Live blogging health care, for a little while anyway
9:25 Mr. Alexander, how will taxes and mandates cause premiums to go up?
9:29 Mr. Alexander, passing components of health care reform via reconciliation is not the same as abolishing the filibuster. (I guess this is live-arguing on a blog, not live blogging, huh?)
9:31 The administration’s BATNA–best alternative to a negotiated agreement–is probably reconciliation. Alexander is suggesting that this summit will be fruitless unless the administration deep-sixes its BATNA from the get-go.
9:35 Pelosi: “They don’t have time for us to start over.” Amen, Sister.
9:39 Pelosi is talking about potential entrepreneurs being locked down because of their reliance on employer-provided health care for a family member with a pre-existing condition.
9:40 Pelosi: “Who can say ‘ram’?” We started this effort just a few days after the inauguration–with an effort to do it in a bipartisan manner.
9:43 Reid, to Lamar Alexander: “You’re entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts.” We need to talk about facts here.
9:45 Reid: Of course reconciliation is not the only way out. But reconciliation has been used for many things, especially by Republicans, for Contract with America and tax cuts for rich people.
9:45 Reid: Talking about many Republican amendments in Senate bill. “So let’s look at the facts a little more, ’cause they can be stubborn, y’know?”
9:49 Reid brings out the tired If you have a plan, let’s see it. That’s not going to help. Republicans will say, we gave you a plan!
9:51 Obama talking to Lamar Alexander about process: A lot of the elements you mention are in the Senate bill. So let’s talk about what we do agree on, then what we don’t agree on, and whether we can bridge differences. I don’t know if we can bridge differences, but I hope we can. Before we talk about legislative process, let’s talk about substance. Maybe we’ll surprise ourselves and find out we agree more than we disagree.