Did Mary Landrieu hand us a political win/win?

[Dawson Leery]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/13/1255362/-The-Landrieu-amendment-and-the-politics-of-Obamacare

"Right now, the blame is being put on Obama and the Democrats. This bill would turn things around and put the pressure exactly where it belongs: on insurance companies and obstructionist Republicans.

Republicans are acting as if these insurance cancellations are the worst thing since Hitler. Well, put them on the spot: Are they really interested in mitigating the law's unintended injustices (whether real or perceived), or do they merely want to undermine its implementation for sabotage purposes?

We know the answer, of course. Landrieu's bill doesn't have a prayer of passing. Republicans will obstruct it every step of the way. But instead of having Obama taking away your insurance, we'll reverse the equation: It'll now be Republicans defending the ability of insurance companies to cancel those policies."

What do you think?

[Laelth]

1. I'll be impressed with Senator Landrieu if this prediction proves to be true.

No clue what the outcome will be, but I am still invoking Truman:

No apologizing for the ACA!

I've seen it happen time after time. When the Democratic candidate allows himself to be put on the defensive and starts apologizing for the New Deal and the fair Deal, and says he really doesn't believe in them, he is sure to lose. The people don't want a phony Democrat. If it's a choice between a genuine Republican, and a Republican in Democratic clothing, the people will choose the genuine article, every time; that is, they will take a Republican before they will a phony Democrat, and I don't want any phony Democratic candidates in this campaign.

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman

-Laelth

[russspeakeasy]

2. Nice try, but it's not going anywhere.

[AndyA]

3. I don't trust Mary Landrieu in the least.

I'm good with making Republicans accountable, but I think Landrieu is a DINO. Still, I wish her all the luck if the bill really will put pressure on the Republicans, either their blocking of it or voting against it.

[bluestate10]

10. Her move is brilliant. It gets rid of junk insurance policies, without giving republicans a

target. Landrieu's plan forces insurance companies to direct people whose policies are expiring to the ACA site, once there those people will see that they can get a better plan for the same amount of money they are paying now, or pay even less for the same quality of coverage. The net effect of Landrieu's bill proposal is that people will drop their junk insurance policies for policies that meet minimum guidelines, which is what is desired. And at the end, Landrieu gets to say that she protected policyholders thereby blunting attacks from her republican opponent. Smart southern Democrat politics.

[JimboBillyBubbaBob]

4. I believe you're onto something!

This creates a wonderful opportunity to work towards what many of us wanted all along, a single payer system. These issues, once opened, are wide open. Stay tuned.

[Dawson Leery]

5. Another article on this:

http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-the-real-government-takeover-of-health-care-2013-11

[Mass]

6. Politically yes. Policy wise, it is hard to judge

largely because of the way Obamacare is written. In March, insurers will have to give prices for the next year. If many younger and healthier people stay in old plans, premiums will raise. Romneycare has a one year enrollment period, which is longer.

This said, this plan is a lot better than the Upton plan, as already noted. It does not allow the insurance companies to sell NEW contracts.

[Dawson Leery]

7. It also puts the Thugs in the corner.

[ProSense]

8. No, and

Last edited Thu Nov 14, 2013, 03:27 PM - Edit history (1)

We know the answer, of course. Landrieu's bill doesn't have a prayer of passing. Republicans will obstruct it every step of the way. But instead of having Obama taking away your insurance, we'll reverse the equation: It'll now be Republicans defending the ability of insurance companies to cancel those policies."

...it's just plain stupid, and Republicans are already jumping on board.

House GOPer: Senate 'Keep Your Health Plan' Bill Might Be Better Than Ours

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), who introduced the House bill expected to come up for vote Friday which would allow people to keep their existing health plans, said Wednesday that a similar bill introduced by Senate Democrats might actually be better than his.

As TPM has reported, the Upton bill would amend the Affordable Care Act to allow insurers to continue offering their existing individual health insurance plans through 2014. The Senate bill, introduced by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), would require them to -- and allow people to stay on those non-ACA-compliant plans indefinitely.

“Let’s challenge them to pass (Landrieu’s bill) in the Senate, and if so, I think that’s even a bigger and perhaps better step than what we have in the House,” Upton told the Washington Examiner. “Let’s see if she can pass that.”

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/landrieu-upton-obamacare-health-insurance

Charles Pierce: The Beginning Of What Might Be The End
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024026720

[localroger]

9. I know a lot of people here don't like Landrieu, but...

...you have to consider that she is elected statewide in Louisiana. You're not going to get a better Democrat from here, and the two opponents she's beaten by razor thin margins were troglodites of the Bachmann / Gohmert ilk. She has to step carefully but she's done good things, such as being sharply critical of Bobby Jindal for refusing the Medicare expansion. Be glad you have her instead of someone else like Diaper David Vitter, who shamelessly refused to leave office even when his name showed up in a local Madam's little black book.

[Dawson Leery]

11. +1

She is running against another Bachmannite (Bill Cassidy). Do NOT let him into the US Senate!

[localroger]

12. I will be at the polls

Mary Landrieu isn't the Democrat I'd like, but she's the Dem I have and she can get elected here. I will cross hellfire to make sure my vote for her is counted, not because she is the best Dem in the Senate but hey she can get elected here and the only likely alternative is far, far worse.