Kyl: Even A Deficit Neutral Health Care Bill Without A Public Option Won't Get Republican Support

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Kyl: Even A Deficit Neutral Health Care Bill Without A Public Option Won't Get Republican Support
By Brian Beutler - August 18, 2009, 2:42PM


On a conference call today with reporters, Senate Minority Whip John Kyl (R-AZ) said almost no health care compromise is likely to win significant Republican support.

"There is no way that Republicans are going to support a trillion-dollar-plus bill," Kyl said. "I have no doubt that they can make it revenue neutral to find enough ways to tax the American people, but that doesn't mean the Republicans will support it."

As for the co-op compromise? "It's a step towards government-run health care in this country."

The remarks are particularly significant coming a day after Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the lead Republican health care negotiator in the Senate, said he'd vote against his own bill--and all the compromises he's forcing into it--if it doesn't win a great number of Republican votes.

Of course, when people like Grassley and Max Baucus say they're working toward a bipartisan health care bill, they don't mean they're trying to pick up one or two Republicans. What they're really talking about is a consensus bill--a package that can win significant support from both parties, even if it means sacrificing the votes of liberals and conservatives. That means the major compromises we've seen leaked out of the Finance Committee--no public option, no employer mandate, etc.

But even if a consensus bill can succeed in the Finance Committee, Kyl's saying the same bill won't achieve consensus on the Senate floor. And so the question falls back to Baucus, and through him to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Barack Obama. Why is this process allowed to continue if it's destined to fail--why not just try to snatch up one or two moderate Republicans and call it a day?

Via Steve Benen.

I'm wondering what they will support -- how about guaranteed 15% annual premium increases, automatic recission for claims over $50, and mandated coverage for everyone with government writing the checks straight to the insurance companies?

No? Oh, I'm sorry, and a tax cut. There, now will you vote for it?

If a public option is not included in the final bill and passed it will be a failure of the entire Democratic leadership in not corralling the conservaDems.

er...wait a minute

You made them happy today.

We don't need them. When it is successful, history will show that they fought it tooth and nail.

said as much, we should force it through ourselves.

And fighting means playing hard ball and tearing them down to everyone, their constituents and others to the point where they know that if they continue their inflexible positions in trying to work a political solution, they will be called out on NOT being politicians working on solutions and being thorns that need to be removed from office or punished in some other fashion! Obama and the Dems need to realize that this is war and respond as such. You can't play nice with people like these! You need to go for their jugulars! And that includes those that work with them on the Democratic side of the aisle. Quite GLAD that Nelson felt PO'd towards Ed Schultz when Schultz called him out. That's the way they need to be treated to expose them as not being honest players for the American people's welfare, but those that are setting up obstacles for anything that will work for the American people to continue the system of corruption we have in government now that they are beholden to.