First it was Rahm, then it was Gibbs, now it’s Obama himself.
The implication–that President Obama believes the Republican party isn’t serious about bipartisan health care reform–is significant for obvious reasons. When Congress returns to session at the end of August recess, four of five House and Senate committees will have passed party line health care bills. One–the Senate Finance Committee–will still be mired in rocky bipartisan health care negotiations over legislation that, according to Republican party leaders, won’t win over many Republicans at all.
That implies rather strongly that Democratic party leaders are preparing to abandon bipartisanship and pass health care reform either along party lines, or through the budget reconciliation process, or some combination of the two. Which means Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus better prepare to change course or pull off some kind of miracle or else be rolled.
In a Wednesday New York Times report, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is quoted as saying the GOP “has made a strategic decision that defeating President Obama’s health care proposal is more important for their political goals than solving the health insurance problems that Americans face every day.” And earlier today, Gibbs said “only a handful” of Republicans are interested in anything resembling true health care reform
