links for 2009-07-22

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Wednesday acknowledged for the first time that a pre-recess vote on healthcare reform is unlikely.

“We’re going to take a little longer to get it right,” Durbin told The Hill when asked about the oft-stated goal of a vote on or before Aug. 7, when a monthlong Senate recess begins. “Initially we had hoped for a full vote by then, but I don’t think it’s going to be possible.”
Delaying the vote until after Labor Day would all but erase hopes of getting a bill to President Obama by mid-October, since the House and Senate versions would have to be reconciled in conference negotiations — assuming they pass their chambers.

Durbin said the bill was still largely on track, however, denying that momentum has stalled.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger defended a video on his Twitter page which shows him brandishing a huge hunting knife as he talks about the state's budget crisis.

Schwarzenegger, under fire for a budget plan announced this week that will see 15 billion dollars in spending cuts from services such as education and health care, said the light-hearted video was intended as a bit of fun.

Grassley said he spoke with a Democratic House member last week who shared Obama's bleak reaction during a private meeting to reports that some factions of House Democrats were lining up to stall or even take down the overhaul unless leaders made major changes.

"Let's just lay everything on the table," Grassley said. "A Democrat congressman last week told me after a conversation with the president that the president had trouble in the House of Representatives, and it wasn't going to pass if there weren't some changes made … and the president says, 'You're going to destroy my presidency.' "

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., today insisted everything is smooth sailing with the House bill that would require every American to have health insurance or pay a fine;create a government run health plan to compete with private insurers to drive costs down; and impose an up to 5.4% new tax on top wage-earners.

“I have no question that we have the votes on the floor of the House to pass this legislation,” Pelosi told reporters.

But a leading conservative “Blue Dog” Democrat told ABC News that claim is questionable.

“No, I don’t think they have the votes,” Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., said, arguing if that were the case he and the other six Blue Dogs on the House Energy and Commerce Committee who have been holding up the bill in committee would be under far less pressure.

Buried in the final paragraph of the Post's A4 story on the state of the health care debate:

Finance members said the committee was leaning against requiring employers to provide health coverage, although it would impose a fee on individuals who do not purchase insurance. They also said the panel had rejected the government health plan that Obama wants to create and would instead adopt a cooperative model, similar to rural electricity providers.

So the public plan is dead? Remember that 50 members of the House Progressive Caucus had pledged to oppose a bill that had a watered-down public plan, never mind legislation that didn't include it.

At 5:54 pm ET the news came: "The Energy and Commerce Markup of H.R. 3200 – America’s Affordable Health Choices Act for 7-22-09 has been CANCELLED.

Not a good sign for the Democrats trying to report the bill out from committee onto the floor for a vote. Seven conservative blue dog Democrats on the committee have said they can't vote for the bill in its current form. Some of those Blue Dogs came to the White House today for a 2 1/2 meeting, an hour of which was with President Obama.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told The New York Times Obama intends to use the news conference as a "six-month report card," to talk about "how we rescued the economy from the worst recession
" and the legislative agenda moving forward, including health care and energy legislation.
++++++
Huh?
Unemployment continues to soar and California is insolvent.
What are you talking about, Mr. President?