Nobody, even Republicans themselves, seems sure how the GOP is going to approach the confirmation of Sylvia Mathews Burwell as the next secretary of Health and Human Services. The fireworks, or perhaps lack thereof, are set to begin on Thursday at the first of two Senate committee hearings.
Will they raise all hell, obstructing the process as much as they can and using Burwell’s confirmation to relive Obamacare’s many alleged terrors? Or will they take a more restrained tack, getting their talking points across without blowing too much smoke, a recognition that the politics of the law might be changing?
It seems to depend on who you ask.
Within three days, Politico and Reuters published two previews of the confirmation hearings that seemed diametrically opposed: Politico concluded the long-expected showdown was “looking more and more like a dud.” Reuters countered that GOPers are “relishing the chance” to push their anti-Obamacare message.
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), a member of both of the committees that Burwell will face, seemed more concerned in an interview with Politico with how she planned to handle public health issues than re-litigating Obamacare. But then a GOP spokeswoman told Reuters the hearings would “focus on all of the Obamacare-related disasters.”
It’s a dichotomy that has threaded all of the lead-up to Thursday’s hearing. Burwell is certain to be confirmed in a post-nuclear Senate; the only question is how uncomfortable will Republicans make it. And internally, the GOP seems to be a little uncertain how loudly it should bellow as Obamacare enjoys a string of positive headlines that started last month.
One Senate GOP aide, dismissive of the White House talking point that Burwell was confirmed unanimously last year to head the Office of Management and Budget, hinted at a bureaucratic brawl. “Burwell was confirmed unanimously, sure, but to play a different sport altogether,” the aide told TPM last month.
But another, also talking to TPM last month, was more reserved: “I think she’ll get confirmed pretty easily,” the second Republican aide said.
No cohesive strategy has emerged. Several members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation have asked their senators to put a hold on Burwell’s confirmation in protest, as first reported by Roll Call and confirmed by TPM. But another likely source of instigation, the Texas delegation, which already has Sen. Ted Cruz at its side, hasn’t had any discussions about doing the same, aides told TPM.
All will be clear at Thursday’s hearing, and any hearing in front of senators eager for good tape is sure to have contentious moments. But it seems as likely as not that the GOP will take the more subdued road on Obamacare, a strategy that would have seemed unthinkable just a few months ago.
No they won’t. They will vote as a bloc against Burwell.
Uh TPM, I hate to bring this to you, but if Obama is for something, the GOP will vote against it.
If he was for Mom and apple pie, the GOP would twist that into his endorsement of vegan lesbianism.
Did you just used the word “restrained” in reference to the GOP’s response to anything?
If you put a Rottweiler on a choke chain, then (technically) it’s “restrained.” The thing is, there’s “no cohesive strategy” because the Teahadists aren’t going to listen to what the party tells them, let alone do its bidding. They have the potential new arbiter for Obamacare (aka Armageddon) in front of them with cameras rolling, and FoxSpews ready to edit anything that might fit their meme. This will be about as restrained as a pack of wild jackals in a henhouse. Burwell just has to be ready to knock down all the horror stories.
The Dems should really push it then. Highlight the Republican crazies. Let them get their 15 seconds in the spotlight - 15 seconds being a great length for an attack ad, by the way.
Speaking of which, there is a ad out there that is begging to be made: in the heat of the original health care debate, the GOP said some particularly crazy things - dying grandmothers, murderous bureaucratic merchants of death, the end of the nation as we know it, so on and so forth.
There’s a damn good highlight reel someone could pull out of that. Its time to stop passively tolerating the crazy, and long past time to start stamping it out.