9/24: I've Got A Bad Feeling About This...

Liberal bloggers have been carefully reading the tea leaves on health care reform, and they're not liking what they see. Yesterday morning, Open Left's Mike Lux (who previously served on the Obama-Biden Transition Team) created a mini-uproar in the lefty blogosphere when he reported that the WH was pushing the public option "trigger" mechanism in order to win Sen. Olympia Snowe's (R-ME) support for health care reform. Although the WH subsequently denied pushing the trigger compromise, liberal bloggers were still suspicious -- especially since Organizing for America is now urging Finance Committee members to vote for a bill even if it "isn't perfect." Lefty bloggers were also upset when OMB dir. Peter Orszag told Bloomberg News that "either" a trigger mechanism or an insurance co-op could be effective. Armando Llorens fumed: "If Orzag is right, on the issue of health care reform President Obama has turned over the reins to 'President' Olympia Snowe. What a wimpy Administration." It's clear the netroots are increasingly viewing the WH with suspicion when it comes to getting a decent health care bill out of the Senate.

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Conservative bloggers (Wehner, Greenwald, Johnson, Mirengoff, Liebau, Lowry) hated Obama's speech to the U.N.
• Conservative bloggers (Allahpundit, Reynolds, Malkin, Troy, Wolf) are ridiculing ACORN's decision to sue the conservative filmmakers who embarrassed the organization by secretly videotaping them. Liberal blogger Kevin Drum agrees that ACORN's lawsuit is foolish, calling it "a bad idea on so many levels it hurts just to think about it."
• Liberal bloggers (Cole, Lewison, Marshall) are mocking Rep. Steve King (R-IA) for claiming that same-sex marriage is "a purely socialist concept."
• Liberal bloggers (digby, Benen, Willis, Empsall, Aravosis) are buzzing about the death of a U.S. Census worker in KY, who was found hanging from a tree with the word 'fed' scrawled on his chest.

HEALTH CARE REFORM: Ominous Signs For Liberals?

Liberal bloggers were very upset when Lux reported that the WH was supporting Snowe's "trigger" mechanism (Lux later backtracked after the WH denied pushing the trigger compromise):

• Lux: "This trigger will never trigger a public option, but I can tell you what it will trigger: a civil war inside the Democratic Party just when you most need unity to pass health care reform. I am convinced that there are deals that can be struck that will bring progressive and moderate Democrats, House and Senate Democrats together on a good strong health care bill that will pass. But a trigger designed to never trigger isn't even close to being one of them."
• Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher: "[WH CoS] Rahm [Emanuel] told liberal interest groups in the veal pen to stop running ads against Blue Dogs on health care, and they complied. If you're a member of a progressive group or union, or a contributor to a think tank or action fund, contact them and let them know that you would like them to release a statement rejecting triggers. Because Mike is right -- this is a transparent attempt to kill the public option, and no progressive organization should be helping them."

Liberal bloggers were further incensed with Snowe voted for Sen. Jim Bunning's (R-KY) amendment that would have delayed the Finance Committee's vote on a bill until the CBO scored it:

• Daily Kos' mcjoan: "If any Democrat, and that includes the White House thinks that Olympia Snowe is negotiating with them in good faith, they need to think again. [...] Negotiating with her on her public option trigger amendment as a way to get her on board, is foolish and naive. She might not be at the top of the invite list to lunch with her Republican colleagues, but she's with them on their delay game."
• AMERICAblog's John Aravosis: "Snowe just voted for a cute little trick that would have effectively killed putting the bill on Reconciliation. [...] As Joan points out, Olympia Snowe is not a good faith partner. She may be a moderate in her soul, but her soul never has the courage to vote the right way."

Liberal bloggers were also disturbed when Orszag told Bloomberg News that "either" a trigger mechanism or an insurance co-op could be effective:

• TalkLeft's Big Tent Democrat: "Three points. One, 6 weeks is AFTER the deadline for including a public option in a reconciliation bill. Second, it has been established that co-ops are usless. Third, it has been established that President Snowe's trigger proposal is a joke. If Orzag is right, on the issue of health care reform President Obama has turned over the reins to 'President' Olympia Snowe. What a wimpy Administration. Jimmy Carter comes to mind."
• Firedoglake's Jon Walker: "Orszag's statement directly contradicts a CBO report that says co-ops will not provide the necessary competition. [...] I guess former CBO director Peter Orszag now also backs the new [Kent] Conrad CBO Standard. He must share the belief that whatever the CBO determines is incredibly important unless they disagree with Senator Kent Conrad."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Neither Can Live While The Other Survives

Open Left's Adam Bink:

"In every election, Democratic Party institutional structures (principally the party committees and, if a Democrat is President, the White House) target vulnerable Republicans, many of whom are moderates. Think [Mike] DeWine-[Sherrod] Brown, [Lincoln] Chafee-[Sheldon] Whitehouse, [Jim] Talent-[Claire] McCaskill, [Susan] Collins-[Tom] Allen, [John] Sununu-[Jeanne] Shaheen, [Gordon] Smith-[Jeff] Merkley. If [Arlen] Specter had not switched, he would have a big bulls-eye on his back, too. They also target moderates and drive them into retirement with the threat of a strong challenger -- see Warner, John. They also target open seats where voters may have elected moderate Republicans -- there are places, for example, where moderate Republicans decide not to run because they are facing a high-profile, highly-recruited Democrat who will mop the floor with them.

Targeting resources in this way keeps moderates out of the House and Senate and decreases opportunities for bipartisanship. Yet the White House keeps insisting on bipartisanship, and we find ourselves in a no-win scenario. If this were 2002, the Republicans looking at our side across the negotiating table probably would have been Chafee, [Olympia] Snowe, Collins (at least initially), Specter, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, and maybe DeWine or [George] Voinovich. Instead, we're dealing with [Chuck] Grassley, [Mike] Enzi, and Snowe. Why? Because we kicked out all the rest (and tried to beat Collins with Tom Allen). That is a major ideological shift. When you have this going on, and the White House keeps pursuing bipartisanship, it is self-defeating. Instead of compromising with a Lincoln Chafee, you find yourself compromising with a John McCain. If you beat McCain, you find yourself at the table with a Saxby Chambliss. And so forth. [...]

This whole set-up reminds me of the prophecy in the Harry Potter series -- 'neither can live while the other survives.' You can't have (a) a strategy of targeting moderates (b) an insistence upon bipartisanship, and (c) a willingness to drag things on/not muscle legislation when you can't get bipartisanship, all at the same time. Something has to give. The White House and Democratic Congressional leaders have to pick and choose, and for our country's sake, I hope they give up this blind pursuit of bipartisanship."

LEST WE FORGET: John Edwards On Verge Of Admitting He Is Total Douche

The Huffington Post's Andy Borowitz:

"In what amounts to a complete about-face, former presidential candidate John Edwards is about to admit that he is a total douche, aides to Mr. Edwards confirm.

The former North Carolina senator had been attempting to maintain the fiction that he is a decent human being, but recent revelations about his affair with videographer Rielle Hunter have cemented his douche status.

'People were willing to stand by John, but then it came out that he was planning to hire Dave Matthews to play at his wedding to Rielle,' said one Edwards aide. 'I think people were like, whoa, what a douche.'

But Mr. Edwards' decision to admit he is a douche might not spell the end of his political career, says historian David Logsdon of the University of Minnesota.

'Of our country's forty-four Presidents, over thirty of them were total douches,' he says."