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Rockefeller criticizes the ‘Gang of Six’: ‘You don’t do legislation that way.’

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) appeared on the Charlie Rose Show last night to discuss his criticisms of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus’ (D-MT) bill. He announced he will introduce at least 17 amendments to the Baucus proposal. “This is my chance, having not be a part of the Gang of Six,” to improve the legislation, he said. When asked if he was “thrilled” about the so-called “Gang of Six,” Rockefeller responded that he doesn’t think legislation should be done that way:

ROSE: You’re not thrilled by the Gang of Six, are you?

ROCKEFELLER: No I’m not. No I’m not. But that’s — I just don’t think you do legislation that way, and particularly if you end up not getting any of the three Republicans, and hopefully we will get Olympia Snowe.

Watch it:

Rockefeller said earlier this week that there is “no way” he can vote for the Baucus plan that emerged from the “Gang of Six” as it currently is written. “I want to get it right,” he said last night. “I want it to be a real improvement in health care.”

Update Rockefeller said he's "very" optimistic that the panel will pass legislation.


57 Responses to “Rockefeller criticizes the ‘Gang of Six’: ‘You don’t do legislation that way.’”

  1. AIO says:

    I agree with Rockefeller!


  2. P.D. says:

    OMG! Orly friggin Taitz is on MSNBC! WTF! This woman is nuts! She sounds like a immigrant. Does she have a birth certificate? Papers? Is she a ‘Legitimate’ American?


  3. RantingTommy says:

    I’m watching that PD, she is getting torn apart by the host

    great entertainment

    oily taint is a great example of the intellect and integrity of a right winger


  4. ElBruce says:

    The Democrats have a clear majority in the Senate. Requiring any health care bill to first pass a committee made exactly of 50% D’s and 50% R’s is thus nonsensical.


  5. Daddy-O says:

    Jay made a trip out to the woodshed with Obama earlier this week. Looks like Obama didn’t quite make his point–or else he’s still playing 11-dimensional chess.

    Jay’s still swinging. I like that. Every single bit counts.


  6. P.D. says:

    She called Dillion a Liar! What a skank! MSNBC News should NEVER invite her on again! The woman is an embarassment! All she does is talk. And if you disagree with her? You’re the liar. Maybe MSM should keep inviting her on. Everytime she opens her mouth, more Americans cringe. She is a perfect advertisment for the GOP.


  7. evangenital says:

    If the majority of Dems voice the same sentiments as those of Rockefeller, then the
    Dems will keep the progressives and an electoral majority.

    We need the public option, or a single-payer system of health care, in addition to the private market.

    Baucus has his head up his keester if he presumes that any repiggies will ever cooperate with the Dems on health care reform.

    It just won’t happen. Even the public is roaring with laughter whenever Baucus’
    plan is mentioned.


  8. P.D. says:

    Ranting@3, The woman is totally detached from reality. Maybe she should take Dillion’s advice and spend some time on the beach. Lord knows, nobody will miss her.


  9. texasrick says:

    This is going to be one long tough fight to get our health reform package done.

    Many thanks to Senator Rockefeller for his efforts.

    Ultimately it PROBABLY will come down to a RECONCILLIATION vote where we need to garner 51 Senatorial votes. If any of you have seen a breakdown on which way the Senator’s are leaning, please pass it on.

    We can do our part by reminding the wrong way leaning ones what they need to do.

    Thanks


  10. evangenital says:

    Who cares about Oily Tits? She’s a lunatic, and the current face of the repiggie party.

    Moroni is baloney, and Beck is dreck.

    Screw the repiggies, and screw the teabagger trash.


  11. Daddy-O says:

    P.D., she could call EVERYONE who interviews her on MSNBC a liar, and they’d invite her back again and again.

    Ratings. The only thing that matters. It’s exactly what’s keeping her in the spotlight. And nothing grabs attention like a loudmouth crazy person, except a bloody wreck.


  12. Xisithrus says:

    I agree with Rockefeller on this particular subject.


  13. A Patriotic Anopheles Acting says:

    P.D. says:
    “Maybe she should take Dillion’s advice and spend some time on the beach. Lord knows, nobody will miss her.”

    May I suggest that she wade in about twenty feat past the breakers and lie down?


  14. P.D. says:

    evan@10, Hey, I agree with you. But MSM is trying their best to make these people main-stream and not the pathetic fringe they are. The 912 ‘Movement’ was a bust, the ‘Tea-Baggers’ were a joke. But MSM hangs on their every word. Depressing, no?


  15. A Patriotic Anopheles Acting says:

    feat s/b FEET…jeez


  16. What the GOP REALLY means ... says:

    I’m confident that Max Baucus’s payoff to the insurance cos. for their $3.6 million investment will trickle down to me. I have no desire for shared governance.


  17. EnnuiDivine says:

    This does raise an interesting question: What happens when the Baucus bill fails in Committee? The GOP will run with it and claim healthcare reform has failed. Baucus will probably say “We (I) tried and we should start over”, all the while pocketing a few thousand a day from the insurance lobby. Those actually interested in reform will have to use their full force to push forward the HELP bill.

    Anything can happen.


  18. What the GOP REALLY means ... says:

    evangenital says:

    Who cares about Oily Tits? She’s a lunatic, and the current face of the repiggie party.

    As if ‘Orly Taitz’ wasn’t f ucking hilarious in its own right without you liberals doing a spin-off.


  19. Xisithrus says:

    If it fails it will be because the people were against subsidizing the greed not because the gNOpers and the Sixers killed it, I think.


  20. P.D. says:

    When Baucus finally reveled his ‘Bill’ I thought ,”What a di*k!” He is willing to throw Americans under a bus, so he can retain power and his campiagn cash. Thousands die every year, and this SOB could give a sh*t. I consider him just as bad as the Repugs.


  21. evangenital says:

    P.D., isn’t it pathetic how the MSM treats folks like Oily Tits as legitimate?

    Glenn Beck is so busy peddling all that Mormon racialist crap ad nauseam on FoxNews. He is freaking out that one of the “mud” people is President.

    Holy Rollers and Mormons are so busy shoving their crazy crap down the throats of the country, and I am way past fed up.

    Moroni is baloney, and Beck is dreck.

    Screw the repiggies, and screw the teabagger trash.


  22. Xisithrus says:

    Leave Whirly Tizzy aloooonnneee!!


  23. What the GOP REALLY means ... says:

    The HELP bill is the most sensible piece of legislation to turn out of government in a LONG time. You feel HUMAN reading the damn thing. Which is why we can’t have that. Government is supposed to be dehumanizing, secretive. The process to get good things through is 5-stages of hell, a bottleneck journey. If the HELP bill is realized I’m afraid the republican party will be aired out for its bullshit and the stock value of my vote will be worthless, as if you libs didn’t already do enough damage.


  24. Xisithrus says:

    Maximus Buttkiss

    Somewhere there are lobbyists with very damp boxers…


  25. P.D. says:

    evan@21, Yeah, and don’t forget the fluff piece ‘Time’ magazine did. Already ‘Time’ is getting slammed because they apparently didn’t do any fact checking. Why should we be suprised? After all ,’Time’ reporter Judith Miller pushed the whole ‘Yellow Cake’ argument didn’t she?


  26. Xisithrus says:

    Dont make Spinn Blech wail


  27. fletc3her says:

    Baucus knows that his bill write up was a complete disaster, but he soldiers on as if everything is going swimmingly. The sad thing is that he has wasted so much time and momentum because he was unwilling to let a competent negotiator take over.


  28. evangenital says:

    All the MSM have lost their legitimacy, and are now simply tools to further the corporate agenda of separating you from any bit of wealth and wherewithal that you might still have.

    Thank God for the internet.

    The 24/7 news channels have been totally corrupted, and print journalism is a pale shadow of its former self. The major reason is that the high salaries have made the “news” crowd part of the corporate elite in this country, and they no longer have any interest in the betterment of the lives of the ordinary citizens.

    Moroni is baloney, and Beck is dreck.

    Screw the repiggies, and screw the teabagger trash.


  29. AIO says:

    #
    EnnuiDivine says:

    This does raise an interesting question: What happens when the Baucus bill fails in Committee?

    But, but, but Harold Ford said that the Baucus Bill has “momentum”.


  30. P.D. says:

    flet@27, I think the whole Baucus thing was a scam to give the Insurance Industry more time to put out lies and falsehoods to confuse Americans and force Congress to kill the Bill. Why did it take so long? Baucus KNEW the Repugs wouldn’t vote for it, then why act in a bipartisian way? Maybe I’m just paraniod. 8 years of Bush will do that to you.


  31. raynman says:

    What life form has 12 legs, 6 heads, 6 stomachs, no spine and no brain?

    The Gang of Six


  32. What the GOP REALLY means ... says:

    They’re called the Gang of Six of crimoney’s sake. We make no secret that we’re beholden to our master’s, and even act like being basted by the insurance companies is something to smile about.

    Look at smile you can’t wipe off Baucus’s face. That guy is stubborn under criticism and doesn’t know how stupid he looks when he throws a proposal – er, imposal (is that even a word?) to reform health insurance for all Americans standing at the podium ALONE. 1 guy from 1 cattle state, 1 huge bill, affecting 300,000,000 Americans. He looks like a real goofy idiot standing in the people’s chamber presenting his lobbyist payoff, expecting no one to care or see the significance.

    Add to that, he predicts it will “pass with all the major parts intact.”


  33. P.D. says:

    Off-Topic… 40,000 grand to have dinner with Palin?? I wouldn’t pay the woman to do my laundry!


  34. Mike Hunt says:

    P.D. says:

    OMG! Orly friggin Taitz is on MSNBC! WTF! This woman is nuts! She sounds like a immigrant. Does she have a birth certificate? Papers? Is she a ‘Legitimate’ American?

    More than a month ago I emailed this crackpot Taitz and asked those exact questions. So far no reply. I wonder why? LOL


  35. AIO says:

    fletc3her says:

    Baucus knows that his bill write up was a complete disaster,

    Harold Ford would disagree.


  36. Zooey says:

    Just pitch the damn bill in the bin. It’s garbage.


  37. Exit Stage Left says:

    P.D. says:
    I think the whole Baucus thing was a scam to give the Insurance Industry more time to put out lies and falsehoods to confuse Americans and force Congress to kill the Bill. Why did it take so long? Baucus KNEW the Repugs wouldn’t vote for it, then why act in a bipartisian way? Maybe I’m just paraniod. 8 years of Bush will do that to you.

    Actually, I think you nailed it.


  38. P.D. says:

    Exit@37, So it’s not just me. Baucus KNEW the Repugs wouldn’t vote for it in anyway. Baucus stalled and stalled for weeks after all the other Bills were completed. This was a SCAM. I hope Baucus is happy with his 3 million pay-out from the Industry. He basically sold his soul for it.


  39. 00mpp00 says:

    But is was important politically for a moderate effort to fail before more robust reform could be attempted. Public support is already turning towards the president thanks to the GOP’s rebuff of even a decidedly conservative bill.

    http://www.political-buzz.com/


  40. freeman says:

    Good for you Jay Rockefeller . Between Mr. rockefellers threat to kill the baucus bill in committee without major changes and Burris defection there is no way any bill without a public option can pass . According to Dean there are now enough votes in both houses to pass the public option .
    Question is what kind of public option are we talking about here ?


  41. freeman says:

    O/T
    Yesterday Feingold and a group of other senators revealed proposed legislation to strip immunity from the telecoms .This was always our best chance of demanding accountability from the bush administration and goes a long way toward reviving progressive support for the administration .


  42. freeman says:

    Support the strongest bill in the house for reform H.R.676 .Any bill coming out of the house will be watered down before passage through the senate .
    SIgn the petition .



  43. pags2 says:

    After this health care disaster, I don’t think other legislation is going to be done the same way from a procedural matter. Baucus has PO’d enough Dems that it will not be used again for any substantive matter. I would hope that the Gang of Six get beat over the head so bad with their insurance lobby campaign contributions that they have to run and hide from the press.


  44. Fred says:

    Wait a minute freeman, you said dems were the same as republicans. What are you trying to say?


  45. freeman says:

    Also ,in the same vein ,the 9th circuit court of appeal held recently that a Al-Kidd , an American citizen born in kasnas ,can sue Ashcroft for abuses as a detainee .


  46. freeman says:

    And all democrats are the same right Fred ? Try thinking …. it’s not illegal yet .



  47. Fred says:

    freeman says:
    Also ,in the same vein ,the 9th circuit court of appeal held recently that a Al-Kidd , an American citizen born in kasnas ,can sue Ashcroft for abuses as a detainee .

    also, orly taze was told by the judge in the case of the soldier who didn’t want to deploy under Obama that if she ever brought such a case before the bench again that she would face serious consequense.

    The beat goes on freeman. Where were you when we were working?


  48. Fred says:

    freeman says:
    And all democrats are the same right Fred ? Try thinking …. it’s not illegal yet .

    Seems that is exactly the point many have been trying to make with you for a long time now.

    you must be a right winger at heart because you just don’t get irony.


  49. D. Tree says:

    Good point, Senator – this process only produces meager, watered-down bills. Reform is best when it represents a clear and strong ideal, whether it be conservative or progressive it should be strong.


  50. SoapBox says:

    If you would like to offer your support to Senator Rockefeller you can email here:

    http://tom.house.gov/html/contact.cfm

    OR call/fax here:

    http://rockefeller.senate.gov/contact/

    Beckley Office
    220 North Kanawha Street
    Suite 1
    Beckley, WV 25801-4514
    (304) 253-9704
    (304) 253-2578 Fax

    Charleston Office
    405 Capitol Street
    Suite 508
    Charleston, WV 25301-1749
    (304) 347-5372
    (304) 347-5371 Fax

    Fairmont Office
    118 Adams Street
    Suite 301
    Fairmont, WV 26554-2841
    (304) 367-0122
    (304) 367-0822 Fax

    Martinsburg Office
    217 West King Street
    Suite 307
    Martinsburg, WV 25401-3211
    (304) 262-9285
    (304) 262-9288 Fax

    Washington, DC
    531 Hart Senate Office Building
    Washington, DC 20510
    (202) 224-6472
    (202) 224-7665 Main Fax
    (202) 228-1610 Scheduling Fax


  51. ElBruce says:

    Hey check this out: apparently the Baucus bill is almost an exact copy (with copy/paste text) of a previous deal that the White House denied making with Big Pharma over the summer. I guess they just dusted it off and handed it over to their pet Senators instead.


  52. SoapBox says:

    This is a little late in the thread but I recommend that everyone read some on Bob Cesca’s blog, regarding a talk with Jay Rockefeller.

    For anyone that works for that “46%” of companies that are “self insured”…READ IT! And thank Mr. Baucus for nothing.

    http://www.bobcesca.com/blog-archives/2009/09/healthcare_hero_1.html


  53. backup says:

  54. karadagli61 says:

    Thank you for your sharing.!


  55. gunter says:

    A smart man learns from his mistakes and a wise man learns from others. botoks



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