So now the Whitehouse is letting Olympia Snow set the healthcare agenda

So they care only about bipartisanship at all cost including giving up the the public option.The networks are reporting that she has some kind of plan she's trying to workout.

There seems to be a revolving door of conservative-du-jour that the Obama administration is supposed to be "working" with. Each of the previous ones has fallen somewhat off the radar, if not entirely. We'll see.

I think Rahm needs to be fired for giving Obama really bad advice.

:freak:

I get the feeling many want nothing but a symbolic reform, yet don't want to take credit for it.

She may well be more obtainable than a handful of supposed Democrats. I swear it is like some people never paid attention to politics until Bush. You and others are demanding 100% Democratic support (including/plus Teddy's seat) to accomplish this just like the likes of Ron Christie. That stretches credibility to it's extreme. If he can get any Republican it will go a long, long way towards getting our right wing in line.

60 Democrats isn't 60 liberals or even 60 sure-fire moderates. Courting Snowe a bit might not pay off but if it does we can actually pass something that won't sunset as soon as it goes into effect.

and think that..sure.

Without Olympia Snowe, a bill won't pass. (A strong public option won't get enough blue dog votes to pass the house, and a weaker public option like in HR3200 won't cut the deficit enough to pass through reconciliation.)

In the end, legislation is always essentially written (if not literally written) by the 60th vote in the Senate. I am very happy that Olympia Snowe is that person. She is not concerned about re-election, and is very concerned about the same goals that Obama has. She just has a somewhat different way of approaching them. Olympia Snowe is much more liberal on healthcare than Ben Nelson/Kent Conrad/Joe Lieberman, and if she can get those three on board, we might actually get a pretty good bill.

are reporting?

Those same networks you were pissed off about during the primaries? Those networks? Now suddenly they're the be all end all?

When Obama tells me then it will be news. With the networks telling me I'll just call it what it is, bullshit.

He's working on getting Snowe's vote, not allowing her to set the agenda. Perhaps some of these armchair politicians should really run for office and then they can see how the media makes shit up first hand.

to think we did. Who has the power.

It's desperate compromise to pass the bill.