Baucus bill gets some love - from Snowe, McCaskill, Nelson, Lieberman

[jefferson_dem]

Day 2, Baucus bill gets some love

Posted: Thursday, September 17, 2009 4:01 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: Congress
From NBC's Chuck Todd and Mark Murray

This morning, we -- and others -- noted how little bipartisan support Senate Finance Committee Max Baucus' health-care bill received. The biggest surprise: Moderate GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe wasn't on board, at least not yet.

Well, now Snowe -- along with Democratic Sens. Claire McCaskill and Ben Nelson, and independent Joe Lieberman, who caucuses with the Dems -- are praising Baucus' bill. The four released this statement:

We commend Chairman Baucus for his efforts to forge a health care reform proposal that has the potential to gain broad bipartisan support. We are encouraged by his commitment to work with both Democrats and Republicans in the Finance Committee, and believe there is a responsibility for both sides of the aisle to work together to develop a bill that will earn strong support from the full Senate...

Each of us has an obligation to put aside partisan views and to consider how health care reform addresses the needs and challenges faced by individual citizens and our economy as a whole. While we each have outstanding concerns we wish to see addressed, Senator Baucus has taken an important and critical step forward with this legislation. We will continue to work together in the full Senate on bipartisan health care reform that reduces costs, improves care, and expands access.

So here's where we stand: If these four senators can get behind a bill, Democrats have the potential to get 60-plus votes in the Senate. Then again, the question is whether liberal Democrats in the House and Senate would get behind that legislation.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/09/17/2073796.aspx#comments

[alsame]

1. To paraphrase Shakespeare,

a pox on all their houses.

[WI_DEM]

2. It's a BAD BILL which rewards the insurance industry and is a tax hike on the middle class. Dems

need to reject this or they will get defeated if this bill goes into effect.

[LSparkle]

5. I'm actually GLAD the Repugs are pointing out the tax hikes on middle class

that will result from this bill. It's absolute
garbage -- I'm disappointed in McCaskill especially.

[Cant trust em]

3. This is the only proposal that I would want Obama to veto.

No public option = no mandate.

This would be a huge step backward.

[hileeopnyn8d]

4. Claire is pissing me off!

[RayOfHope]

10. Me too, and I pounded a LOT of pavement for her n/t

[quantass]

6. Humph, and here i thought McCaskill was for the people -- Another corporatist for my list. nt

[Thrill]

7. SHOCKER. Claire McCaskill is one of the most Senators

on the Democratic side.

[Vinca]

8. This is a horrible bill that will make the situation worse.

What the heck happened to Claire McCaskill? I thought she was a reasonable person.

[OHdem10]

9. I do not think they are commending his bill. They are trying to be

"civil" Senators and commend his hard work. He has gotten a lot of
hits and they are trying to comfort him.

Why he did not recognize in about June, he would get no GOP help
is beyond me.

[Moosepoop]

11. There wasn't much "love" for the bill in that statement.

There was "support" for Baucus himself, and for "bipartisanship" in general, but there really wasn't any for the actual bill. There was a pledge to keep working together on "bipartisan health care reform", but the bill itself was only referred to once -- as "this legislation".

It sounded like a wordy way of saying "We're still going to try for good legislation, but this wasn't it" -- without actually coming right out and saying it.

Just saying.

[JNelson6563]

12. Fuckers, all.