Yesterday I wrote that I didn’t think Diana DeGette and other strongly pro-choice Democrats would scuttle health care reform over the crappy deal women are bound to get out of any bill that eventually arrives at some compromise language on abortion. Matt Yglesias cites Theda Skocpol and offers further support for my read of the [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Health care reform'
More About Abortion & Health Care for Women and Children
March 6th, 2010 · No Comments · Health care reform
Missing the Point
March 6th, 2010 · No Comments · Politics
WaPo headline: “Massa resigns; Democrats’ ethical lapses could threaten hold on power.”
Don’t get me started. Scummy politicians are bad, but they’re pretty much beside the point. Democrats’ inability to function as a unified caucus is what threatens the party’s hold on power, as evidenced by the fracture and fallout surrounding health care reform. Massa’s resignation [...]
Health Care Reform, Abortion Language, and Diana DeGette
March 5th, 2010 · No Comments · Health care reform
The Denver Post highlights House Democrats’ health care conundrums relative to endangered seats (Betsy Markey) and abortion language (Diana DeGette).
I can see the challenge facing a fractured Democratic caucus in an election year, and to be frank I’m not getting my hopes up for Betsy Markey’s vote. DeGette is a different story, however, and contra [...]
Tags: Abortion·Betsy Markey·Brian Beutler·Diana DeGette·Health care reform
For a Moment, FOX News Comes Across as Fair and Balanced
February 20th, 2010 · No Comments · Media
FOX News calls itself “Fair and Balanced,” and every now and again the media outlet overtly lives up to its slogan. In the Google News screenshot at right, see the link headline in purple: “Republicans Can Show Off Ideas at White House Summit, but Will They?”
I was so surprised that the language squarely puts the [...]
Colorado Democrats Need to Show Some Leadership
February 3rd, 2010 · No Comments · Health care reform
Democrats are disheartened now, and with good reason. Any time a Democratic president has to remind a Democratic majority that they are indeed the majority, things can’t be going well.
And back home in Colorado, our elected officials are playing safe on the topic of health care reform, all except for Jared Polis, who, alongside a [...]
Tags: Betsy Markey·Colorado Democrats·Ed Perlmutter·Health care reform·John Salazar·Mark Udall·Michael Bennet
Outside Looking In
February 2nd, 2010 · No Comments · Politics
The BBC put up an interesting article the other day trying to understand the politics of the American electorate: “Why do people vote against their own interests?” To answer the question, political scientist and author David Runciman cites political scientist and author Thomas Frank (What’s the Matter with Kansas?).
[Frank] believes that the voters’ preference for [...]
Tags: David Runciman·Health care reform·Thomas Frank·US Politics
Betsy Markey and the Democratic Party: Rogue Dissent or Political Genius?
November 8th, 2009 · No Comments · Health care reform
Health care reform has passed the House. Betsy Markey didn’t vote for it. My guess is she really must feel threatened up in Larimer County, despite–or perhaps because of–having been elected on the coattails of Barack Obama’s ‘08 sweep through the Front Range (Larimer Co. election results available here). To be sure, Markey’s opponent [...]
Kaminsky Gives Offhanded Praise for Incrementalism
September 4th, 2009 · 1 Comment · Health care reform
Ross Kaminsky thinks Democrats are “masters at implementing their agenda piecemeal, getting through bit by bit until they’ve implemented a European-style welfare state which only a few who were paying attention saw being built under their noses.”
I think it would be pretty sweet if that were true.
I’ve suggested before that Democrats don’t have to get [...]
Where is Mark Udall on Health Care Reform?
August 27th, 2009 · No Comments · Colorado, Health care reform
Mark Udall has made a grand total of zero (0) public appearances this August to discuss health care reform with constituents. To call this disappointing is to understate the matter.
Disclaimer: I did a little volunteer work for Udall’s 2008 Senate run against Bob Schaffer. Maybe some of you received postcards in my distinctive scrawl.
From his [...]
Denver Post Comes on Strong in Favor of Public Option
August 23rd, 2009 · No Comments · Health care reform
The Denver Post comes out today with a strong stand on the importance of the public option to meaningful health care reform. Perhaps the most surprising part? A substantial media outlet shrugs off the importance of false bipartisanship on this issue:
The Obama administration and congressional Democrats need to push forward with their plan to pass [...]
