Josh Marshall-----Watch This Very, Very Closely

[kpete]

Watch This Very, Very Closely
Josh Marshall | January 20, 2010, 11:17AM

Over the next forty-eight hours we'll know the answers to two questions: whether there will be Health Care Reform and whether the Democrats will have any shot going into the 2010 election. Everybody who gets the politics has made clear that it's political suicide for the Democrats not to finish health care reform done. And it seems clear that the only way to do that is for the House to pass the existing senate bill and then revise it in subsequent legislation.

Congressional Democrats on the right and left are putting forward arguments for running for the Hills. Barney Frank says reform should be allowed to die. Bill Delahunt says Democrats should return to an 'incremental approach'. Evan Bayh says the whole thing should be dropped. And we'll hear from many more people over the course of the day saying similar things.

The White House has made clear that health care can't be dropped and that the House should pass the senate bill. But it's speaking feebly. David Axelrod is saying he thinks it's the right way to go. The president has said nothing. At most the White House is speaking with all the authority and volume of blind quotes. Which is to say they're barely speaking at all.

The only thing that is going to stop the rush for the exits is a clear statement from the president. But so far, silence.

Josh Marshall
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/01/watch_this_very_very_closely.php?ref=fpblg

[joeybee12]

1. Ah Josh, could you write something without trying to show how arrogant you are?

"Everybody who gets the politics has made clear that it's political suicide for the Democrats not to finish health care reform done."

And it's political suicide to not listen to your constituents.

[frazzled]

7. Disagree

If after a full year of grandstanding, bargaining, explaining, voting, and generally sucking all the air out of Washington on this one issue, and saying how crucial it is (all the while disagreeing on the substance) ... the Democrats do not pass a health care bill, any health care bill, they will be perceived as incapable of handling or accomplishing anything. They will be slaughtered in 2010.

So it is political suicide. Once it's passed, everyone will forget about it (and the fixes it needs can be taken up in smaller chunks).

But there's an additional pitfall to dropping it now: it will not get done in any form whatsoever for another 15-20 years.

[daa]

8. Who the hell is he????

He sounds like one guy last night said "Who you gonna blame, the voters?"

[mike_c]

2. the senate bill sucks and should die as quickly as possible....

If the WH and the democratic congress want to salvage something positive from this mess they should scrap the senate HCR bill as fast as they can, and use reconciliation to enact single payer universal health care for all Americans. Sooner or later EVERYONE goes to a physician or needs medical treatment. Every person who walks into a clinic or hospital will walk out a supporter of universal single payer health care. That one measure would do more to create motivated democratic voters than just about anything else Obama or Pelosi could do.

Then they should get to work on stopping Obama's wars.

[Pirate Smile]

3. President Obama has an interview with Stephenopolis (sp?) this afternoon so

I suppose we'll hear more then.

[leveymg]

4. Just the opposite, Josh. Passage of the Senate HCR Bill would be suicidal. Bill must be split and

reconciled with an amended House Bill that reinstates all the "good stuff" stripped out to appease the Senate and House Blue Dogs. That can be done in about 60 days, if Obama and Biden take the lead.

[still_one]

6. You are right, but that won't happen either /nt

[still_one]

5. From the comments coming out from the Democrats in Congress, we are screwed

There isn't going to be HCR, and 2010 will be very bad

[Ganja Ninja]

9. Kill the bill!

It's become a kamikaze mission for the Democrats and the senate version simply isn't worth it. Pass it and the Democrats own the health care system. Kill it and the health care system will be wholly owned by the GOP. Let them have it and all it's problems and let the American people know who is responsible for their suffering.

[Demeter]

10. President Log

A great improvement over President Stork?

The Frogs Who Desired a King is a fable ascribed to Aesop.

According to the story, a group of frogs lived happily and peacefully in a pond. Over time, however, they became discontented with their way of life, and thought they should have a mighty king to rule over them. They called out to the great god Zeus to send them a king.

Zeus was amused by the frogs' request, and cast a large log down into their pond, saying "Behold, your king!" At first, the frogs were terrified of the huge log, but after seeing that it did not move, they began to climb upon it. Once they realized the log would not move, they called out again to Zeus to send them a real king, one that moved.

Annoyed by the frogs, Zeus said, "Very well, here is your new king," and sent a large stork to the pond. The stork began devouring frogs. In terror, frogs called out to Zeus to save them. Zeus refused, saying the frogs now had what they'd wanted, and had to face the consequences.

To some, the simple lesson of the story is "leave well enough alone," or "be careful what you wish for."

More politically minded readers would interpret the story as a warning against giving too much power to a monarch, president, or chief executive of a geographic area. In times of crisis, people may desire a strong ruler to protect them, but a strong ruler can quickly and easily become a tyrant. Some have compared the tale to the Old Testament where Samuel warned the Israelites, who desired a king like the pagan nations that bordered them, that they would be ruled by despots who would start wars of aggression and take away the fruits of their labors through taxation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Frogs_Who_Desired_a_King

[Cronus Protagonist]

11. Silence on important topics is Obama's MO

As we have now found out and can probably expect for the next three years.