White House sends signals to Senate Dems: Get Snowe on board, Get 60 votes. (FirstRead)

[jefferson_dem]

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg

*** Health-care forecast -- lots of Snowe: It appears that Senate Finance Committee Democrats have gotten the message from the White House: Do whatever it takes to get Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe on board. She's sending EVERY signal that she'll be there at the end, as long as she gets a large say in how the bill is shaped. Snowe yesterday releasing a statement with three moderate Dems (Ben Nelson, Lieberman, and McCaskill) tells you she is looking for a way to support the bill -- not oppose it. And if the White House and Dems get Snowe, suddenly her Maine colleague, Susan Collins, is probably in play too. But remember: This isn't about getting Snowe and Collins; it's about making sure the White House can get Nelson and other moderate-conservative Dems like Blanche Lincoln, Mark Pryor, and Mary Landrieu. Clearly, the White House wants to do this with 60 votes and avoid reconciliation. The entire strategy appears to be predicated on 60.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/09/18/2074368.aspx#comments

[Jennicut]

1. So says Chuckie Todd. I doubt Snowe or Collins would go for a bill

that their Rethug masters tell them not to support. We gave enough away already in the Baucus bill....and its a crappy bill. Reconciliation looks like the only resort or you end up with a bill that does nothing except make the insurance industry richer.

[SIMPLYB1980]

2. I think that Snowe may switch party.

The right is forcing her out. She may go Independent, but she might also go Democratic.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/09/snowe-i-havent-changed-my-party-has.php

"I've always been a Republican for the traditional principles that have been associated with the Republican party since I became a Republican, when I registered to vote. And that is limited government, individual opportunities, fiscal responsibility, and a strong national defense. So I think those principles have always been a part of the Republican party heritage. And I believe that I reflect those views and I haven't changed as a Republican. I think more that my party has changed.

So is Snowe about to pull an Arlen Specter? That would be wildly speculative. But is it a sign that she feels out of step with her colleagues as they try to kill health care reform? I think so. And when you compare that to the fulsome praise she offered President Obama, and her statement commending the Baucus bill, it seems pretty clear that--at least in public--she's leaning toward working with the Democrats on health care reform, specifically Baucuscare.

And she wants the GOP to know that she has an ace up her sleeve if they try to retaliate against her.

[sabbat hunter]

4. let us not forget

that the senate bill is likely to look FAR different from the House of Rep bill. If the house of rep bill has public options, and the Senate bill doesn't, when they go to conference committee, they can put the public option in the reconciliation bill, which only needs 51 votes to pass and cannot be filibustered. So give Sen Snowe what she wants in the Senate bill to avoid a filibuster, but make sure the final bill has the public option

[Jennicut]

5. True. I am from New England and she is a liberal Repub...used to be tons of them here.

But the party rejected them and gave them less power. She could start to feel that party has passed her by as Specter did (and of course Specter wants to get reelected in state that is getting more and more blue). I wonder how Maine voters would feel if she switched parties. I live in CT but know that Maine and NH are a bit more conservative.

[bvar22]

35. With the exception of HR 676,

....every other bill in Congress, including HR 3200, is a multi-Billion Dollar BONANZA for the For Profits.

[rockymountaindem]

3. Welp, we're boned

Oy.

[paulk]

7. if they fashion a bill to please Snowe

it will be a piece of crap...

We can only hope that the Obama administration, in the long run, puts passing 'good legislation' over passing 'any legislation' just to avoid a political defeat.

[high density]

6. Whatever it takes? IF that's true it means no public option unless Snowe changes her mind

So far Snowe has indicated she is absolutely against it.

[jefferson_dem]

8. That's messed up. 56% in Maine support public option, compared to 29 opposed.

http://www.dailykos.com/statepoll/2009/9/16/ME/376

[high density]

10. The reasons she offers against the public option either make no sense or are irrelevant

Her biggest idea seems to be to just delay the competition for a few more years and kick the issue down the road a little while longer with the "trigger." I don't know who outside of Snowe, her Repuke friends, and the insurance companies, consider that to be a viable idea; certainly the President doesn't feel that way.

I'm convinced she's against it because the rightwingers have threatened to primary her the next time around.

[karynnj]

30. Given that it will be 3 or 4 years to develop a public option, let that be the testing period

Then there is no delay.

[karynnj]

29. Not completely true - she was for it with a trigger

Now, the current bills allow 4 years to create the public option before it is implemented. Four years is a long time - long enough to test the insurance companies.

It would seem reasonable to have a trigger of 4 years or less. It is completely justifiable to build a system that might not be used - every big defense project has more than one company develop designs.

Then if by the trigger the insurance companies have not reduced cost, increased coverage and reduced waste, the public option would be implemented - according to the same time scale as with no trigger.

Now, let's say they meet the criterion, which we need to fight to make tough and not fudgable , then the trigger and the threat to a public option will have done FASTER what we want the public option to do.

Now, we can't stop there if the trigger ends up not being triggered. We need additional triggers - to avoid backsliding or to push forward, if that seems reasonable - and monitoring to continue. The same type of monitoring would be useful if the trigger is pulled and we have a public option.

[niceypoo]

9. So, the whole DEMOCRATIC health care bill will be written to satisfy ONE REPUBLICAN?

Why does this one republican get to shape the whole bill?

One republican vote is NOT bipartisanship and it isn't worth ruining healthcare for.

[SIMPLYB1980]

11. That's very short sighted. Plenty of Democrats will still

be shaping this bill like Rockefeller, and then it still has to go to conference. I welcome Snowe if she feels pushed out by the crazy people in her party.

[niceypoo]

12. They need to forget about her and spend their political capital

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/health/policy/14talkshows.html">Take Public Option ‘Off the Table,’ Snowe Says

If she is allowed what she wants, it will ruin the bill. She is a republican, the republicans lost the election, cast her aside.

[jenmito]

16. This is NOT the final bill. It still has to go to conference with the House bill which HAS a public

option. If appeasing her gets the bill passed in the Senate, this is great strategy.

[tinrobot]

22. The bill will still be reconciled.

The bill the senate passes will be very different from the House bills, so there will have to be some sort of reconciliation.

Hopefully, that's when the real bill will be shaped.

But, if they get Snowe/Collins onboard for the original Senate bill, they can still say it was bipartisan, even if those Senators don't vote for the final reconciled bill.

[tritsofme]

32. The bill that comes out of the House/Senate conference will face a cloture vote as well.

Unless the bill is passed through reconciliation, which the WH seems apt to avoiding.

[polichick]

13. If they go with that trigger crap, Dems will be in the streets alongside teabaggers. nt

[QC]

14. Why don't we just go ahead and make Snowe the president? n/t

[quantass]

20. +1000

[David Zephyr]

33. +2000

That sums it up, QC. :thumbsup:

[Hepburn]

15. If getting Snowe means no public option...

...then fuck that shit.

JMHO

[ej510]

17. I do not trust Snowe as far as I could throw her. She anti Public Option and is pro trigger as long

as the trigger never gets pulled.

[polichick]

18. And triggers never get pulled - that's the point of using them. nt

[Hepburn]

38. Trigger, IMO, = method to block compliance by the ins. industry. n/t

[quantass]

19. If this is true the Public Option is Officially Dead

This is NOT good. It seems the scenario #1 as predicted here on DU in another post is coming true, and so is Cenk Uygur's prediction. Real shame because i really thought the people were going to win this time.

[jenmito]

21. It's alive in the 4 other bills. It will be put back in the final bill-just wait. n/t

[tinrobot]

23. I totally agree.

They're doing this so they can say it was bipartisan, even though the final reconciled bill will be very partisan.

[hileeopnyn8d]

24. I think you could repeat that

one thousand times and people will still not get it. Either because they don't want to because it doesn't fit their fail agenda, or because they just don't understand how these things work.

And why anyone takes Chuck Todd's word as gospel is beyond me. He has shown that he doesn't have a clue, the only thing he's good at is pitting Democrat against Democrat and gleefully watching the show.

[jenmito]

25. My hope is they truly don't understand how it works...

because otherwise, they're just trying to cause trouble. And the media seems to be pushing the idea that this WILL be the final bill, or that the final bill won't have a public option.

[Indigent]

26. This is an opinion by Chuck Todd and his buddies

At first I thought that a non-anonymous important person had confirmed this.

[firedupdem]

27. Chuck Todd said the public option was gone and other nonsense

over the past few weeks. I don't trust anything he says.

[Baltoman991]

28. As I was

watching the President yesterday, I said to myself after he once again said the public option is essential, the media will tell us once again that it's dead in the water.

And as usual, the media didn't let me down. To hell with Chuck Todd and the rest of the "liberal" MSM, they're doing nothing but trying to divid our party and sadly, many are allowing it to happen.

[bvar22]

36. Did Obama say the Public Option was "essential"?

I haven't heard him use words that strong.

[Baltoman991]

37. Perhaps he didn't

use that word, but the bottom line is he's been pushing it in every damn stop he makes yet the haters and the media continue to push the bullshit that he doesn't really want it.

Many times he has said any bill that comes to him to sign must contain the public option so yes, he's pretty much saying it's essential.

And before you ask, you can do a search of the boards as many have asked for just one time Obama has said the bill he signs must contain a PO and links have been provided each time showing he's said it.

[iceman66]

31. The thing you have to remember when reading stories like this

is that the MSM will spin ANY bit of news to fit their own agenda, which is anti any meaningful health care reform, and most especially anti public option.

OF COURSE the White House would prefer to get 60 votes. It doesn't mean that they would be willing to gut the bill to do so, or that they would not use reconciliation if necessary.

[ProSense]

34. This is garbage

As even MSNBC acknowledged yesterday, the Dems have a 13 to 10 majority on the committee.

Democrat have a three-vote advantage in committee: 13 to 10. If all the Republicans vote against the final bill, then Democrats can only afford to have one Democrat vote against the bill and have it still pass. If Olympia Snowe (R) votes for the bill, they can afford to lose two Dems... and so on.

Why would they want to lose two Dems to get Snowe's vote? It's clear that there are Democrats on the committee who strongly oppose a trigger, and on that score Snowe is standing firm.

They don't need Snowe.

On edit: It's also MSNBC pushing the myth that Snowe and Collins are need to pass a final bill similar to the stimulus vote

There will be 60 Democrats when the bill is voted on, and reconciliation is still on the table.