Mori Dinauer

It’s not the greatest policy solution, but Tom Carper‘s (D-DE) public option alternative that would allow states to decide if they want to set up co-ops or exchanges does have the benefit of being a smart political solution. If you’re a red state that doesn’t want “socialized medicine,” then fine, let your people suffer. But […]

Barbara Boxer and John Kerry introduced the Senate’s version of climate change legislation today, and the bill moves in much the same direction as the the Waxman-Markey House bill which passed earlier this year. In other environmental news EPA chief Lisa Jackson confirmed that she would use the regulatory power granted to the administration to […]

The Senate Finance Committee voted 15-8 to strike down Jay Rockefeller‘s public option amendment, and 13-10 to nix Chuck Schumer‘s weaker bill. Ezra Klein explains why a majority on the committee feels it’s more important to protect private profits than to save money and provide better, wider care. We all know that Sen. Ben Nelson […]

Responding to anonymous sources cited in a New York Times article on Harry Reid‘s “quarterbacking” of health care reform legislation, a spokesman for the Senate majority leader emphatically denied that Reid plans to scuttle the public option in order to appease Senate “moderates.” I think most liberals would agree that Democrats have not done enough […]

The Washington Post reports that President Obama‘s vow to close the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is running behind schedule and a plan isn’t yet in place to actually fulfill the promise. The clearest indication that the administration’s strategy is being rebooted: White House Counsel Greg Craig is no longer in charge of the […]

It’s difficult to believe that a political party that constantly struggles with Senators like Ben Nelson, Joe Lieberman, and Blanche Lincoln could actually muster the discipline to get the entire Senate Democratic caucus to break a Republican filibuster on health care reform legislation. This is merely a reminder that the real problem with these “moderate” […]

The headline of this Roll Call article might be “Pelosi backs away from deal with Blue Dogs” but read eight paragraphs in: “Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) and a group of fellow Blue Dogs had negotiated a deal with Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) in July that would remove the link to Medicare. […]

If you want to know the details of the more than 500 amendments proposed to Max Baucus‘ health care bill, I suggest you glance at Igor Volsky‘s useful tables at the Wonk Room. The vast majority are frivolous Republican proposals designed to slow down the whole process, but there are also some serious proposals, mostly […]

A new Gallup poll has found that 57 percent of Americans think the government is “doing too much,” prompting some concern that perhaps Barack Obama has missed his window of opportunity to convince Americans that government can be a positive force in their lives. But this makes it sound like the public just needed to […]

It’s a good thing Max Baucus made six big concessions to Republicans and got nothing in return in crafting the Senate Finance Committee’s health care bill. It’s even better that not one Republican will vote for it, not even Oympia Snowe. Yet there are signs that Snowe is becoming tired of the pressure being applied […]