Grassley’s Out
The great charade that was Senator Chuck Grassley’s “candid” attempt to agree to a bipartisan health care reform deal appears to be over, as the Iowa Republican reacted with surprising hostility to the idea that he could in any way support the proposal put forward by Max Baucus on Wednesday, calling it “intellectually dishonest to describe the legislation bipartisan.
“This bill, except for five or six or seven or eight or nine or 10 — I don’t know how many — things that weren’t resolved has been put together with some Republican input. But to say that this is a bipartisan bill would be as intellectually dishonest as the Secretary of HHS saying on television recently that because Republicans had 86 amendments put on the HELP bill that it was a bipartisan bill.”
“We’re kind of pre-empted from doing it right by being pushed or shoved aside by the leadership and by the White House because they want to move on,” Grassley said. “Particularly in light of the fact that so much of this bill doesn’t go into effect until 2013. So what’s another two or three weeks, if it could be done in another two or three weeks and end up with a bill that could have broad bipartisan support. “
Grassley also had specifically harsh words for President Obama and the White House, saying he “took very personally” implied criticism from the president and his aides that he was not sincere in his quest for bipartisan reform and that comments Grassley had made in fundraising appeals and at town halls that he wanted to “defeat ObamaCare” poisoned the reform debate in Washington.
Grassley blasted accusations made by White House aides that his ultimately unsuccessful efforts to work on a bipartisan healthcare bill with committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and others were insincere.
“I kind of resent that, when I’ve been very candid with the president of the United States” about his positions on contentious issues in healthcare reform, Grassley said.
Grassley also took direct aim at President Barack Obama, suggesting that he soured the chances for cooperation.
“I’ll tell you, there’s some things that the president has said since then that I took very personally,” Grassley said. “He gave some speeches during August in which he was associating me with efforts to make this a political document.”
Grassley singled out David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Obama, for criticism. “We’re accused by Axelrod of making political things and maybe not being serious in our negotiations,” Grassley said. “You know, that’s not a very good environment to carry on a conversation with the White House.”
Grassley’s reelection campaign distributed a fundraising letter in which he is quoted saying, “I had to rush you this Air-Gram today to set the record straight on my firm and unwavering opposition to government-run health care. And ask your immediate support in helping me defeat ‘Obama-care’ … The simple truth is that I am and always have been opposed to the Obama administration’s plan to nationalize health care. Period.”
Axelrod responded by saying that such a letter, along with other statements by Grassley and Enzi, “suggested they don’t want to participate” in bipartisan talks. “If you’re sitting at a table negotiating in good faith, then you probably don’t send out mailers saying, ‘Help me stop Obama-care.’ That’s just common sense,” Axelrod said at the time.
Grassley said Thursday that his remarks on both the “death panels” and “Obama-care” were merely reiterations of his long-held position against creating a government-run public option insurance program, as Obama and most Democrats support.
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically each day to your feed reader.
Howard Dean was stated as saying the Baucas bill was the worst piece of legistation ever written, Even the dems are thrashing the dems now. Obama is going to go down as the most ineffective President of all time. He constantly is passing his own ineptness everyday. Hey Obama how about another pep rally they seem to really work , NOT