July 29, 2009

7/29: Going Public (Or Not)

Liberal bloggers are debating the relative importance of a public health insurance option, which currently appears to be on thin ice. First, Scott Lemieux wrote a post arguing that progressive Dems should kill any bill that doesn't include a public option, since "a bad bill would be worse than no bill." Ezra Klein disagreed, arguing that a public option "is not the core of reform" and that "the question should be whether this bill is better or worse than another 19.5 years of the deteriorating status quo." David Dayen linked to Klein's post and wrote: "Here comes the part of the health care debate where people start to talk themselves into half a loaf instead of fighting for a full one." Jane Hamsher was even harder on Klein, accusing him of "echoing the White House sales pitch" at a time when the WH is "try[ing] to pass off co-ops as a public option."

Klein is very respected among the netroots, but it seems to us that he's clearly in the minority here. For instance, Joan McCarter wrote yesterday that if Sen. Max Baucus's co-op plan "is what the Senate Finance Committee really ends up with, and Finance takes the lead on the whole package, then it's not worth doing at all." Moreover, lefty bloggers have spent the last few weeks promoting the Firedoglake campaign urging progressive Dems to vote against a bill that doesn't include a public option. These bloggers will be bitterly disappointed if Baucus's bill (or something resembling it) is what ultimately emerges from Congress.

Pres. Obama may believe that he can convince progressives that a bill without a public option should still be considered a victory for reformers. But it looks like that's going to be a very tough task.

What else is happening in the blogosophere?

• Conservative bloggers (Hinderaker, Hawkins, Stevens, Bandes, Morrissey) are denouncing the "birthers" who believe that Obama wasn't born in the U.S. and therefore isn't a legitimate President. However, a number of righty bloggers (Ham, Carroll, Allahpundit) are calling Andrew Sullivan a hypocrite for mocking the birthers, since he's written a number of posts questioning whether Trig Palin is actually Sarah Palin's son.

HEALTH CARE REFORM: You're No LBJ, Harry

Liberal bloggers are criticizing Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) for declaring that he has "a responsibility to get a bill to the Senate floor that will get 60 votes," even if the bill doesn't satisfy his "personal preferences." Lefty bloggers are interpreting Reid's comments as a signal that he's willing to give up on a public option:

• Daily Kos' Laura Clawson: "No, Senator Reid. Passing a bill without a public option, without making health care affordable and portable and secure for every American, is not responsible exercise of your position. Avoiding a nasty rumpus over health care is not what is best for the country -- or, incidentally, for the Senate. There are bad people out there and some of them are trying to stop working families from being able to afford the care they need. It's your job to pass a bill that will help people, not protect insurance company profits. If it takes a fight, so be it."
• The Washington Monthly's Steve Benen: "The Majority Leader didn't use the words 'public option,' but it certainly seemed like he was hinting, didn't it? What matters is what will 'get 60 votes,' which is more important, he said, than what he thinks 'should be in the bill.' Would now be a good time to mention that Reid is the leader of a 60-member caucus?"
• Oliver Willis: "Harry Reid is such a failure. Everything about him reads concede, retry, and fold. Who knew I would be longing for the comparatively bold leadership of Tom Daschle? And compared to strong Senate leaders of the past like LBJ? Reid will be lucky to win his seat back. At least then we can elect a new majority leader."

Meanwhile, liberal bloggers are pleased that Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) declared that "we're going to have a strong public option":

• Daily Kos' Jed Lewison: "Despite [Sen. Kent] Conrad's and Baucus's intransigence, this thing isn't over. The overwhelming majority of Democratic senators -- and American people - support a strong public option. As long as people like Sherrod Brown stand up for the principles they were elected to follow, we can still win this thing."
• Firedoglake's Hamsher: "If the [Mike] Enzi-Baucus-[Olympia] Snowe deal picks up 3 Republican votes, there are still more than enough progressive votes in he Senate to derail the Baucus bill. There are a lot of Senators pissed off because the Finance committee -- which was only supposed to deal with finance -- decided to write the entire health care bill themselves and flip the bird to the HELP committee (which Sherrod Brown is on). If the progressives in the House likewise revolt, the Senate just might find the nerve to push back against Baucus."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Sympathy And Art

Alyssa Rosenberg:

"...I've always thought that sympathy was one of the gifts of art, and it's certainly one of the reasons I struggle forward with fiction, even though I'm not very good at that. It's a chance to absorb yourself in what you imagine someone else's life is like, to disappear from your own for a while and emerge a little disoriented and refreshed. Certainly, the process of immersing yourself in someone else's character isn't inherently good for you: it doesn't sound like Heath Ledger's experience as the Joker was particularly beneficial to his mental health at what sounds like a very difficult time. David Foster Wallace seems to have spent his career struggling with a contention that he wasn't entirely convinced is true, that life is worth living. But he could create the art he did because he understood both sides of that particular debate.

I don't understand how you can create a good performance or good art in general without at least some level of understanding the person you're willing into being or becoming. Someone like Meryl Streep has always seemed serene and at peace to me, she's been married for more than 30 years, has four children, and is never in the news for anything related to her personal life. I've always suspected that serenity comes from the same core understanding that makes her an astonishing actress. She understands other people in a way that few of us will ever be able to, even if the people she understands aren't actually real."

LEST WE FORGET: Terrier Bravely Defends Family From Squeak

From The Onion:

"VANDERBILT, PA -- Jasper, a 3-year-old short-legged terrier, gallantly defended the Henry household from a brief, high-pitched squeak Sunday night. According to safe and sound sources, the 18-pound canine launched from the living room couch upon hearing the peep and darted through the house multiple times in an effort to drive away the intruding sound. During his sweep of the premises, Jasper barked continuously and made brief stops in the kitchen, the living room, the bedroom, and the kitchen again, bravely putting himself between his family and the millisecond-long chirp. 'Easy, boy,' Tom Henry, 42, said. 'Easy.' As of press time, Jasper is standing at the ready in preparation for the squeak's return."

Posted by Ian Faerstein at July 29, 2009 12:51 PM