June 22, 2009

6/22: Senate Dems, Doing What They Do Best

NBC's First Read made the following observation this morning:

"So let's get this straight: Barack Obama won last year's presidential election by seven percentage points (53%-46%) campaigning, in part, for some form of universal health care; his party is about to have 60 votes in the Senate; polls show the country is receptive to overhauling health care; and the president's approval rating is between 56-60%. But Senate Democrats, like Dianne Feinstein, now say that Obama might not have the votes to pass health care?"

This apparent contradiction is driving liberal bloggers nuts. As we noted last week, the netroots are growing increasingly frustrated with the way that health care negotiations are proceeding in the Senate. Over the weekend, lefty bloggers blasted Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) after she became the latest Dem senator to announce her opposition to a public insurance option. After noting that Lincoln is up for re-election next year, digby stormed: "One hopes for her sake that there are as many insurance company executives living in her state as there are Democrats because she's going to need every one of those fat cats to vote for her once her constituents figure out who she's actually working for." It seems as though every single prominent lefty blogger has cited the NYT/CBS News poll indicating that 72% of Americans support "a government-administered health insurance plan like Medicare that would compete with private health insurance plans." Yet there still do not appear to be enough Senate votes for a bill that includes a public option. Nate Silver thinks lobbying by the insurance industry is the reason for this apparent discrepancy:

"The bottom line is that the health care debate is not really being played out in the court of public opinion. If it were, Congress would pass a robust plan with a public option that was funded by raising taxes on cigarettes, booze, and people making over $250,000, and we'd live happily ever after (or not). Rather, this is a behind-the-scenes fight at the committee level, where certain senators who have ample financial incentives to please the insurance industry have a disproportionate amount of control over the process."

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Bloggers on the left (BooMan, Derrick, Klein) and right (Allahpundit, Malkin, Hinderaker) are buzzing about the murder of a 27-year-old Iranian woman named Neda Agha-Soltani, whose death was captured on video and which has since become a symbol of the escalating crisis in Iran.
• Conservative bloggers (Hinderaker, Liebau) were not particularly impressed by Obama's most recent comments about the situation in Iran. Some righty bloggers are even arguing that Obama "is more comfortable with a totalitarian Islamic regime than he would be with a free Iranian society." Liberal bloggers (Benen, DougJ, hilzoy, Kleiman), along with Andrew Sullivan, are blasting Obama's neoconservative critics.
• The influential conservative blog RedState has thrown its support behind Gov. Rick Perry (R) in his re-election race against Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, calling him "the only conservative running for Governor of Texas." RedState is now raising money for Perry.
• Liberal bloggers (Drum, Yglesias, Klein, Harris) are citing a new CBO report estimating that the cap-and-trade provision of the Waxman-Markey climate change bill will cost the average U.S. household $165/year. Conservative blogger Jim Manzi still thinks the Waxman-Markey bill isn't worth the cost.
• Lefty bloggers (Greenwald, Hamsher, Moulitsas), along with Sullivan, continue to criticize the Washington Post for firing liberal columnist/blogger Dan Froomkin.

HEALTH CARE REFORM: Thanks A Lot, Blanche

Liberal bloggers are blasting Sen. Lincoln for announcing her opposition to a public option:

• digby: "Senator Lincoln is running for reelection next year. One hopes for her sake that there are as many insurance company executives living in her state as there are Democrats because she's going to need every one of those fat cats to vote for her once her constituents figure out who she's actually working for."
• Firedoglake's Attaturk: "It's funny though the citizenry thinks it's an awesome idea that Blue Cross/Blue Shield have some competition so they can just be fabulously successful instead of outrageously fabulously successful. But apparently, the most important aspect of Democracy is that millions suffer so that can remain the status quo. Thanks, Blanche Lincoln (D -- Your Corporate Label here)"

Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher: "US Representatives are much more susceptible to public pressure than Senators because they have to face re-election every two years. But in the fourth year of their terms, every Senator becomes a Representative for two years. Blanche Lincoln is running for re-election in 2010. If she's ever going to be persuadable, now is the time."

Meanwhile, numerous liberal bloggers (Dworkin, Yglesias, Benen, Scarecrow, Rosenberg, Silver, Willis, Chris) are citing the NYT/CBS News poll indicating that 72% of Americans support a public option. Conservative bloggers (Hinderaker, Karl) are claiming that the poll is skewed.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Obama's Temperament

Mother Jones' Kevin Drum:

"[Obama's caution] is sometimes intensely frustrating. The gay community, for example, is up in arms over his lack of action on issues like DOMA and DADT. But there shouldn't be any surprise about that. It was obvious throughout the entire campaign season that this is how he works. He'll let the military stew over DADT for a while until they basically ask him to change it, rather than the other way around. It might take longer, but he figures -- probably correctly -- that the end result will be better for everyone. Ditto for DOMA, which doesn't yet have the votes in Congress for repeal.

And ditto for lots of other stuff. He's shown a disturbing willingness to compromise on financial regulation and healthcare. He hasn't engaged much with the Waxman-Markey climate bill as it slowly gets watered down into nothing. He's a cautious guy who doesn't take a lot of chances unless he feels some real pressure to do so. Paradoxically, this is exactly what I expected from him but I find myself disappointed anyway. A little bit more fire in the belly would be welcome.

But he is who he is, and the same instincts that disappoint us on some issues serve him well on others. So far, anyway. The next few months -- possibly the next few days in Iran -- will tell us just how much real hope and change Obama's temperament produces when the rubber finally hits the road."

LEST WE FORGET: Titles From The Baby-Sitters Club: The College Years Series

McSweeney's contributor Grace Dobush:

• Claudia Goes to Class Wearing Sweatpants With Words On the Backside
• Kristy's Softball Friends Don't Buy it That She's Dating a Dude
• Dawn and the Unpaid Internship
• Stacey Unsuccessfully Hides her Purging
• Mary Anne and the Free Credit Card T-shirt
• Dawn Gets Into a Heated Discussion On Post-structuralism
• Mallory and the Trouble With Unaccepted Transfer Credits
• Claudia and the RIAA Subpoena
• Mary Anne Narcs On Her Roommate

Posted by Ian Faerstein at June 22, 2009 01:31 PM