Anger at Franken

Yesterday, a liberal talk show host blew his stack -- Limbaugh-style, unfortunately - at Al Franken for insisting that his first loyalty is to Minnesota voters, greater than the importance he gives his position as Vote 60.  My reaction was that Franken is a consummate politician and has been well-coached on the peril healthcare reform finds itself in.  Talk show host  Ed Schultz's display probably had its roots in personal ambition rathan than in his genuine worries that the healthcare reform "package" may be teetering on the edge of severe damage or total loss --  or unbearable compromise. 

Others (including me) believe we're probably watching a public display of  bipartisanship and flexibility covering up some very desperate  politicking. The kind of compromise the White House faces becomes clearer this morning in a Herszenhorn-Stolberg report in the New York Times.  Tom Daschle is very active in the fight.  The former senator, tainted by his relationships with industry, is a behind-the-scenes White House negotiator.  The politics are tough and probably more "compromising" than many even want to know.

"The very groups we have been talking to have been the most vocal opponents of health care reform; they are now becoming the vocal proponents for health care reform," said Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff.

Emanuel's smooth assurance just begs for a peep under the curtain.  Chris Dodd wants to know wht the pay-offs will be.

“I’m delighted to hear that people are stepping up to help reduce costs,” said Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, who is leading the Senate health committee, “but I want to know what the ask is, and the ask sometimes can exceed the value of your cost savings.”

The ask.  What is the healthcare industry getting in return for its public embrace of reform?

Drug costs:  "agreement from Mr. Baucus to oppose efforts by House Democrats to sharply reduce what the government pays for drugs for some Medicare recipients previously covered by Medicaid."

Limitations on fees to doctors:  "The American Medical Association and other doctors’ groups have sought to change or repeal the provision, and they are likely to try to extract that as their price for boarding the Obama train..."

Employee coverage:  "Wal-Mart said it wanted a guarantee that the bill would not 'create barriers to hiring entry-level employees' — in effect, code words to insist that lawmakers abandon the idea of requiring employers to pay part of the cost for workers covered by Medicaid, the government insurance plan for the poor."

The report finds the division among Democrats "deepening" with Harry Reid and Max Baucus in deep disagreement, with the public option at stake.  And Al Franken?  I think Franken is probably putting on his best smiling face.  He surely knows he's walking into a situation in which his and Paul Wellstone's hopes have long ago been compromised out of all recognition.

Comments

[BASE719]

Franken?
He's a comedian who has joined many more in
Washington.