Harry Reid can rightly claim to be making history.
If he passes health-care reform, he’ll depend on a series of historic “firsts.” It’d be the first time Congress had passed a major new entitlement program without bipartisan support; it’d be the first time it passed such a program without popular support; and the first time it passed such a program without knowing or particularly caring what’s in it.
John McCain complained last week that he had no idea what constituted the highly touted backroom deal that Reid sent to the Congressional Budget Office for evaluation. The No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin, reassured McCain that he didn’t know, either. This is bipartisanship Harry Reid style – nontransparency for everyone.
Reid reportedly proposed giving the uninsured aged 55-65 entrée into Medicare, a departure from the program’s long-standing limit to retirees age 65 and older. This is a radical change that didn’t have a full and frank airing among senators, let alone a committee hearing. Reid wanted the provisions of the deal kept secret because – as recounted by Joe Lieberman – he thought they’d be “mauled” if made public. Who needs openness and legislative details when you’re remaking one-sixth of the economy?
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Updates:
1:27 pm EST, December 15th, 2009 – Why the rush?
2:02 pm EST, December 15th, 2009 – Lieberman: ‘We’re Headed in the Right Direction’
Why the rush? 2010 approaches. The Dems want to crack all of the eggs and scramble them quick so if they don’t get re-elected, it will be nearly impossible to “unscramble” so to speak…