Are Dems caving on health care?

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Obama is preparing a "much smaller" proposal. What does this mean for health reform?

A new, revised bill promises to be much smaller than the original (shown here at the health care summit)
(Image credit: Corbis)

In a final push to pass health-care reform, the Obama administration reportedly is drawing up a new health plan, aiming to garner greater bipartisan support by incorporating some of the Republican ideas aired at the president's health summit. According to Fox News, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Obama's plan, due to be announced on Wednesday, is "much smaller" than the version already passed by the House and Senate. Is President Obama just making some last-minute tweaks, or are Democrats finally conceding in the year-long health-care battle?

The Democrats are caving to save their skins: The "single loudest message" from Republicans at President Obama's health summit was "to start over," says Bill Dupray in True/Slant. It now "appears that the president has capitulated." It's "only logical" -- the American people "overwhelmingly oppose the current plans," and ramming them through would have ensured the Democrats' "electoral destruction" in November.

"Did the president cave? Are we starting over?

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Obama is merely trying to rally reluctant Democrats: President Obama can't "seriously come forward with an even weaker bill at this point," says Michael J.W. Stickings in The Reaction, "not with so much of his liberal-progressive base on the verge of abandoning him altogether." Fortunately, it appears that Fox News got it wrong. Nancy Pelosi isn't about to back down -- and neither is Obama.

"What the %#&@? (Or, what's up with health-care reform? And what are the Democrats doing?)"

This is all about Democratic spin: The Democrats don't intend to start over, says Ed Morrissey in Hot Air. By incorporating "a few GOP ideas like tort reform," they plan to argue that their "leviathan" health-care reform bill is actually bipartisan -- even though they're going to ram it through without Republican votes.

"Plan C: Obama set to introduce 'much smaller' health-care bill on Wednesday"

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us