Democrats seem ready to go it alone on health care reform - MedCity Morning Read, Aug. 19, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Given Republicans’ hardening opposition to health care reform, Democrats say they see little chance for bipartisan legislation to fix the nation’s health care system this fall, according to the New York Times.

Top Democrats said Tuesday that their go-it-alone attitude was being shaped by Republicans’ increasingly strident opposition to reform legislation during the summer recess for Congress, the Times said. Some Republicans have used town hall meetings to tell constituents they think reform legislation is flawed beyond repair. So Democrats are increasingly focused on drawing support for their final reform plan from their own ranks, according to the Times.

White House chief of staff Rahm Emmanual said the heated opposition shows Republicans have drawn their line in the sand against any health care changes, the latest opposition campaign against efforts led by President Obama, a Democrat, the Times said. The Democratic shift to a singular attitude may not help pass health care legislation any better or faster, according to the Times. The political party still must reconcile differences between liberal members — determined to win a government-run insurance option that would compete against private insurers — and conservative members, who are worried about the cost and scope of theÂ legislation, to pass reform measures, the Times said.

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On the other hand, Democrats’ willingness to push through legislation without support of Republicans could change the dynamics around health reform and even change the final substance of the bill, according to the Times. Democrats might be able to move ahead more quickly if they don’t have to worry about bipartisan support of the legislation, the Times said.

Meanwhile, the White House interpreted critical comments made by Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Democrat who co-leads the Senate Finance Committee— the powerful group of six senators who had tried to craft bipartisan reform prior to breaking for the summer — as evidence that there is little chance of reaching agreement on reform, the Times said. Grassley, who may face a Republican party challenge next year, has gotten an earful traveling around his state, according to the Times. Grassley told CNBC this week that he will vote against a bill unless it has broad support from Republicans, even if it has all the provisions he wants, the Times said.

Liberal activists have been pressuring Senate Democrats to move ahead with their own plans for health care reform regardless of Grassley’s opposition, according to The Hill.

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