To borrow a Rumsfeld-ism for a moment, one of the health care debate’s known unknowns may soon become a bit clearer. To wit, we may soon know just how much the Senate Finance Committee’s negotiations will impact negotiations in the House?
Last night, House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Henry Waxman made an offer to seven Blue Dogs on his committee, lead by Alpha Dog Mike Ross. This morning, Ross will take that offer to the rest of the Blue Dog coalition to gauge how much support it has among conservative Democrats.
But here’s the thing: The slow-down in the House has been driven in part by the fact that conservative Democrats don’t want to go out on a limb and support a proposal that’s significantly more liberal than what the Senate Finance Committee’s cobbling together. Now we have a bit more clarity on that proposal, and it’s–unsurprisingly–significantly weaker than what the House originally drafted. That’ll no doubt weigh heavily on the minds of several Blue Dogs. But how much? I suspect we’ll know more after this morning’s meeting.
