Time to start buying HMO stocks. Nine Freshmen Democratic Senators, including the two gutless wonders from my State of Colorado, have just signed a letter congratulating Baucus and Grassley. Get that? They are endorsing "bipartisanship".
It's over folks. I would rather at this point that nothing pass than a bad bill which just hands billions more dollars over to the Health Care Industrial Complex.
Here are the highlights from the letter:
"We applaud you and Sen. Grassley for your continued work and dedication toward a bipartisan effort," a letter from the freshmen to Baucus says. "We stand ready to serve and to help you and the Senate Finance Committee to craft a bill that bends the healthcare cost curve, provides affordable coverage, and rewards value-added services."
Democratic Sens. Mark Begich (Alaska), Michael Bennet (Colo.), Roland Burris (Ill.), Kay Hagan (N.C.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Mark Udall (Colo.), Tom Udall (N.M.) and Mark Warner (Va.) signed the letter.
Baucus has been courting the freshmen in recent weeks, hosting meetings with groups of them in his office in between his negotiating sessions with Grassley, Democratic Sens. Kent Conrad (N.D.) and Jeff Bingaman (N.M.) and Republican Sens. Mike Enzi (Wyo.), Olympia Snowe (Maine) and Grassley.
The freshman senators, like Obama and the centrist Blue Dog Democrats in the House, place special emphasis on urging Baucus to come up with policies to reduce long-term healthcare spending.
"We hear daily from our constituents about this issue; many of them are concerned that we are not doing enough to control costs. We strongly urge the Senate Finance Committee to continue to remain centered on realigning incentives to stabilize healthcare costs," the letter says.
Can anybody at this point seriously believe that real reform can pass with these nine gutless bastards caving into "bipartisanship"? I'd say "talk me down" but I think its a waste of time at this point.