What Does ‘Moderate’ Blanche Lincoln Think About Democrats’ Lack Of Bipartisanship On Health Care?

Wednesday, 17 June 2009 13:32

WASHINGTON – As the U.S. Senate prepares to embark on an important debate surrounding much-needed health care reform, the Democrat Senate leadership has made one thing clear: they don’t intend to work with Republicans and make this critical debate a bipartisan endeavor if they don’t have to.

According to Politico yesterday, “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he’ll ditch bipartisanship in the Senate if it means getting a health care reform bill.”

And as Roll Call reported today, “…Democrats are emphasizing their own policy preferences and conceding the unlikelihood of attracting significant Republican support for the legislation… [D]isagreement over the public plan option has grown into an obstacle overshadowing whatever agreement there might be on other aspects of reform. The cost of an overhaul — and how to pay for it — are also extremely contentious issues.”

“Given the national importance of the health care debate, voters should rightly wonder whether supposedly ‘moderate’ Democrat Blanche Lincoln will stand up to her liberal Party’s leadership and demand a bipartisan effort?” asked National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson. “Will Blanche Lincoln finally stand up to Harry Reid and reject government-run health care, or will she once again pander to the left-wing of her Party? How she approaches this critical debate will be an important issue in her re-election bid next year.”

Last week, Roll Callreported that top aides to Finance Committee Chairman U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) launched a “pre-emptive strike” against Republicans when they warned top Washington, DC lobbyists that they should not to attend a meeting regarding health care reform due to the fact it was hosted by the GOP.

As a member of the Committee, Lincoln has thus far failed to speak out against her Committee Chairman’s decision to launch such a “pre-emptive strike” against Republicans.

Notably, the Democrat leadership’s efforts to block Republicans from participating in the health care reform debate comes amid what the Associated Press called today “eye-popping new cost estimates” for the Democrats’ plan. In a report earlier this week, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) pegged the cost of the Democrats’ health care plan at well in excess of one trillion dollars.