President Snowe's Endgame: BaucusCare + Trigger

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Other Politics
Posted on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 01:56:17 PM EST
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Say what you want about President Olympia Snowe and her Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, they played a shrewd card today when Snowe voted yes for BaucusCare in the Senate Finance Committee. What is Snowe's thinking here? Here's my view.

Snowe saw that BaucusCare was fast becoming irrelevant and would have been completely irrelevant without her vote. She did not want to offer her trigger amendment now because she is saving that "concession" for the endgame. And she wants the final bargaining to begin with BaucusCare. She did what she had to do today to make BaucusCare the blueprint.

Senators Rockefeller and Wyden (or Schumer) misplayed their hands today by announcing they will vote Yes for BaucusCare. If two of them had voted No (Wyden does not really care about the public option and Schumer is in the leadership so I think I give them a bit of a pass on the political bargaining question), then BaucusCare would have been seen as a nonstarter from the Progressive side. This is important not only in the Senate but in the House, where the Progressive Block needs all the help it can get.

Snowe's shrewd play need not be a big deal in the endgame, but it could very likely be one. It all depends on how progressives in the Senate play it. So far, not good.

Speaking for me only

< The Votes Are . . .? | Progressives Getting Played >

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President Snowe's Endgame: BaucusCare + Trigger | 30 comments (30 topical)

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Well played by the bad guys... (5.00 / 1) (#3)
by magster on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 02:08:59 PM EST

...the progressive caucus needs to make a move quickly.

The CPC should renew its objections (none / 0) (#7)
by andgarden on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 02:17:44 PM EST

: My fantasy is that Pelosi announces (none / 0) (#9)
by magster on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 02:30:46 PM EST

the progressives have whipped up over 217 votes for Medicare + 5% and that debate on that bill will begin on Monday. That would steal the headlines from President Snowe.

Senate to vote first. (none / 0) (#23)
by MO Blue on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 06:32:22 PM EST

Senate to vote by October 26th and House will vote by Thanksgiving. Per Harry Reid, Snowe will be included in conference to merge Senate bills and he is prepared to go to substantial lengths to keep Ms. Snowe's support. link


Snowe and the GOP played (5.00 / 5) (#11)
by Anne on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 02:48:08 PM EST

Dems like a Stradivarius; and Rockefeller tapped into his inner jello. Sigh.

I'm betting that when all is said and done, not even Snowe will vote for the final bill, reform will have been gutted to a fare-thee-well and the only ones who benefit will be the very industries that have done nothing but profit.

Now who's the master of 11 dimensional chess, hmmm?

GOP does this on everything, one of 'em ... (5.00 / 2) (#14)
by Ellie on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 03:03:43 PM EST

... spends weeks d!cking around the Dems to provide "bipartisan" cover (Warner, Grassley, Hagel, Snow have all "heroically" feigned independence from the lizard brain) only to return instinctually to their tribe at the last minute. It's practically a late-summer ritual.


Told ya Rockefeller (5.00 / 1) (#16)
by gyrfalcon on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 04:09:13 PM EST

would cave in the end. He always does.


: Sometimes, it really (none / 0) (#19)
by Anne on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 05:26:58 PM EST

sucks to be right, doesn't it?
I can't remember such a long stretch - really going back to 2006 - when I so wanted to be wrong.
Maybe the Dems need to adopt the George Costanza Just-Do-The-Opposite-Of-Your-First-Instinct strategy; I mean, why not? Nothing else works.

I now hate. it. all. every. last. piece. of. it. (none / 0) (#29)
by BrassTacks on Wed Oct 14, 2009 at 02:33:11 AM EST

This is resulting in nothing but increased payments for regular people, up to 20% of their income for a family making a combined income of $102,000. That's just insane that they would have to pay $20,000 for health care. I thought this was going to REDUCE health care costs, not make them 4 times as expensive.

On top of ALL that agony, there is no public option AND there are still large fines for anyone who wants out of this craziness! I. HATE. IT. ALL.

What ever happened to democrats passing bills that actually HELP people, reduce costs to families, and provide services to people who need it? This crappola bill has neither! It actually hurts families and those without insurance!


: What hurts me the most is that I remember (5.00 / 1) (#30)
by suzieg on Wed Oct 14, 2009 at 03:38:32 AM EST

when democrats fought to save any cuts to medicare when republicans repeatedly tried to do so, only to have them accept now to cut over 1/2 trillion out of it!

The progressives will don their costumes (5.00 / 1) (#12)
by MO Blue on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 02:50:50 PM EST

and play a few more acts of kabuki before The Insurance Industry
Profit Protection and Enhancement Act becomes law. The major change I expect to BaucusCare will be to strengthen the penalties for mandated coverage to satisfy the demands of the insurance industry.

: AP recently decided to report any changes (none / 0) (#13)
by oculus on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 02:55:01 PM EST

won't kick in for until 2013. Perhaps they will write an easy-to-understand analysis of what this means for the man/woman/family on the street. Then TV news and analysts will jump on board, followed by NYT, LAT, Chicago Tribune, et al.

Rockefeller (5.00 / 2) (#15)
by pontificator on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 03:13:26 PM EST

is a very nice man and a good progressive on some issues. However, he is probably the least "shrewd" Senator on the D side. Pat Roberts regularly are his lunch on the Intel committee through eight long years under Bush.

Ah, but (5.00 / 1) (#17)
by jbindc on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 04:16:02 PM EST

Some unions aren't happy

WASHINGTON -- A top labor lobbyist says about 30 unions will run a full-page ad in newspapers Wednesday announcing their opposition to the Senate Finance Committee's health overhaul bill.
The ad says that unless the bill brought to the Senate floor makes substantial progress to address the concerns of working men and women, unions will oppose it.
The legislative director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Chuck Loveless, says unions are unhappy that the legislation lacks a publicly run insurance plan and would tax insurers that provide expensive coverage.
Sponsors included the AFL-CIO and the Communications Workers of America. The ad will run in The Washington Post, USA Today and Capitol Hill newspapers.

: Good. No one should be happy (