Mori Dinauer

Even though the option of passing health-care reform through the reconciliation process is now available, it seems increasingly likely that Democrats will be able to hold together their caucus for a cloture vote, and even manage to bring a bill to the floor that contains a public option. Not only is would-be dealmaker Olympia Snowe […]

This notion of the “Bush recovery” obviously belies a political attitude that is contemptuous of empirical economics, but it also serves to remind us that the right wing is anxiously and eagerly awaiting the rehabilitation of George Bush’s reputation — precisely because their reputations are tied to his. The Bush administration almost single-handedly discredited neoconservative […]

No one wants to talk about the fact that sooner or later the federal government will have to increase revenues to close the budget deficit, because American politicians are no longer allowed to mention the word “tax” unless it’s succeeded by the word “cuts.” Of course, one source of revenue that shouldn’t be controversial, corporate […]

Now that health-care reform has passed its final committee vote with a highly conditional aye from Olympia Snowe, it’s appropriate to ask which other potential Senate obstructionists could get in the way. Will it be Bill Nelson (D-FL), who believes a trigger is a better option than the opt-out compromise from last week? What about […]

Obviously, Barack Obama did not win the Nobel Peace Prize for his achievements. The award is a political statement, an expression of relief that George W. Bush is no longer president. And as surely as the sun rises and sets, American conservatives are outdoing each other in their efforts to point out to the rest […]

Since the CBO favorably scored the Senate Finance health-care bill, the Republican opposition has essentially been reduced to incoherence, and there’s even talk about some members breaking ranks and offering concessions. Moreover, the idea of a public option that individual states can opt out of might just be the silver bullet that gets health-care reform […]

It’s often taken as a given that the House will vote for a health-care reform bill that includes a strong public option. But now we have the numbers, in the form of an internal whip count, showing three-quarters of the Democratic caucus is already on board (which makes this raise my eyebrow). Meanwhile, half of […]

Yesterday, I said I’d be amazed if Democrats could hold their caucus together for a cloture vote, particularly one with a public option included. Chuck Schumer has a different take, simply asking how do you introduce a bill without a public option when the majority of the House Democrats and all but four or five […]

Health-care reform roundup: Senate Finance Committee needs another week before a vote; doctors love reform, especially those from states represented by conservative Democrats; Republicans think attacking the AMA is a great idea; and a portrait of Betsy McCaughey, anti-reform hack. Is it really true that moderate Democrats are “falling in line” to vote for cloture […]

Health-care reform roundup: The Senate Finance Committee moves closer to adopting state-based public plans; it truly is a mystery why non-white voters mistrust the GOP; and is the groundwork being laid for a single-payer system? Eric Kleefeld picks up on the pattern of congressional Republicans engaging in rogue foreign policy, and thereby undermining the diplomatic […]