|
||
Intermarkets' Privacy Policy Support
Donate to Ace of Spades HQ! Recent Entries
Christopher Wray: Since You Are Now Threatening Criminal Charges Against Me, I'll Allow Two Congressmen, Including Leftwing Firebrand Jamie Raskin, to View a Heavily-Redacted Version of the Bribery Document. How's That?
The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition Mid-Morning Art Thread The Morning Report — 6/1/23 Daily Tech News 1 June 2023 Overnight Open Thread 05/31/2023] Komodo-Roman Wrestling Cafe Quick Hits Tornoto Blue Jays Compel Pitcher Who Supported Target, Bud Light Boycotts Into Forced Public Confession and Reeducation Camp Woke Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast Race-Swaps Aragorn for New "Lord of the Rings" Themed Magic: The Gathering Card Set Absent Friends
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022 Dave In Texas 2022 Jesse in D.C. 2022 OregonMuse 2022 redc1c4 2021 Tami 2021 Chavez the Hugo 2020 Ibguy 2020 Rickl 2019 Joffen 2014 Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups
NoVaMoMe 2023:
06/10/2023
Registration closes May 31st. Texas MoMe 2021: 10/2o/2023-10/21/2023 Corsicana,TX Contact Ben Had for info |
« Obama Not Done With The Public Option Yet? |
Main
| Shocking! Cash For Clunkers Is An Administrative Nightmare! »
August 17, 2009
WH Retreats from Retreating on Public OptionTrial balloon, not white flag. An administration official said tonight that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius “misspoke” when she told CNN this morning that a government run health insurance option “is not an essential part” of reform. This official asked not to be identified in exchange for providing clarity about the intentions of the President. The official said that the White House did not intend to change its messaging and that Sebelius simply meant to echo the president, who has acknowledged that the public option is a tough sell in the Senate and is, at the same time, a must-pass for House Democrats, and is not, in the president’s view, the most important element of the reform package. Ah, that media, always makin' trouble for Obama. Sometimes compromises are simply not possible. One side demands something the other side refuses to grant, and no amount of vague language and unrelated payoffs can bridge that gap. Michelle Malkin links Heritage's The Foundry giving its blessing to a certain kind of "co-op"... If by health care “co-op,” Congress means allowing private associations to collectively buy health insurance for their members or operate a health insurance exchange, or allowing people to buy health insurance from a non-profit, member-owned private insurer, then those would be positive, pro-consumer developments. Like my take on individual mandates, while I can conceive of a plan I would approve of (or at least not oppose), what I can't conceive is that this White House would suggest anything close to such a plan. Or they'll claim it's the version I could support, while of course the language of the actual legislation creates the forbidden system. A congressional source told me Democrats are particularly good at this, and Republicans particularly bad. Democrats load up bills with booby-traps and language they know will be interpreted in ways they like. They also tend to write the concessions they make to Republicans in intentionally unconstitutional language, knowing the courts will strike those sections -- and thus undo the "compromise," leaving the Democratic plan standing untainted by concilliatory limitations -- within a year. And Republican Congressmen are particularly bad at discovering this stuff, until it's too late. Since only like fifteen legislative aides are apparently reading this stuff at all, I guess that's easy to do. Which suggests... This is another argument in favor of posting bills in their final form online for a considerable period of time before voting on them, or before they're signed into law. Crowdsourcing by people who have experience wading through the parentheses and em-dashes might at least help decipher some of the mess to get a clearer picture of what it all means. As it stands, we're left with the few politicians who helped craft the bill saying, "Just trust us." But they won't do that, of course, because most of the compromises and deals they make at the last moment are intended to have obscured meanings. Some Congressmen are counting on the hidden meaning; meanwhile the hidden meaning is, well, hidden from those opposing that meaning; and a great many Congressmen may understand the hidden meaning, but they want plausible deniability on having voted for it when they face reelection. They want to be able to tell constituents, "This is not the bill I thought I knew." And for some reason, voters are willing to excuse this sort of incompetence at the basic tasks of the job. And feigned, dishonest, deliberate incompetence at that. | Recent Comments
Warai-otoko :
"They already gender swapped matlock.
It was cal ..."
TexasDan: "It seems like the GOP is doing a slightly better j ..." Zek: ""Sources and Methods." I raise you one "ongoing ..." Maj. Healey: "I just authorized more money for the DOJ and FBI - ..." Wyatt Earp: "This POS needs to be fired and arrested, but Biden ..." garrett: "Sources and Methods. ..." 18-1: "Everyone that pays attention to politics knows Bid ..." Yudhishthira's Dice : "Choice is simple: take the redacted release. Or, f ..." trev006: "Hold each individual FBI agent in contempt when th ..." Mister Scott (Formerly GWS): "I thought we didn't negotiate with terrorists? ..." Wray and Garland : "Tee hee! ..." Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing: "Meh. My outrage meter has completely shut down. ..." Recent Entries
Christopher Wray: Since You Are Now Threatening Criminal Charges Against Me, I'll Allow Two Congressmen, Including Leftwing Firebrand Jamie Raskin, to View a Heavily-Redacted Version of the Bribery Document. How's That?
The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition Mid-Morning Art Thread The Morning Report — 6/1/23 Daily Tech News 1 June 2023 Overnight Open Thread 05/31/2023] Komodo-Roman Wrestling Cafe Quick Hits Tornoto Blue Jays Compel Pitcher Who Supported Target, Bud Light Boycotts Into Forced Public Confession and Reeducation Camp Woke Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast Race-Swaps Aragorn for New "Lord of the Rings" Themed Magic: The Gathering Card Set Search
Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Primary Document: The Audio
Paul Anka Haiku Contest Announcement Integrity SAT's: Entrance Exam for Paul Anka's Band AllahPundit's Paul Anka 45's Collection AnkaPundit: Paul Anka Takes Over the Site for a Weekend (Continues through to Monday's postings) George Bush Slices Don Rumsfeld Like an F*ckin' Hammer Top Top Tens
Democratic Forays into Erotica New Shows On Gore's DNC/MTV Network Nicknames for Potatoes, By People Who Really Hate Potatoes Star Wars Euphemisms for Self-Abuse Signs You're at an Iraqi "Wedding Party" Signs Your Clown Has Gone Bad Signs That You, Geroge Michael, Should Probably Just Give It Up Signs of Hip-Hop Influence on John Kerry NYT Headlines Spinning Bush's Jobs Boom Things People Are More Likely to Say Than "Did You Hear What Al Franken Said Yesterday?" Signs that Paul Krugman Has Lost His Frickin' Mind All-Time Best NBA Players, According to Senator Robert Byrd Other Bad Things About the Jews, According to the Koran Signs That David Letterman Just Doesn't Care Anymore Examples of Bob Kerrey's Insufferable Racial Jackassery Signs Andy Rooney Is Going Senile Other Judgments Dick Clarke Made About Condi Rice Based on Her Appearance Collective Names for Groups of People John Kerry's Other Vietnam Super-Pets Cool Things About the XM8 Assault Rifle Media-Approved Facts About the Democrat Spy Changes to Make Christianity More "Inclusive" Secret John Kerry Senatorial Accomplishments John Edwards Campaign Excuses John Kerry Pick-Up Lines Changes Liberal Senator George Michell Will Make at Disney Torments in Dog-Hell Greatest Hitjobs
The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny More Margaret Cho Abuse Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed" Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means Wonkette's Stand-Up Act Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report! Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet The House of Love: Paul Krugman A Michael Moore Mystery (TM) The Dowd-O-Matic! Liberal Consistency and Other Myths Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate "Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long) The Donkey ("The Raven" parody) |