Democrats' Pelosi: Party will fight hard to defeat GOP Medicare overhaul

Associated Press ^ | 11-19-03 | DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent

[Oldeconomybuyer]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that Democratic opposition to a Republican-backed Medicare prescription drug bill is "a party position," signaling an aggressive effort to unite the rank-and-file, scuttle the bill and claim credit with voters.

[Sgt_Schultze]

A question Dan Rather will not ask...

"Pelosi, why are the democrats trying to stop seniors from receiving life-saving medications?"

[My2Cents]

I hope the Republicans make a big issue of the fact that when given an opportunity, Democrats don't deliver on issues that even they are "committed" to. There is a chance to reform Medicare, and they balk. They had an opportunity to pass a meaningful "Patients Bill of Rights" bill two years ago, and they failed to act. The reason is that THEY DO NOT WANT THESE ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED -- the Dems want Medicare, Social Security, health care, education, and the like, to always be in a state of crisis and near collapse so they can demogogue on them.

[OpusatFR]

Bad move. Just got in from the nursing home rounds today and the seniors are very excited with the President's plan.
They see democrat posturing as spoiled grapes.

[WOSG]

oh please please dont through me in that briar patch!

LOL!

This will be so cool if they defeat this thing through filibuster and lose elections in 2004 due to their obstructionism and then we can write a better plan in 2005.

I know that politically Bush is better off with this passed, but $400billion is the stuff liberals do, not conservatives.

yum.

[WOSG]

oh please please dont throw me in that briar patch!

LOL!

This will be so cool if they defeat this thing through filibuster and lose elections in 2004 due to their obstructionism and then we can write a better plan in 2005.

I know that politically Bush is better off with this passed, but $400billion is the stuff liberals do, not conservatives.

yum.

[petercooper]

go ahead dimwits and filibuster at your own peril

[WOSG]

When you tie this to Democrats *opposing women and minority judicial nominees* you have a crowd of 'myway or the highway' EXTREMISTS who are unfit for holding power and who end up hurting not helping even their 'core constituencies'. it'll be easy for Rove & Co to paint them into a corner.

Kind of the reverse triangulation of Clinton in 1996.

[hchutch]

Very interesting...

It seems like the Dems are going for a real big turkey shoot about a year from now.

Mediscare BS will not fly this time around. And if it is blocked, who's gonna get the blame? The Dems.

[Spiff]

Go for it Nancy. This is a win/win situation.

One of the largest, most powerful groups supports the Republican's socialist plan. Please, Nancy, do all you can to alienate yourself and your party from the AARP.

And while you're at it, Nancy, please kill this socialist plan. Of course I don't want your super socialist plan, but I don't want the Republican's socialist plan either.

[freeangel]

OOOOH--aren't we scared? Let her and her fellow rats filibuster. That will piss off a LOT of old people at AARP who are some of their biggest supporters. 'Come election time they will remember who didn't want a prescription plan.
(no disrespect to the elders among us--I get at least one notice from AARP a week)

[My2Cents]

Good point. But I think the Dems have painted themselves into a corner. Their ideology is now simply "blind and irrational Bush hatred". That's all they have to offer. I think Rove, et al, are sitting back, watching the Dems paint themselves into a corner, and next year Rove will simply turn off the light, close the door, walk away with the election, and look like a genius.

[finnman69]

WIN WIN for Bush. If the Bill goes down, no spending, Dems like like barbarians and the AARP targets them.

Bill passes, AARP supports Bush, RATS left fuming.

[Heatseeker]

Very true, and it's a safe bet the Dems are pressuring the h*ll out of the AARP leadership and reverse itself and oppose the bill.

Given the Dem way of handling these situations, if I was a senior AARP executive, and was taking a flight anywhere, I'd think about packing a parachute. :)

[hchutch]

Pretty much, the Dems are toast either way. Bush and the Republican leadership have just pulled off what looks to me to be a VERY successful employment of the principle of calculated risk.

He has managed to put the Dems into a position where they either lose an issue they beat him over the head with in 2000 - and he now gets CREDIT for a solution - OR they stop him, and get to deal with a lot of very angry senior citizens who will NOT the situation.

Yes, some hard-core fiscal conservatives are upset, but now, the Dems cannot win no matter how this turns out. I guess George W. Bush must have had a conversation or two with the ghost of one R. A. Spruance.

[Southack]

Nuance is important.

Remember that Pelosi is in charge of the Democrats in the House, not the Senate.

By trotting out Pelosi from the House instead of Daschle in the Senate, the Democrats are:

1. Admitting that Bush's plan will pass,
2. Saving Daschle from being embarassed by a failed filibuster,
3. Admitting that there will be no Senate filibuster.

President Bush has won. Pelosi is merely making a meek effort to throw some Red meat at the Democrats' most Leftward supporters (i.e., those who would swallow any political poison at all rather than give Bush even the semblance of a win).

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Wow!

The AARP is fast. I just saw one of their TV commercials supporting the Presidents Medicare reform plan on Fox News Channel (John Gibson's show).

The RATS will have a tough row to hoe on this issue.

[hchutch]

Looks like we are going to start the road to privatization of Medicare. We have a beachhead, I repeat, we have a beachhead.

[Poohbah]

In the Democrat National Committee War Room, November 9th, 2004:

"Multiple inbounds, bearing constant, range decreasing...VAMPIRE VAMPIRE VAMPIRE!"

[Heatseeker]

If the AARP endorsement holds up and they do some mailing to members, the Dems can kiss Florida goodbye.

Hard to believe they're this stupid, but then considering the 9 dwarves...