A Critical, Inexcusable Blogging Error
by publius I am furious at myself for not naming last night's post "It's a 'Part E' in the U.S.A." You don't get that sort of opportunity very often, and I blew it.
publius
Get Your “Part E” On
by publius House Democrats are warming to renaming the public option "Medicare Part E." The Hill reports: Say hello to “Medicare Part E” — as in, “Medicare for Everyone.” House Democrats are looking at re-branding the public health insurance option as Medicare, an established government healthcare program that is better known than the public option. … Read more
Congressional Democrats Attempt to Sell the Internet
by publius As I've noted before, it's nothing short of a miracle that the FCC has come out so strongly for open networks. On its face, it seems to defy the ways of Washington — and public choice theory in particular. The FCC's action wasn't the result of lobbying by monied interest groups. It was … Read more
Public Option Politics
by publius The latest Post/ABC poll shows that Americans continue to favor a public option. Indeed, the public option is getting more popular — the poll shows that support has rebounded since the summer, thanks in no small part to committed liberal activists. The fact that the public option is genuinely popular should make it … Read more
Reform’s “Clarifying Moment”
by publius We are (knock on wood) tantalizingly close to historic health coverage reform. In the heat of today's debates, it's easy to forget just how big this is. If we enact reform, it will instantly be one of the most important legislative actions in American history — remembered alongside the New Deal and the … Read more
Happy 30 Rock Day
by publius Looks promising: The parent company is in ruthless cost-cutting mode on “30 Rock” this season, thanks to what the Republican-supporting, Wall Street-loving boss, Jack Donaghy ( Alec Baldwin ), smoothly refers to as “Comrade Obama’s recession.” NBC pages no longer receive overtime, and pink slips rain down in almost every department. Jack’s huge … Read more
Perry and the Politics of Capital Punishment
by publius Rick Perry has apparently decided to double down on Willingham. After multiple articles came out documenting inappropriate political pressure on the investigation, Perry came out firing yesterday. Here's the Houston Chronicle: Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday defended his actions in the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, calling him a “monster” and a “bad … Read more
A Favorable Wind
by publius One sign that coverage reform has momentum is that several of the recent attacks from insurers are designed to make the bill more like Democrats want. Understandably, insurers want more healthy people buying coverage — and so they want a stricter mandate. The only way, however, to justify a stricter mandate is to … Read more
Snowe and the Logic of Defection
by publius Happy V-F Day — reform has finally escaped from Finance, with a Republican vote to boot. And I am quite grateful to Sen. Snowe for doing the right thing in the face of almost certain reprisals. It's not an easy thing to do, but she did it. Ironically enough, though, Snowe's vote is … Read more
Your Life is Not Worth Ten Minutes of Perry’s Time
by publius I would like to think that sending a man to die would warrant more than 10 minutes of review by the Governor. But not in Texas. The Houston Chronicle adds some more details about how Perry disregarded doubts of Willingham's guilt. Three days before the execution, Willingham's attorney alerted Perry of a new … Read more