updated – bumped from early a.m.
Greg Sargent, who is one of the good guys, loses himself completely today, writing a stunning post in which he posits Speaker Pelosi as the “lioness of the House,” and played a “Kennedyesque role” in getting the House health care bill passed. Smelling salts, please, I think I’m going to faint.
A similar dynamic has been at play with Pelosi. A key reason the health care bill passed was that she was able to persuade liberals in her caucus to swallow compromises that didn’t sit well with them. She was able to do this for the same reason Kennedy was able to do the same in the Senate. … Similarly, they reluctantly backed the bill even though it contains the Stupak anti-abortion amendment, because they believe in their guts that she’ll fight hard to strip it later. For a bunch of reasons, of course, the historical comparison is far from perfect. But the dynamic is worth noting as another sign of how under-estimated Pelosi has been throughout this process.
“Far from perfect” is an understatement.
But underestimated Pelosi? Not around here. I was present inside the Capitol, watching a TV in a room not far from where she took the oath, one of the most jubilant people, man or woman, in the room. I expected great things, with Pelosi charging hard on health care all year, when Pres. Obama went missing and Sarah Palin’s “death panels” squeal took the stage.
However, when all was written and votes cast, after the Catholic Bishops and evangelical Dems had weighed in, what women were left with was Nancy’s Compromise. A House health care bill with a watered down public option, with women now having fewer rights than the law actually allowed and than where we started before the House weighed in. Health care about to become far more difficult for women to navigate, poor women to access, and our health put in jeopardy because of hoops we had to jump through because a white evangelical Democratic male from C Street, backed by his Republican mentors, was given full rein.
“Liberal lioness”? In her dreams.
Meet the real lioness, the only person to stand up so far to say Hyde should be rewritten to reflect current law, who also happens to be the woman vying for Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat.
“The House’s vote is in many ways a significant step toward the goal of health care reform. However, I am deeply disturbed that the House adopted the Stupak/Pitts amendment, which would deny millions of women access to reproductive services. The inclusion of the Stupak/Pitts amendment violates the very intent of health care reform, which is meant to guarantee quality, affordable health care coverage for everyone. I believe that the Senate has a responsibility to fix this by eliminating the provision in whatever reform legislation moves forward.” – Martha Coakley, candidate for U.S. Senate
To add… Sam Stein reports that Sen. Boxer, another candidate for the real “liberal lioness” award, says the votes are there in the Senate to block Stupak: Boxer: Senate Has Votes To Block Stupak Amendment.
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