Bloomberg News:President Barack Obama is likely next month to end Democratic efforts to work with Republicans on health-care legislation and push for a party-line vote if the stalemate in the U.S. Senate persists, a person close to the White House said.
The president and his advisers have begun devising a legislative strategy to pass a measure by relying only on the Democratic majority in each house of Congress, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In a separate interview, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Obama is losing patience with negotiations between three Democrats and three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee, the only congressional panel seeking a bipartisan consensus on a plan to remake the nation’s health-care system.
“He’s waited and waited,” Daschle said today after meeting with the president. “He has indicated, much to the chagrin of people in his party, that virtually everything’s on the table,” Daschle said. “And he’s gotten almost nothing in return for it.”
Look, this is either going to happen or it's not and I've gotten to the point where I'll believe it when I see it. This is the White House complaining about Baucus's and Grassley's "Gang of Six," whose only purpose as a gang seems to be to kill the public option.
If this is accurate and Obama's done with them, then yay for that -- but what the hell took him so long? If this is just the White House trying to light a fire under them to get them moving on their "bipartisan agreement," then I'll be a lot less excited about it.
Still, when all is said and done, this does allow the president to say he did everything (and more) anyone could've asked to get a bipartisan bill. And if he's let Grassley and company punk Baucus and company for awhile, it has had the effect of killing the GOP's involvement.
Political rope-a-dope? You tell me. All I can say is that I'm feeling a little punchy myself.
