Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Kos is Right!

But for the wrong reasons.

Today Moulitsas himself argues that Dems should strip out the "mandate" provision from the health insurance "reform" bill under consideration by the U.S. Senate. He's right: they should. Even if the mandate is Constitutional - and that's not a layup - it is just what Mr. Kos says:

...it is, after all, an epic giveaway to the health insurance industry.

The problem is that Kos also thinks that the GOP wants the mandate to stay in because of their corporate-lobbyist friends. This is a little surprising coming from Kos. While his political philosophy is nuttier than Jimmy Carter's farm, he's usually pretty clear-eyed about the politics. Surely he's aware that his Democratic buddies, President Obama included, are raking in huge piles of money from the health insurance lobby?

If a "progressive" (who would supposedly be immune to the allures of PAC money, unlike, say, a Blue Dog) offered to strip the mandate, it's possible that could pull in a Republican or two. But it also very well might push out a Democrat or two beholden to PAC money. There's no guarantee at all that the trade would be favorable to passing a bill.

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