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As many times as the Democrats have labeled the GOP as the party of ‘no’ one aspect of the political bickering in Washington gets little attention. With a Democrat in the White House and a majority in Congress liberals not only control votes and would likely not vote for a GOP health proposal but the likelihood it would ever get to the floor is almost nil. The only reason the Democrats want a GOP health reform proposal is so they do not own whatever happens by themselves.

In The Hill piece below it was reported Dems are criticizing Roy Blunt for not delivering the GOP healthcare reform proposal ‘36 days’ after announcing they would have one presented. Compare that with how long the Dems have been sputtering with multiple proposals all of which have been panned by the CBO, members of their own party as well as dismal polling data.

Again, the Dems do not want to be the only ones with targets on their backs now that their agenda for healthcare reform is tanking. It may be tanking for a good reason. It is not really healthcare reform but a powerplay. They want to control everything about citizens health choices. And they want to extend taxpayer funded healthcare to those who are not citizens. It is a long list of bad policy decisions. Their only interest in bipartisan cooperation is to share the blame for a massive fraud on the American taxpayer.

Boehner says GOP health alternative is coming
By Molly K. Hooper
Posted: 07/23/09 06:09 PM [ET]

Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said on Thursday afternoon that Republicans will have an alternative healthcare reform bill to offer but did not say when it would be ready.

He told reporters that Republicans will “make decisions at the appropriate time for how we’ll proceed,” but that they are “putting the final touches on [their] bill, just as Democrats” are doing.

Only days later another nearly identical piece shows up at Politico. The only part in this piece which points to the real story is the last paragraph. Boehner comments that the more we know about the plan the less we like it and that will only become more clear as the August recess gets underway. Which underscores the President’s urging that it had to get done before the recess. A little sunlight for a President who claims a mantle of transparency and accountability is a problem for Barack Obama. As Boehner said the more we find out about this bill the less we will like it. That could make you a little suspicious of the majority party and their political agenda.

Republicans yet to reveal their own health care bill
By ALEX ISENSTADT | 7/27/09 5:04 PM EDT

While House Republican leaders blast away at the Democratic health care reform legislation, the GOP has yet to reveal its own alternative legislation.

“We continue to work on our bill, as Democrats are working on their bill,” House Minority Leader John Boehner told reporters Monday.

Not presenting a competing proposal for healthcare reform is a good idea from the GOP. Call them the party of ‘no’ all you like. Letting the liberals own healthcare reform is the smart play. Why? Because they do and there is no need to interfere or throw them a lifesaver. Giving them more rope however may be helpful.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 at 1:46 pm and is filed under Public Affairs, Money Matters, Health, wordpress, Politics, GOP, Democrats, News Media, Kennedy, disclosure, ethics, obama, Opinion, Congress, Legislation, boehner. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.