Harry Reid angers Republicans: Kills Baucus bill, narrows focus of jobs legislation

By GottaLaff

So he couldn't get tough with the GOP on the health care bill? I'd love to have seen him get the Rushpublics riled up sometime... last.... spring. Heaven knows they've gotten us riled up non-stop for a year now:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is rewriting a jobs bill after Democrats complained of too many concessions to Republicans.

Reid announced Thursday that he would cut drastically back on the jobs bill Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) introduced only hours earlier, essentially overruling the powerful chairman.

Ding!

The Democratic leadership aide disputed the notion that Reid had yanked the rug out from under Baucus, noting that Reid has decided to keep the four core provisions of Baucus’s legislation.

The aide said Reid decided to simplify the legislation to “short-circuit potential criticism from one side or the other,” referring to potential Democratic and Republican critics.

Reid’s bill also does not extend unemployment and COBRA benefits that many in both parties want; an aide to the majority leader said those extensions would be handled in a separate bill.

For what's in and what's out, follow the link.

Here's the money line, via Jay Rockefeller:

Rockefeller predicted the Republicans would not support Reid’s revised proposal.

“Why would the Republicans vote for something?” Rockefeller said.

Double ding!

VIDEO- Max Baucus: "Disrespectful & unseemly for [Republicans] to invoke the names of Ted & Jack Kennedy"

By GottaLaff

On Hardball today, Chris Matthews provided the clip I discussed down thread here. The segment is at about 5:23 on the video:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Bravo, Max Baucus. And continued kudos to Senator Bernie Sanders for fighting for real health care reform.

Finally, someone said it

By GottaLaff

(via)

I was watching CSPAN2 just now as Max Baucus said the following:

"It is disrespectful and unseemly for [Republicans] to invoke the name of Ted Kennedy and Jack Kennedy in opposition to this legislation."

Thank you, Senator Baucus. It's about time somebody came out publicly to shame the Rushpublics for smearing a beloved champion for and "the father of" health care reform, a lion of a man who has passed away and can't be there to defend himself.

Good job.

UPDATE: Video here.

Baucus: Republicans have "energized" Dems

By GottaLaff

Energized for what? Infighting? That's how it seems these days:

"It's like they've gone too far. I think it has helped. They've energized the troops."

-- Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), quoted by Roll Call, on Republicans helping Democrats to become united behind a health care reform bill.

Oh, and Max? I don't think you've exactly been one of the Energizer Bunnies.

Loophole would allow insurance companies to place annual dollar limits on care

By GottaLaff

Hey, I have an idea: Let's just give everything away. We can put the entire health care bill in a big box of empty, tie a pretty bow around it, and hand it over to Big Inurance before Christmas! That way Prez O will get his wish to wrap up this whole messy affair before the first of the year:

A loophole in the Senate health care bill would let insurance companies place annual dollar limits on medical care for people struggling with costly illnesses such as cancer.

Merry Christmas cancer patients!

Adding to the confusion, the language is tucked away in a clause of the bill captioned "No lifetime or annual limits." Advocates for patients say it fails to deliver on that promise.

Where's my tinsel? I want to throw some on that Big Box-O'-Empty to pretty it up.

Super Max knows a thing or two about this:

The legislation that originally passed the Senate health committee last summer would have banned dollar limits on medical coverage, but a second panel — the Finance Committee — disagreed. Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and others feared that an outright ban could drive insurance premiums higher for everyone, and sought to strike a balance.

I'm sure it's not as bad as it looks. I'm sure the limits are well-defined and I'm reading more into this than I should:

As currently written, the Senate Democratic health care bill would permit insurance companies to place annual limits on the dollar value of medical care, as long as those limits are not "unreasonable." The bill does not define what level of limits would be allowable, delegating that task to administration officials.

Stephen Finan, a policy expert with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network:

"If you put a limit on benefits, by definition it's going to affect people who are dealing with catastrophic loss." [...]

"If you can have annual limits, saying there's no lifetime limits becomes meaningless [...] If you are a cancer patient you could be faced with a situation where you either have to terminate your care, or face a financial catastrophe..."

The House bill doesn't allow annual or lifetime limits.

Patient advocates are worried that the Senate version is the one that will prevail.

Happy holidays.

H/t: andyrftw

Max Baucus Gave Girlfriend Raise

By GottaLaff

Who does he think he is, John Ensign? Max, Max, Max, what are we gonna do with you?

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), "chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, gave a nearly $14,000 pay raise to a female staffer in 2008, at the time he was becoming romantically involved with her, and later that year took her on a taxpayer-funded trip to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, though foreign policy was not her specialty," Politico reports.

Late last Friday, Baucus acknowledged his relationship with Melodee Hanes, whom he nominated for the job of U.S. attorney in Montana.

This post is dedicated to the readers who accuse us of one-sided Sexcapades reporting.

Original post on Staffing to the Max here.

Max Baucus: Relationship Was Not An 'Affair'

By GottaLaff

Senate Finance Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) wasn't really having an affair with his former State Director Melodee Hanes, see. And we believe him, because what possible reason would he have to mislead anyone?

“Mel and I have a wonderful relationship. We are living together and enjoying spending time with each other and our families. I'm as happy as I've ever been. Mel and I were both separated from our former spouses when we got together. It wasn't an ‘affair.’ As we grew closer and things progressed, we knew it was time to begin the process of Mel transitioning out of my Senate office” [...]

Baucus also didn't really nominate "Mel" for U.S. attorney in Montana.

“As a highly qualified prosecutor who tried more than 100 jury trials and as a former law professor, Mel would have been an excellent U.S. Attorney for Montana. [...] I for one did not want her relationship with me to disqualify her from applying for the position. I appointed an independent, third-party reviewer and established an open and fair process that resulted in 3 names being sent, unranked, to the White House for consideration,” Baucus said in the statement.

So they thought the better of it, you see, and Mel withdrew her name.

And then they lived together.

And then Mel applied for the DoJ job all by her lonesome. And lo and behold, she got it.

So the not-affair not-affected and not-led to the not-job that she got on her own.

Not-clear?

Aide: Baucus nominated girlfriend for US attorney

I can't even get outraged over this asswipe pulling this crap. But, as OW points out, this guy is the brain trust that has been screwing us over health care all year.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus was romantically involved with a former staffer when he recommended her earlier this year to become the next U.S. attorney for Montana, a spokesman said.

The Montana Democrat and his former state office director Melodee Hanes began their relationship in the summer of 2008 after Baucus separated from his wife, Ty Matsdorf told The Associated Press late Friday.

Baucus nominated Hanes for the U.S. attorney post in March. But she later withdrew, saying she had been presented with other opportunities she couldn't pass up.

The Senate leader who's been a major proponent of Democratic health care legislation had submitted six names to a third-party reviewer, who whittled those to Hanes and two others. Matsdorf said the senator sent the three names to the White House with no ranking to select a nominee.

Matsdorf said Baucus' relationship with his girlfriend had nothing to do with his decision.

Baucus: Reconciliation ‘Off the Table’

By GottaLaff

Roll Call is subscription only, so for now, this is all we get:

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Wednesday said reconciliation is “off the table” for Democrats as they look to overcome GOP-led filibusters and pass a health care reform package this year.

Just yesterday reconciliation was still in play. Sort of.

Max Baucus will return for vote

By GottaLaff

We'll at least have our full 60:

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, who is with his ailing mother in Montana, will return for Saturday's key test vote on health care reform, his office confirmed Friday.

Who's left, Blanche Lincoln? Landrieu is leaning toward allowing debate (how big of her after stuffing her pockets with money from guess who). Blanche, how about it?

Note: Sorry about the misinformation. I've corrected. My head is somewhere else at the moment. Bygones.

H/t: samJtwit

UPDATED! Report: Reid's got the votes to pass a public option

By GottaLaff

UPDATE, not so fast:

A senior Senate aide is denying a report that’s fast making the rounds saying Harry Reid has concluded he has the votes to move forward with the public option. [...]

Not so much, the senior Senate aide claims. “He has not concluded anything yet,” the aide said of Reid. “But he is more optimistic.”

Interestingly, though, the aide endorsed Kent Conrad’s claim today that “the direction of the conversation” is towards putting the public option in the final bill.

But there is movement in the right direction. Fingers crossed.

Original post:

This is sure better than no public option at all:

Senate Majority Leader Reid believes he has the votes to pass a public option that negotiates payment rates with providers and allows states to opt out of it. [...]

Reid is now convinced that Democratic critics of the public option will support him when it counts – on the procedural motion, which requires 60 votes, to defeat a certain GOP-led filibuster of the bill. Once the filibuster is beaten, it only takes 51 votes to pass the bill.

And Democratic critics of the public option would get a chance to go on-the-record with their opposition by voting for an amendment to strip it from the health care bill.

However (there's that H word again):

“Baucus went to DEFCON 1,” said a source familiar with the negotiations [...]

Baucus is a major pain in the DEFCON.

BREAKING: BAUCUS BILL PASSES 14-9

By GottaLaff

Per MSNBC, the Senate Finance Committee passes the Baucus Bill 14-9. The Senate will likely not pass a public option bill, and there's a long road ahead.

The White House praises Olympia Snowe. Gibbs:

"I think the White House and the president are pleased that the likely outcome appears that we'll be one step closer to reform," Gibbs said of the Finance Committee's expected vote to send Chairman Max Baucus's (D-Mont.) health bill to the Senate as a whole.

"I think, as the president said in the Oval Office a few moments ago, obviously having the vote of Senator Snowe is important," Gibbs added. "[He] believes that she's worked constructively throughout this process to address a problem that Americans face and her constituents in Maine face."

President Barack Obama praised Snowe for "extraordinarily diligent" work on healthcare reform in brief remarks this afternoon.

Chuck (Gr)Assley is saying a vote against the bill isn't a vote against health care reform. Uh huh.

As Thom Hartmann said, the bill is awful, but it needed to get passed in order to move forward.

The Rushpublics are kvetching in front of the cameras now. Orrin Hatch is Whiner in Chief at the moment. He's "very disappointed."

One more R: A "hyper partisan process", a "my way or the highway now".

A single payer fan just yelled out: "You think you know so much about it, but no!" Ha! Excellent.

BREAKING: Snowe to vote yes on health care bill

By GottaLaff

Breaking on MSNBC, Olympia Snowe will vote YES on Baucus's bill. More to come.

Will she vote for it on the floor? It depends on how it will me amended.

UPDATE:

That will be a 14-9 vote coming out of Senate Finance Committee, said Sen. Bill Nelson. Susan Collins will likely come along for the ride now.

Now about that public option...

So, President Snowe, er, Sen. Snowe came through. But this is only the beginning...

Per David Shuster on Twitter just now:

Senator Baucus looked stunned, shocked, and relieved... as if he had a ton of bricks lifted from his chest. In a way, he did.

Video- McConnell: Baucus Bill Will 'Never See the Light of Day'

Can someone please forward this to Andrea Mitchell et al?

CBO estimates Baucus bill at $829B

Hmmm, from what I'm hearing on the Ed Show, this crap ain't no where near over. I'm not even sure I understand all the in and outs, so here's one smart man's and one smart woman's take on it.

Wheel! Of! Health Care Contributions!

By GottaLaff

See that wheel? Go here for the interactive version.

Sorry, but Vanna White would have nothing to do with this one. You're on your own.

Check out the full donations list here.

VIDEO- Colbert: Send Your Medical Bills to Max Baucus

By GottaLaff

The usual brilliance:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Send Your Medical Bills to Max Baucus
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Michael Moore

Senator Max Baucus will pay for your medical bills from the $3.2 million he's received from the health care industry.

H/t: mpf2011

VIDEO- Mad as Hell Doctors Chicago to Baucus: "Get on with your sellout"

By GottaLaff



Via Joeyess, "the greatest punch line in politics" at about 1:16.

Rich Senator, Poor Senator

I didn't think much of this story until I read that last line. Wonder what that is all about and how it influences (if it does) the whole tenor of the health care or any kind of lobbying situation would have on him. Curious.

A Roll Call analysis of U.S. Senate financial disclosure forms shows 48 senators are not in the millionaire's club, but nonetheless nearly all reported minimum net worths above the typical American household. The remaining 50 Senators record minimum net worths of at least $1 million or more.

The survey included 98 Senators. Disclosure forms from newly appointed Sens. George LeMieux (R-FL) and Paul Kirk (D-MA) are not yet publicly available.

Wealth in the chamber ranges from Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) -- the richest Member of Congress overall -- who tops the list with a minimum net worth of at least $167.55 million, to Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), who registers a negative $40,000."

PCCC Hitting Baucus in Montana

I like it, easy to understand.