Josh Marshall: Health Care Reform is both dead and not dead

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

Fluid and Muddle

I've been poking around some sources in Washington, DC (and combining this with what I've heard from our TPMDC team) and my sense is that Health Care Reform is both dead and not dead. Let's say it's among the Undead. There does seem to be some continuing effort to see how a Senate bill plus amending bill deal might work -- both for what would be needed in political terms and what would be workable under reconciliation rules. But there's also a lot of happy talk about generally marginal and meaningless reforms that might be pushed through as consolation prizes. And what seems unmistakably clear is that the White House is taking an extremely hands off approach to the whole situation.

My strongest sense however is not so much that decisions have been made to drop reform as that it's something like a matter of survivors walking around -- half dazed -- after some sort of natural disaster. There is no plan. It actually seems highly, highly fluid and possibly susceptible to dramatic change if any of the key players assert themselves. But I'm not sure there's anyone really ready to do that, unless rank-and-file Democrats and Reform supporters assert themselves.

--Josh Marshall

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/01/fluid_and_muddle.php?ref=fpblg

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Schroedinger's Health Care Reform?

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

4. We better not look in the box.

Whoops! Sorry... I looked.

[Howler]

6. Now thats an instant classic!!!!!

"Schroedinger's Health care reform" LMAO!!!!!!

[scarletwoman]

2. So, it's ZOMBIE Health Care Reform.

Maybe it will help zombies. And vampires.

[hughee99]

5. You can't deny coverage to vampires and zombies...

though there doesn't seem to be much that hurts them anyway.

Zombie 1: Hey Frank, wanna go out for brains and beer?
Zombie 2: Nah, I think I have the H1N1, I'm just going to lay low tonight.

[hughee99]

3. HCR is a zombie that will rise from the grave to eat human brains.

I think I saw this on the Creature Double feature when I was little.

[salguine]

7. "Like Leonard Cohen!" —Neil Pye

[KoKo]

8. Josh used to seem to have a "Good Heart and Intentions." Something happened

to him along the way. Maybe two kids and the family...and maybe some "Goons" showing up to tell him how he needs to support that family.

:eyes:

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

9. What is he doing wrong?

[KoKo]

10. He's overwhelmed with trying to deal with Dem Taliing Points that lead him down

paths that don't work out. I think it's frustration on his part.