Greg Sargent:
As you know, Max Baucus and the Senate finance committee released their health care bill today, and after all the concessions they made, they were able to gain exactly zero Republican supporters for it.
The most important legacy of all this, however, may be that Dems acquiesced to Republican demands for a delay on the bill this summer in hopes of winning GOP support. That gave reform foes a chance to mobilize the long hot August of tea-partying and town-hall hollering, which may have significantly shifted public opinion and hence may end up having a direct impact on the final bill’s quality.
The Democrats, while crafting an awful bill to acquiesce Republicans, created the town-hall furor. They kept capitulating, and insisted on appeasing the likes of Chuck Grassley, who still won't vote for the bill. The GOP is laughing at the Democrats ... we're all laughing at the Democrats. Or, I'd like to, but it's too damn sad.
Update: And to top it off, I believe this headline says it all, from the AP:
New health proposal is industry's favorite so far
It would score a new, taxpayer-subsidized customer base of millions who don't currently have insurance, thanks to a mandate that everyone purchase coverage — backed up by steep penalties on people who don't. And it wouldn't have to compete with the government to cover people, unlike in the four other health overhaul plans approved this year by Democratic-dominated congressional committees.
Nor would the nonprofit so-called "co-ops" designed to provide consumers with an alternative to private health insurance pose any real threat to their business, according to a nonpartisan analysis released Wednesday. The Congressional Budget Office said those plans "seem unlikely to establish a significant market presence in many areas of the country or to noticeably affect federal subsidy payments."
AHHHHHHH!!!! I know there's more "horse trading" left, but this is an awful starting point.
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