Griper Blade: Make It a Hair Trigger

Tonight, President Obama will give his big speech to save healthcare reform. All the networks will broadcast a presidential address to a joint session of congress -- with the exception of FOX. They'll serve the American public by airing So You Think You Can Dance?. That should be gripping and historic. Watercooler conversation ought to be interesting tomorrow, with most people talking about the Obama address, while others will be talking about how they can't believe that one guy dropped that chick during their Funkytown routine. Hope she has healthcare. That was quite a tumble.

For his part, the president will be abondoning the negotiations on which he had pinned his hopes. Sen. Max Baucus's Finance Committee has failed to create a bipartisan bill after their weeks-long snipe hunt. Republicans pretended to be interested in bipartisanship, to slow the process down, but the truth is that it seemed impossible that Democrats would agree to a deal lousy enough to satisfy the GOP. Not that Baucus hasn't tried. After everything finally went all to hell, Max went ahead and wrote his own legislative turd. I guess the idea here is that it looks bipartisan, even if it isn't.

And it looks bipartisan because it's completely awful. Of all the proposals, his is the worst. There is no public option; instead, there are non-profit co-ops. This is an idiotic concession, since Republicans don't like the co-ops either. And co-ops are insurance reform in the same way that credit unions are banking reform -- i.e., they're not. Baucus's plan has almost no safety net, but would fine people for not being insured. Associated Press reports that, although the bill includes tax credits to help pay for insurance, people who "don't sign up would face hefty fines, starting at $750 a year for individuals and $1,500 for families. The maximum penalty on individuals would be $950."... [CLICK TO READ FULL POST]