tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post4058754136362491620..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Endless Summer 2009 -- the Biggest Myth of ACA PassageJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-87400822990922982762013-04-23T14:59:09.438-05:002013-04-23T14:59:09.438-05:00Why did we end up with such a mish mash of a bill ...Why did we end up with such a mish mash of a bill if it wasn't for Baucus.<br />There was support for something like single payer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-70508930884825810292011-09-15T17:22:38.067-05:002011-09-15T17:22:38.067-05:00James, ObamaCare was tricked up to provide the sco...James, ObamaCare was tricked up to provide the scoring they wanted: years studied, program roll out, etc. The CBO simply answers the questions asked of it. <br /><br />Mr. Bernstein, Mitchell could have bought off that little $15B stimulus package, if he'd truly wanted it. I can name you the 5-8 R votes he'da gotten, if he'd wanted them. <br /><br />Yes, Mitchell for the record was putting blame for that stimulus package rejection on the R's, but inside baseball of the era told us that he didn't want it. He and congressional leaders visited Little Rock shortly after the election and informed young Bill of the ground rules, and that he wouldn't be given any special stimulus from that Congress. The Washington dance played out, politically, but rejection was a fait accompli. <br /><br />Remember, Ross Perot had just run and got 19% of the electorate, and deficit fighting was the order of the day. Mitchell couldn't be seen as a profligate spender, and he damn well knew it (see 1994), but he wanted the issue vs. the R's, so he and Clinton agreed on the final political strategy. I vaguely recall even hearing this strategy outlined on NPR, but don't quote me. And you know Clinton was in on the scam, because there's no way he'd waste time asking for a paltry $15B, unless it was purely political. He'da gone full tilt boogie a la Obama/Pelosi, if he could have. <br /><br />Mitchell was FAR more fiscally conservative than the reckless mob the Left is currently fielding, no doubt about it. <br /><br />And to others, some of the most damaging things done by Pelosi/Obama/Reid have been NOT addressing the tax issue pre-election 2010, and not passing budgets. After the suicidal Christmas Eve 2009 ObamaCare vote, the Senate honorables hunkered down and hid, and are yet hiding, and that contributed to the slaughter last November. You gotta fish or cut bait. That has all just been a pure rookie mistake, and has dispirited their base politically. <br /><br />Neophytes. Political incompetents. Bad enough to enact bad policy, but if you also fail at politics, you deserve to get blown out. If Obama was fit, that never would have happened.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-33318129656531290522011-09-15T09:41:03.009-05:002011-09-15T09:41:03.009-05:00@Anon #2, maybe the Dems didn't make the tax c...@Anon #2, maybe the Dems didn't make the tax code changes because they weren't certain of their mandate. A lot of Dems don't have comfortable margins in their seats, and raising taxes may not be one of the first things they want to do once they have a solid majority. It would definitely strengthen the tax-and-spend image. Better to tackle a big issue that the Republicans have no policy for--the uninsured.ModeratePolihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01721945380057992971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-32809437286848177872011-09-15T08:55:00.016-05:002011-09-15T08:55:00.016-05:00A brick is not a wall. And six weeks in a month a...A brick is not a wall. And six weeks in a month and a half. There was a clear lack of urgency on this. 13 months was too long for a bill.charlienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-46378559731052971282011-09-15T02:06:50.139-05:002011-09-15T02:06:50.139-05:00Anon #2: A good point, but you're not even inc...Anon #2: A good point, but you're not even including another one, which is the Dem Congress not passing a final budget. Both of which seem like massive failures, and the dithering on the tax debate was palpable...I don't recall anything happening on the floors. <br /><br />As for our host's argument on the delays not meaning much, or being useful for convincing Dems that the GOP was simply obstructionist.... we'll have to agree to disagree on the first, and on the second, I would think that they would have figured that out much earlier. I think it seemed obvious by late spring 2009. (Of course, this could be hindsight)Matt Jarvisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-71699055394356052292011-09-15T01:32:21.192-05:002011-09-15T01:32:21.192-05:00I'm more interested in why the 111th congress ...I'm more interested in why the 111th congress couldn't also manage to pass an extension of the middle class only part of the Bush tax cut, along with a raise in the debt ceiling. When the time came to vote on those they seemed to have been done rather quickly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-57509094371494439512011-09-14T23:03:46.696-05:002011-09-14T23:03:46.696-05:00I suppose I'll do a factual correction, FWIW; ...I suppose I'll do a factual correction, FWIW; of course in 1993 George Mitchell did in fact support Clinton's stimulus, but it was defeated by a GOP filibuster.Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-78981277525106536092011-09-14T20:13:15.657-05:002011-09-14T20:13:15.657-05:00Anon: How did Obama buy off the CBO to score the A...Anon: How did Obama buy off the CBO to score the ACA as reducing the deficit? Why did it not pay enough money/provide enough favors to the CBO so that the organization scored all of the ACA's provisions?Jamesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-39665239465277728662011-09-14T18:10:07.528-05:002011-09-14T18:10:07.528-05:00So you think it was actually possible for Obama an...So you think it was actually possible for Obama and Pelosi to spend even MORE money than they did? <br /><br />I doubt it. Infinity is a pretty tough number to top, isn't it? ;-)<br /><br />And in historical terms, $900B worth of Porkulus is pretty much infinity. <br /><br />Just as a reality check here, and a bit of nostalgia lookback, to back when the Left actually did have a bit of fiscal discipline about them, we should consider Clinton's first 100 days in 1993. Upon his election, he asked for a $15B stimulus package. <br /><br />It's almost quaint, to think about numbers that minuscule, isn't it?<br /><br />And the D Congress refused to give it to him.<br /><br />That skinflint yankee, George Mitchell, REFUSED TO GIVE THAT $15B TO A NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT.<br /><br />It's amusing, and instructive, to look back on that. My, how the Left has changed. And not for the better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com