One of the odd outcomes of the primary election was that all manner of progressives developed sharply defined opinions on whether campaign health plans should include a mandate mechanism to achieve universal health care or whether affordability should be sought simply through regulation and subsidy. So far as campaigns go, it's a big enough issue. So far as passing health reform goes, it's not very important. Now, however, the campaign is over. And the question has moved away from the health plans of the presidents and towards the actual path health reform is going to have to travel. Which is why it's a problem that many more liberals could define an individual mandate than could identify Max Baucus, the complicated and traditionally conservative Senator who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, who will run the process that creates a health reform bill, and whose office will actually write the first draft of the legislation. Baucus has come in for a lot of fire among progressives, and rightfully so. The Nation has branded him "K Street's Favorite Democrat." This magazine termed him "Bad Max." The New Republic editorialized that he should be stripped of his chairmanship. But Baucus has also been making a lot of encouraging moves in recent months. And, in any case, he's going to be the guy on health reform -- not just for reasons of jurisdiction, but because he's moved most aggressively to assert ownership. As such, he's worth taking some time to understand. In the latest issue of The American Prospect, I take a shot at doing just that, with a profile examining the politics of Max Baucus and the power of the Senate Finance Committee. THIS GUY MIGHT DECIDE HEALTH CARE REFORM.
One of the odd outcomes of the primary election was that all manner of progressives developed sharply defined opinions on whether campaign health plans should include a mandate mechanism to achieve universal health care or whether affordability should be sought simply through regulation and subsidy. So far as campaigns go, it's a big enough issue. So far as passing health reform goes, it's not very important. Now, however, the campaign is over. And the question has moved away from the health plans of the presidents and towards the actual path health reform is going to have to travel. Which is why it's a problem that many more liberals could define an individual mandate than could identify Max Baucus, the complicated and traditionally conservative Senator who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, who will run the process that creates a health reform bill, and whose office will actually write the first draft of the legislation. Baucus has come in for a lot of fire among progressives, and rightfully so. The Nation has branded him "K Street's Favorite Democrat." This magazine termed him "Bad Max." The New Republic editorialized that he should be stripped of his chairmanship. But Baucus has also been making a lot of encouraging moves in recent months. And, in any case, he's going to be the guy on health reform -- not just for reasons of jurisdiction, but because he's moved most aggressively to assert ownership. As such, he's worth taking some time to understand. In the latest issue of The American Prospect, I take a shot at doing just that, with a profile examining the politics of Max Baucus and the power of the Senate Finance Committee. 
