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Mary Landrieu isn’t satisfied with her hundred million dollar bribe just to proceed to debate in the Senate. She now says that triggers are inevitable:
After announcing her intent to support a health care debate this afternoon, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) told reporters she thinks Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will soon have to choose between a triggered public option and no health care bill. She also says Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)–the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate one of its most fierce and vocal public option advocates–has been tasked as a point man on the issue.
“I believe it’s going to be very clear at some point very soon that there are not 60 votes for the current provision in the bill, and that the leader and the leadership are going to have to make a decision and I trust that they will figure out how to do that,” Landrieu told reporters.
For those just tuning in, this is how it works:
1. Those Senators who are vulnerable in the next election look out for themselves:
- Harry Reid: Shakes down taxpayers for Nevada pork to insure his re-election while pretending to be doing something that satisfies what 72% of the country wants. List-builds by saying he’ll fight for the public option.
- Blanche Lincoln: Shake down taxpayers for “abstinence only” funding to buy off Arkansas fundamentalist industrial complex, extracts promises from Obama and Biden they’ll support her in a primary challenge if she delivers for Blue Cross, continues to run to the right because the thing she fears are Republicans in the general.
2. Those Senators aren’t vulnerable do the heavy lifting for the rest:
- Ben Nelson: Shakes down taxpayers on behalf on insurance companies and makes them exempt from anti-trust laws to prevent competition just to proceed to debate, and demands something that virtually none of the country wants (triggers).
- Mary Landrieu: Shakes down taxpayers for $100 million as a price for not obstructing her own party, then demands what the White House has been saying they want since January — triggers.
Then Joe Lieberman gets some face time on TV being a dick, and the “safe” Senators deliver for the rest. All the pundits talk about “extremists on the left” trying to “purge the party of its fiscally sensible centrists,” seemingly oblivious to the fact that they’ve just delivered to huge corporations hundreds of billions of dollars of pork for the sole purpose of preserving their own power.
In days gone by, we would’ve said “what can you do, Landrieu and Nelson aren’t up for reelection.” Not this time. It doesn’t matter who does the heavy lift — they’re doing the work of the vulnerable ones, and they are the ones who will absorb the blow.
Harry Reid’s kabuki won’t work. If the public option can’t get through the Senate, he and Blanche are going to wear it.
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Mary Landrieu has to be a great actress or very dim-witted. First she says everyone thinks the public option means free health care. Now she says there are 20 Democratic Senators against the public option. Great bluff – if that were true would there be a chance in hell that Reid would have written it into the bill? If that were true wouldn’t Evan Bayh be making noises about all the votes he’s got and threating to lead a new Centrist party? Landrieu’s lies are simply not credible, but the scary thing is she’s probably deluded herself into believing them.
I saw a brief clip of shameless Landrieu last night barfing out words to the effect of: I’m gonna milk this for all it’s worth! And then beaming proudly as if the poo-poo she just made on the floor was worthy of praise.
Don’t get me wrong here, but I agreed in theory with some of McCain’s spouting off during the campaign about limiting pork (even though it does end up not being as much as he purported, and Republics are just as venal as Dimocrats in terms of wrangling it). But when you watch this ugly, nasty, brutal process… and have cretins like Landrieu from LA holding up the process for no good reason, and then crowing about ripping the rest of the US off… ugh.
Makes me wanna puke. the whole lot of them *should* be ashamed of themselves, but hell will be well and truly frozen over before that ever happens. Talk about a deal with the devil.
I really don’t get the “trigger” idea. This bill will already allow the insurance giants to run rampant over US all for the next 4 years. If THAT isn’t “trigger” enuff for them, what more proof will they need?
Rolling Harry Reid is the gift that keeps on giving.
Case in point: Joe “the log-roller” Lieberman.
Sure would be nice if some of those Senate “extremists on the left” were the holdouts now, wouldn’t it? I wonder what kind of a bill Bernie Sanders could get Harry Reid to write if he acted like Blanche Lincoln. Or Barbara Boxer. Or even Arlen Spectre.
Just once in my lifetime I’d like to see the Democratic Party accommodate its left flank. Oh, that’s right, they did once, as the High Broderists remind us alla time: 1972.
Here is a prediction for next year:
1) Landreiu will oppose EFCA because it will hurt job creation “at a time we can least afford it.”
2) Landreiu will extort favors from Reid behind the scenes.
3) Landrieu will vote to bring EFCA to the floor.
4) Landrieu will vote against EFCA in the regular roll-call vote because “that is what the people of Louisiana want.”
Also worth a mention: As the “Fuck the Dems” caucus of the Democratic party in the Senate plays their weekly poker game, they will draw straws to see which one has to provide cover for the rest. And the game is growing.
Democrats Punking Democrats is sport.
opposing, and quite possible, prediction:
Mary Landreiu *gets* the other $200M that she quite blatantly demanded from the floor today, and becomes compliant as a kitten.
I wonder what kind of a bill Bernie Sanders could get Harry Reid to write if he acted like Blanche Lincoln. Or Barbara Boxer. Or even Arlen Spectre.
Cut it out. I’m still trying to adjust to reality, and now you’re asking me to dream?
Right – it could boil down to that they’re all just haggling over their price.
what movie was that from?
(“We’ve established what you are madam – now we’re just haggling over the price”)?
Does this mean what I think it means?
Jane, I say throw every damned one of them out of their taxpayer-paid (and possibly very well-furnished) offices, and make them pay rent for offices somewhere in DC. (I’d prefer somewhere in their home district, but that ain’t gonna happen. The DINOs are afraid to go back to their districts, and the handful of good ones are too busy trying to keep the raft from coming apart.)
And F*ck Reid and Landrieu and the Nelsons as being piles of shit who should have been retired already. Lieberman isn’t even worth that much: he’s been a pile of shit so long that the dung beetles have rejected him.
I think it was George Bernard Shaw. Or someone like that.
I’m not buying these Conservadem threats. The public option is important to voters, yet no longer poses much threat to private insurers. I think they are setting this up so Reid can be the liberal hero and the Conservadems can build independent cred by claiming they were strong-armed by the powerful “liberal” leader. Then the public feels like it has won a huge victory, despite the fact that premiums are still going up and the economy is going down, and everyone gets re-elected.
It’s George Bernard Shaw
Could we start a movement to at least shut down these jackal lordships’ in-house, no-waiting, almost-no-cost, comprehensive, top-quality healthcare facility?
thanks PJ and Kelly
They have one, you know.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/congress-health-care-clinic/story?id=8706655
Baucus up.
The man has weasel written all over him.
Just a drive-by to say Landrieu is a twit.
btw jane you are made of kickass – great post, thx
Jane,
How confident are you that the progressive Dems in the House will vote against the final version of the healthcare bill if it doesn’t contain a decent public option?
Denial of Service To the Lords by opening it up to the uninsured & homeless in DC would be a great start.
Gotta catch up with comments.
But Mz. Hamsher, I hear some serious drop down shit in yer fonts!
I like it!
Eager and ready to see what’s next.
On to comments, and thanks Mz. Hamsher for all yer doing.
(wonders what she’s up to now)
Dodd: This is just not acceptable in our America.
He lies.
Yeah, Reid. Liberal hero.
Someone remind me to stop laughing in half an hour or so or I’ll make myself sick.
Lemme just shorten that for ya.
FUCK DA BLANCHED!!!
Ok, I’m better, and Don’t Even Think Blanched is the problem.
And thanks for your comment. Right on!!!!
Well, I’m confident that we’ll make their every waking hour miserable if they don’t — and that I wake up in the middle of the night thinking of new and creative ways to make that happen.
I’ve had a long time to think about it. Since June 23, as a matter of fact.
Jane for President!
She wouldn’t let Congress fuck this up if she was!
ummm – where did Miss McConnell come up with the $2.5T price tag?
I guess having an (R) by your name means never having to say that you’ve got a fucking clue what you’re talking about.
Now he’s lying about Medicaire.
Pretty much ‘splains to me how he got to be the (R) leader.
He can make up the biggest lies.
Jane – indulge me for a moment.
I’m picturing you with your contact list at the ready, perched to talk to staffers and other connections at different points in the Senate debate.
As well, I bet you have 2 or 3 drafts for posts here at FDL and Action Alerts at POP for potential outcomes, so you can slight modify, depending on any zigging or zagging, and get them out with your usual dizzying speed.
Hmmmm?
Can’t wait to see your results!!
His Ass??
I say give Mary and Blanche precisely what they want. Give them an opt-out for triggers for their state only. If they want to go back to Louisiana and Arkansas with that albatross around their neck, telling their voters that they will have compulsory insurance premium payments but not have any of the benefits of the health care bill then so be it.
These two are clearly under the finger of Tyson Chicken and Walmart…which I suspect have crap health care coverage for their employees. Well left that run in Arkansas and Louisiana. But make Tyson/Walmart pay their full fare in our states if they want to operate here.
tactfully avoiding the obvious joke…..
(but hey – it’s early) *g*
McConnel; Nobody’s suggesting we stop the debate.
Liar, Liar, Filibuster Pants On Fire!
gotta admit – I *am* kind of enjoying watching Miss Mitch begging for just. one. vote.
suck on it Mitch.
Bull, I don’t think any of us are fooled.
The threat to ’10. ’12 and ’14 is however, SERIOUSLY under consideration.
My take is this round of HCR is doomed to the LCD.
And the LCD, is NOT what us progs/libs elected our offals to fight for.
So, we wait and watch to see how THIS HCR turns out, see what Obams signs or don’t sign.
And we continue pushing that rock up the hill.
Only, we are NOT Sisyphus.
One day, that rock we push is gonna come crashing down on the other side, in our favor.
Flatten ALL them sumsabitchesmofo’s.
Maybe not in MY lifetime.
Srsly.
Iblve that.
Dude, publicans are gonna kill it, make the dem’s look like saints.
Get with the progam!
Every word McConnell says is a lie, including “and” and “the”.
h/t Dorothy Parker (?)
yeh it is *g*
Wait till it really gets going…
Geez, some ice cream and Irish Cream should help . . .
You stay well, we need ja . .
me too and well said.
N THIS is how ya won our prog/lib hearts and souls, me and mine alike.
*G*
harry the other guy just lied! duhh..
Damn but yer an eager fucker aintcha.
Me too!
LOL
Scarecrow’s diary is up now on the front page!
Blanche Lincoln Lectures Blanche Lincoln on a Senator’s Duties
has Harry dialed his hair back a few years? Looks darker….
Yes!
YUP!
I want to see my kids and their have good health care… simple…
Harry needs more starch in his cuffs.
Kelly, Kelly Kelly . . . . . that’s interesting, I often think of those thangs.
I find them to be interestang.
Now, more than before.
Now why would a fully committed insane and crazed prog/lib as you RAISE them points?
Uh, can I get some medium rare Kobi Beef in a light soy/ginger/roasted garlic sauce, on freshly made rice noodles with broccoli, carrot, crimini mush slices, some lemon grass, Thai fish sauce, and basil and red chili flakes?
Or, if that’s not available from the kitchen, can I at LEAST get some Decent Yosenabe?
Honored Nahant.
Thanks. Bless yer fonts, as Suz would say.
*G*
She sure would *G*
Heh, see my #53 for Yosenabe . . *G*
Better yet, GET WITH the recipe, I’m tellin ya!!
Add more garlic, ginger and fish sauce though . .
*G*
sounds great… we love Japanese food and have one of the best in the bay area just around the corner… been going there for 20 years…
Now we move on debate after Thanxgiver.
I know that it is not supposed to be personal, but I really don’t like that woman. She first came on my radar during the Anderson Cooper interview where she was “high-fiveing” herself and her fellow politicos on what a great job they were doing during Katrina.
Then Anderson told her that while they were all congratulating themselves on a job well done, that he had been watching dogs eating human bodies in the streets.
Her response to that was enough to tell me where her priorities are.
Like I said, I really don’t like that lady.
Here is a REVISED prediction for next year:
1) Landrieu will oppose a new version of EFCA because it will hurt job creation “at a time we can least afford it.”
2) Landrieu will hint that she might be willing to support EFCA in a bald attempt to extort favors from Reid behind the scenes.
3) Landrieu will successfully extort favors from Reid and vote to bring EFCA to a floor vote.
4) Landrieu will vote against EFCA in the regular roll-call vote because “that is what the people of Louisiana want.”
5) Landrieu will successfully solicit support from unions (especially cash contributions) because she is a loyal union supporter and better than a Republican.
Why do the senate and the congress allow people to carve up bills when they know they aren’t going to vote for it anyway?
If you don’t vote Yes for the bill, all your amendmants should be stricken from the bill.
Is there a reason they allow this?
I made this comment in another thread, but it’s applicable here:
And fucking Harry Reid is paying the ransom with OUR money!!!
I really want this piece-of-crap legislation to LOSE!!
Look, we’d be fools not to see that the insurers have a Plan B. If the public option passes, they’ll fight to have it repealed before it kicks in. The Senate gave them an extra year to fight, and they’ll really, really want to get it repealed since the Senate bill will lead employers to drop coverage, pay the $750, and send their piece of the workforce into the exchange, where they can use the PO. So it’s a real threat.
But Plan A is to keep the PO out from the get-go. It’ll save them money down the road, and it tamps down public expectations.
Am I making myself clear?
Jane “If the public option can’t get through the Senate, he and Blanche are going to wear it.’
Those are fighting words and we are right behind you.
Wondering why Blanche does not come out and throw all of the Christian hypocrisy back in some these hypocrites faces “what would Jesus do” You know the folks who claim to be all Religious and shit , show up at tea bagging events to protect insurance company profits (I think unknowingly) and shout out no health care reform wearing little crosses around their two necks and faces.
I think she could use these hypocritical stands right back at them.
That clip in Micheal Moores flick where an old clip from a Bible movie has Hollywood Jesus leaning over a sick person saying ” I am unable to heal you because of your pre- existing condition”
Come on throw the hypocrisy back in their faces.
Well…”hero of the minute” to complacent liberals (of whom there are many), mitigating their contempt for the man, at least, reassuring them that “the system works for everyone sometimes (when Democrats are in power)”, and sapping the urgency of their support for single payer.