that Republican leaders asked him to block any Democratic moves to ration health services or implement a public option, although he tentatively supports a public cooperative that is not government-run. “So, the two things that Republicans are most concerned about — the public option and rationing — ain’t going to be in it,” he concluded.
Indeed, Grassley seems to be taking his marching orders without hesitation. During a television interview in June, he argued that in order for a health care reform bill to be bipartisan, “we need to make sure that there’s no public option.”
But also in the article, a top aide to former GOP House Speaker Dennis Hastert reiterated the Party’s motives for blocking reform:
If the Democrats don’t get health care, and the jobless rate is above 10 percent, it could be a big election for Republicans next year,” predicted consultant John Feehery, who was a top aide to then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.
Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) concurred with this sentiment in interviews last month. “We can stall” health care reform, Inhofe boasted in another interview, adding, “And that’s going to be a huge gain for those of us who want to turn this thing over in the 2010 election.”
While the GOP is focused on its political strategy for 2010, the American public is focusing on passing health care reform. Numerous polls conducted recently confirm that the public option in any reform bill has majority support.
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The market system IS a rationing system.
What dumb asses.
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:49 amshaking my head >>> WOW these people just do not care enough for the avg. american. the ones from the other america or as i like to say the United States of America.
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:53 amDear Senator Grassley and others:
Please revisit Economics 101. Market economics is, itself, a system of rationing. And many people in America today are left out of their health care rations.
Here is some homework for you:
The Price System: Rationing and Allocating Resources
Chapter 4: The Price System, Demand and Supply, and Elasticity
I wish there were some Dems with the stones to call this BS. Alas, there are not.
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:53 amLast week’s news indicated that Reid has given Baucus a deadline for early September and that there are Dems who are amenable to doing health care by reconciliation. If that is true then the Republicans gain no advantage since reconciliation will lock them and some of the Blue Dogs out of the whole process. I should think reconciliation is the gun to the head of Grassley and the Republicans. It would be helpful if the Dems have a reconciliation bill ready for September. The bill most likely will not be as narrow as the Baucus bill. But the Dems need to take a head count to make sure there are enough votes to pass by reconciliation.
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:56 amGrassley sounds about as morally bankrupt as Orly Taitz with her forge birth certificate.
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:57 amThe fact that Grassley ( and others) can ADMIT that their opposition to reform that 72% of the public is demanding ( and NEEDS) is based purely in inter-party bullying and NOT based on the actual merits or otherwise of the reform being proposed should be a national scandal.
He and the others like him are breaking their oath of office and are unfit. Period!
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:57 amHey Republican voters, these are the big-business whores you voted for and kept in power. Happy now?
Good for the GOP, bad for the Nation. What was that about “Country First”?
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:00 amIf the Democrats don’t get health care, and the jobless rate is above 10 percent, it could be a big election for Republicans next year,” predicted consultant John Feehery, who was a top aide to then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.
_____________________________________________________________
Feehery is miscalculating bigtime. If the jobless rate is above 10 percent, and if we don’t have meaningful health care reform, there will be many, many more people without health insurance.
The issue will become even more urgent than it is now, and the American people will blame the REPUBLICANS for lack of reform, not the Democrats (although the Blue Dogs should watch out).
The only way the Republicans have a chance is if they:
A) Quit obstructing and work with the Democrats on health care
B) Quit kowtowing to extremist talking heads like Limbaugh
C) Quit feeding the whacko wing of the party
But will they see the light in time for the midterms? I’m betting no.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:03 amLeading Dems. should come out this morning and state very clearly: 1) Health Care reform will be passed in September; 2) it will have a vibrant public option to compete with existing health care insurance companies, and 3) It will be done with reconciliation in the senate. If you don’t like that – too bad.
Have a nice vacation.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:04 amThere idea of country first is the first 25 big paying doners gets the country first treatment.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:05 amWhere’s the MSM when you need them? I used to live in Iowa and the DES MOINES REGISTER is/was one of the best newspapers in the nation. I’d love to know how they are covering Grassley through all of this.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:08 amThe “Democrats” need to also understand that failing to deliver universal healthcare is only one component of what voters will be thinking about at the polls.
If the “Democrats” pass a Republican Domestic Healthcare Terrorism Bill that forces Americans to shell out their hard-earned dollars to for-profit insurance companies without providing any substantial affordability or reform, this would be worse than not passing anything at all.
This is also the reason the “Democrats” insist on bipartisan legislation. When they deliver a lobbyist-written, punitive piece of feces to the American people, they want to be able to point the fingers elsewhere come election time.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:08 ami can’t believe the dems, especially the obama team, let the misinformation campaign get this far ahead of the facts…
big mistake…
no one expected so many ignorant selfish rubes, i guess…
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:08 am“Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) concurred with this sentiment in interviews last month. “We can stall” health care reform, Inhofe boasted in another interview, adding, “And that’s going to be a huge gain for those of us who want to turn this thing over in the 2010 election.”
This quote, in a nutshell, defines Republican politics. Its ALL about them and what they can get out of it. If stalling needed health care reform means that some people will die so they can pick up a few congressional seats then damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:08 amEvery politician opposing health care reform with a public option that’s up for re-election in 2010 will be subject to ridicule & rejection at the ballot box.
That’s the message they need to hear.
If you defeat health care reform, we WILL defeat you at the ballot box.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:14 amHas anyone considered that the stalling by the right wingers may be more about giving more time for more lobbying dollars to flow before the vote turns off the spigot?
Democrats = country first
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:16 amRepublicans = country club first
This is part of the class war waged against the American people by the Right and Mega-Business interests! It is amazing how many people can be manipulated to work against their own best interests!
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:16 amI guess I’m decidely less optimistic about the midterms should the GOP succeed in blocking reform. It worked pretty damn well for them the last time, and the country paid for it in blood, sweat, and the chain of events that led us to where we are now.
“The best argument against Democracy is five minutes with the average voter.
Democracy is the worst form of government…except for all the others”
(Paraphrasing Churchill is just so cliche, but it seemed fitting)
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:19 amright wing rednecks are afraid that universal health care will meant some obscenely-rich people may have to squeak by being only uber-rich.
and then there are the ignorant idiots like PubertyCheck that believe anything the radio tells them
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:20 amRepublicans would rather watch 70 million Americans die than allow them access to affordable health care.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:21 amGrassley & Leadership in the same headline is very misleading.
He couldn’t lead cows out to pasture with a gps unit.
Senator, if you’re truly concerned about health care reform, why are you & 537 other congresscritters TAKING AUGUST OFF?
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:22 amRepublicans would rather get their health care at the emergency room where they never pay the bill than have one Mexican or black person get treated to preventive care because they could afford to pay for single payer coverage.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:23 amGo ahead GrassAssley, take one for the team and guarantee your primary election defeat in the next cycle.
Dolt.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:24 amIf the Democrats don’t get health care, and the jobless rate is above 10 percent, it could be a big election for Republicans next year
I have never understood this line of thinking. The jobless rate is a legit concern, but do they really think that people who want healthcare reform are going to vote for Republicans? Are they really that stupid? If the Democrats can’t get healthcare reform done, it isn’t going to translate to more Republican votes, it will translate to more Progressive votes.
I mean, what kind of idiot would vote for a Republican re: healthcare reform? If Party A wants HCR (Health Care Reform) and Party B doesn’t want HCR, you vote for Party A if you also want HCR. If Party A can’t supply the HCR, why would you switch to voting for a party that doesn’t now and has never supported HCR? Are people under the delusion that voting for someone who fundamentally opposes a major reform is an effective method of securing that reform? That’s just stupid.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:28 amThe GNOP is confusing the Free Market with the Flea Market where people can get cheap knock-offs that look good and cost a lot less than the originals, but which fall apart or break the first time one uses them.
Just ask anyone who thought he/she was fully covered by their private plan when they really needed to receive services.
PEACE
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:30 amdelafield says:
Republicans would rather watch 70 million Americans die than allow them access to affordable health care.
Not exactly true.
They would, however, stand idly by and let 70 million (mostly poor, minorities, etc) Murkins go without insurance than give Obama/Dims a victory.
And there is nothing (legal) you can do about it…
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:31 amRepublicansWhite crackers would rather get their health care at the emergency room where they never pay the bill than have one Mexican or black person get treated to preventive care because they could afford to pay for single payer coverage.August 3rd, 2009 at 11:23 am
there. fixed it…
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:33 amRepublicans tell us that any country with a government run universal health care system is communist/socialist.
Republicans also tell us that 70 million sick and dying Americans without health care coverage would be “better off dead than red”.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:39 amthat’s the best analogy about the current system we have that I’ve heard so far.
It’s just like all the people who flock to Wal-Mart rather than shelling out a bit more money for something that had been made well in the US.
You get what you pay for and now it seems that you get less than you paid for…unless you’re a rich man with a hand in the politician’s pocket…
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:40 amThe logic of the troglodytes kills me: If they block the thing we elected this president to pass, they will automatically get our votes next time? No! We know you idiots are refusing to allow us the change we voted for. We know you have nothing to offer. We know you could care less about the people and the country. Your logic, dear wingnuts, is flawed. You are digging a deeper grave than you can even imagine.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:49 amDoes anyone else believe that part of the reason that Obama’s approval ratings are dropping is because the Dems like me who worked so hard to get him elected are disappointed in the way he’s capitulating to the minority party?
Just like the approval ratings of the Dems in congress, approval is tied to moving forward on the agenda backed by We the People, not We the Corporate Greedy.
PEACE
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:53 amSpencer’s mom says:
No I worked hard on getting Obama elected, I think it is all the GnOP attacks over the last 6 months. Much the same way they attacked Gore in 2004 except today have a different economy which we all know was created by the GnOP.
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:02 pmSpencer’s Mom, I have to say I agree with you. Dems like Baucus and Conrad are once again turning on their own base and basically spitting in our eye.
I guess they prefer life in the minority.
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:02 pmYes, I believe that. He can indulge his bipartisanship fetish all he wants and he’ll never get one GOP vote. But he is losing the left. If he runs for re-election he will have to win my vote after getting it easily last time. Don’t worry, I’ll never vote Neanderthal but I will sit out the next election if he continues his pandering to the GOP.
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:04 pmThis is so illogical and the Republican strategists are cracked. If public health care is so damn awful you’d think they would be anxious to get it passed so that everyone will see just how terrible it is and that would be a boon for Republicans. But instead they say if Democrats fail to pass health care reform it helps the Republicans. So they are saying, if Democrats pass health care reform it helps Democrats. So they must be saying that passing health care reform must be a good thing for the American people. Perhaps someone should explain to Feehery just how stupid he really sounds.
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:08 pmthe jobless rate is way beyond 10%, especially if you consider those who are skilled and forced to work part time or forced to work at Walmart or K-Mart because there are no real jobs, we are hovering closer to 20%.
and the Republicans can do a better job with same ridiculous fiscal policy. So we should spend more than you have and pay our hard earned income tax to the Federal Reserve, which is a cadre of wealthy, private bankers?
Why the hell didn’t we vote for Gravel or Kucinich when we had a chance? Even Ron Paul would have been better!
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:08 pmgood point Jacktheliberal,
How can we continue to spend more than we have or tax our people even more? Something has to give. We need to stop our illegal, unconstitutional war mongering and stop being the police of the world.
We need to care for our sick, but we absolutely can not tax people for health care without shutting down other Federal Agencies. We simply can not raise taxes, we must lower the Federal Income tax and spend our money wisely.
Sending my hard earned money to the Rothschild and Rockefeller families annoys me to. Ending the Federal Reserve should be the #1 priority on the Liberal platform.
Ron Paul ran for Prez once on the Libertarian Party ticket, second time around he was a Republican candidate and unfortunately did not get nominated. In my opinion the press railroaded him. It seems that many of core Liberal values we embrace are remembered by Libertarians and forgotten by many of our fellow Democrats.
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:18 pmRon Paul is against Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. He would definitely NOT support a public option, which is sorely needed.
Paul is right about the invasion of Iraq and ending prohibition, but he is not a good choice to lead this country.
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:21 pmSpencer’s mom says:
Does anyone else believe that part of the reason that Obama’s approval ratings are dropping is because the Dems like me who worked so hard to get him elected are disappointed in the way he’s capitulating to the minority party?
MY approval rating for Obama has dropped mostly for his blind-eye approach to the torturers and war criminals. Capitulation to the minority party comes in second.
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:22 pmlibertarians are republicans.
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:23 pmRon Paul is also against things like civil rights and the fire department.
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:32 pmyeah, but if I spent all day listing the batsh!t crazy things RP believes in, I’d get nothing done
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:34 pmThe Hill is reporting that there will be a floor vote in the House on single payer.
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:42 pmPaul’s ONLY sensible policy position was to get out of Iraq and THAT prevented him from winning any grass-roots Republican support and stopped him from getting any RNC support too.
Of course the media ignored Paul, just like they ignored Kucinich–neither of them conformed to the desired narrative they wanted which was a championship fight, not some welterweight match.
And what’s this “It seems that many of core Liberal values we embrace are remembered by Libertarians and forgotten by many of our fellow Democrats.”
Who is WE, Paultard? Sanctimony won’t make you any friends here. Why are you slumming here?
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:47 pmJacktheliberal says:
Using your formula of unempolyment calculation we had 10% when Obama took office.
To try to blame all the economic problems on this administration or to think it should be fixed overnight is stupidity. There is no other way to describe it. Grow the hell up. Ron Paul would be a bigger problem than Bush.
http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t12.htm
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:49 pmLet’s remember that this is not about the poor. They have Medicaid. This is about middle class people with jobs and houses, families in which both parents work, who at one time had hopes of sending their kids to college. These are often people with advanced degrees, the people who have climbed the ladder a fair way up. They’re people who used to be considered well off.
August 3rd, 2009 at 1:29 pmYou can have all that and a single illness for anybody in your family, even if you have insurance, can destroy all of it.
This is taking successful, hard working families and turning them into refugees with the stroke of a pen.
So who’s that “Republican Leadership”?
August 3rd, 2009 at 2:20 pmThere are various groups that are targeting the Blue Dogs and some Republicans about health care and the public option. If the Republicans think they will get a free pass, they are mistaken. These Republicans who have talked about stalling and killing health care are going to have their words turned back on them. By the time Congress reconvenes, there will be a lot of ads running as well as Obama making public statements. It would not be in the best interests for the Republicans to outright oppose health care. The best they can do is water it down but I don’t see that happening because the progressive Dems are demanding a public option. All of this will heat up just before Congress resumes.
August 3rd, 2009 at 2:25 pmrepublican playbook for 2012.
Offer no real solutions, just make the democrats look bad until people vote for the alternatives, rnc wins.
I am usually for bipartisanship, but in this instance, it will get us nowhere.
August 3rd, 2009 at 2:36 pmI hope the Repubs obstruct and delay as much as possible. This is a bad bill.
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:33 pmA huge year for republicans in 2010? Based on what, just saying no? We’ve already seen the destruction 8 years of a republican president and 12 years of a republican congress can do. What’s the plan for 2010, more tax cuts for the rich?
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:02 pmthanks for article very
August 4th, 2009 at 7:56 am