Harry Reid Refuses To Commit To Passing Government Health Care This Year
For all their bold maneuvering, this may be the most telling indicator of just how on-the-ropes liberals are on the health care issue:
Nov. 3 (Bloomberg)—U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wouldn’t commit to passing a U.S. health-care overhaul this year, fueling concern among some Democrats that the debate may continue as the 2010 midterm elections approach.
“We’re not going to be bound by any timelines,” Reid told reporters in Washington today after a closed-door meeting of all Senate Democrats.
Obviously, Reid is playing some defense. If he draws a line in the sand and Democrats don’t get a bill passed by then it’s another talking point for Republicans. But with so many such lines drawn in the sand already transgressed, and with health care bills still stuck in the mud despite Democrats dominating both houses of Congress and the White House, this is yet another sign of the weakness of they claim is their mandate to make us all dependent on the government for health care.
And tactically speaking, it’s going to be really dangerous for them to let this drag on past the holiday season. Next year starts the campaigning for the midterms. And fence-sitting Democrats aren’t going to be any more likely to get behind a big, fat controversial bill at the beginning of what is shaping up to be a contentious campaign season.
