Historic legislation to expand U.S. health care and control costs won its first Republican supporter Tuesday and cleared a key Senate hurdle, a double-barreled triumph that propelled President Barack Obama?s signature issue toward votes this fall in both houses of Congress.That's the front page of the Bangor Daily News today.
"When history calls, history calls," said Maine Republican Olympia Snowe, whose declaration of support ended weeks of suspense and provided the only drama of a 14-9 vote in the Senate Finance Committee. ...
If you read down a ways, you'll find some discussion about what is actually in the damn bill, all couched in the politics.
The devil is in those details: no public option, the deal was "quietly sweetened in recent days for the benefit of hospitals, medical device makers and others to put them on an even plane with doctors," new taxes, individual but no employer mandate.
Snowe clearly is on the wrong side of health care reform. A couple of weeks ago she saw to the defeat of an amendment that would have provided the proposed insurance exchanges with more bargaining power,
Jane Hamsher: Snowe almost singlehandedly made the exchange worthless.This is the foreseeable result of decades of Snowe being allowed to strike a "moderate" pose before the public and the state's media while operating behind the scenes in service of a well-heeled corporate constituency.
Related posts:
- Snowe fires bullet into head of public option
- Collins: "I oppose the public plan"
- Snowe amongst the rubes
- Health negotiations on C-Span?
- Health insurance winners
- Public option died (somebody tell Howard Dean)
- Unprincipled health insurance non-reform
- Public option dead at the hand of Snowe?
- Wanking single payer
- Pro-Obama health care rally in Bangor
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