Roll Call is reporting that, “House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) postponed the health bill markup that he planned to hold Wednesday afternoon amid a backlash from liberals to the deal that he cut earlier with four conservative Blue Dog Democrats. ”
More:
The weakening of the public option incensed some liberal Members, with Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairwoman Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) declaring she would vote against it.
“It has to be much stronger to get our support,” Woolsey said after a meeting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who tried to sell them on the deal.
The big beef liberals have is that they don’t want the government plan to negotiate rates as the agreement with Blue Dogs calls for, but to use Medicare rates — which is what they typically mean by “strong public option.”
Woosley said, “We’ve got a long way to go before this gets to the House floor.”
This is a dynamic I’ve been trying to focus on. Or as I put it last month, “Will the Left Kill Health Care Reform?”
