This weekend’s Republican YouTube address by Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) — one of the three key Republicans negotiating on health care — was a pretty strong sign that negotiations might not be working out after all. Enzi delivered a thorough speech against the Democrats on health care. And even while he did not use the “death panel” phrase itself, he did make the same underlying argument by warning that people could be denied care because of age or disability:
“The bills would expand comparative effectiveness research that would be used to limit or deny care based on age or disability of patients,” said Enzi. “Republican amendments in the HELP Committee would have protected Americans by prohibiting the rationing of their health care. The Democrats showed their true intent by voting every amendment down and leaving these unacceptable provisions in the bill. This intrusion of a Washington bureaucrat in the relationship between a doctor and a patient is not the kind of reform that Americans are seeking.”
And remember, this guy is one of the key GOPers with whom the Democrats are working, to try to find common ground.
