David Pleasant

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-BlueDog) sends a not too veiled message to his constituents, the Blue Dog Caucus, that the public option part of a health care bill is anything but essential and would be cast aside.

Hoyer (D-Md.) emphasized his support for a public option in a teleconference call with reporters, but also said he wants to ensure Congress sends a bill to the president.

“I’m for a public option, but I’m also for passing a bill,” he said. Democrats believe the public option is necessary, he said, “but we’ll have to see.”

He added that there are many other important parts of healthcare legislation approved by three committees in the House.

As you may recall, that is a direct contradiction to what Speaker Pelosi said just yesterday. More specifically, Pelosi said: “There is no way I can pass a bill in the House of Representatives without a public option.” So much for standing together.

Let there be no mistaking it. Steny Hoyer is telling the Blue Dogs to stand firm on their position to kill the public option if not health care reform in its entirety.

Late Update: It is worth noting that Hoyer has received $1.185 million in contributions from the health care and insurance industries.

Excellent. The Progressive Caucus has enough confirmed votes (53) to block passage of any health care reform bill that “does not provide, at a minimum, for a public option with reimbursement rates based on Medicare rates – not negotiated rates.”

Now, if somebody can just get a hold of that execrable Max Baucus.

The Blue Dogs have roughly 50 members in their caucus. The Progressive Caucus has 83; something those mangy mutts should be reminded of frequently.

House liberals have quickly rejected a healthcare compromise their leaders forged with centrist Blue Dogs, putting the deal on shaky ground only hours after it was announced.

"It’s unacceptable," said Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. "We’re not going to vote for anything that doesn’t have a robust public plan."

The Progressive Caucus has 83 members. Members are circulating a letter for signatures protesting the deal.

Woolsey said liberals cannot accept that the public plan will not be linked to Medicare, and said subsidies have been cut to the point where the plan won’t help the middle class.

When did blocking progress on any bill that is supposed to help the American people become something to cheer about?

“We’ve achieved the victory of not having a vote on the House floor that will give every member a chance to digest what’s in the bill, whether it’s in a markup that occurs in Energy and Commerce or whether it’s as the bill exists right now,” [Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.)] said. “It is because of the Blue Dog Coalition that there is no floor vote before the August break.”

Yes, the Blue Dogs are responsible and they should be rewarded handsomely with a primary contender in 2010. Every single one of them.

It speaks for itself. From The Hill:

The Blue Dogs and House leaders have struck a deal to guarantee that the House will not vote on a healthcare bill before August, a leading Blue Dog said on Wednesday.

In exchange for putting off a floor vote until after Labor Day, the Energy and Commerce Committee may be allowed to continue its markup of the healthcare bill this week even if an agreement has not been reached between Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and seven Energy and Commerce Committee Blue Dogs over the content of the bill.

Waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I want my way!!! Blasted Blue Dog obstructionists.

House healthcare negotiations dissolved in acrimony on Friday, with Blue Dog Democrats saying they were “lied” to by their Democratic leaders.

The seven Blue Dogs on the Energy and Commerce Committee stormed out of a Friday meeting with their committee chairman, Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), saying Waxman had been negotiating in bad faith over a number of provisions Blue Dogs demanded be changed in the stalled healthcare bill.

“I’ve been lied to,” Blue Dog Coalition Co-Chairman Charlie Melancon (D-La.) said on Friday. “We have not had legitimate negotiations.

“Mr. Waxman has decided to sever discussions with the Blue Dogs who are trying to make this bill work for America,” Melancon said.

Although those Blue Dogs were supposed to be headed back into another meeting of the Energy and Commerce Democrats, their anger was visible.

If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, the only hope for passage of the bill in the House will be to go straight to the floor, an option leaders shied away from endorsing but said was an option.

But the Blue Dogs issued dire warnings to leaders contemplating that approach.

"Waxman simply does not have votes in committee and process should not be bypassed to bring the bill straight to floor,” Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), the lead Blue Dog negotiator, said on Friday. “We are trying to save this bill and trying to save this party.”

Melancon said there would be 40-45 “solid no” votes from the 52-strong Blue Dogs, among other problems throughout the caucus. And Melancon said there are more Democrats who will vote against the bill.

“If they try to bring it to the floor, I think they’ll find out they have more problems than the Blue Dogs.”

They are going to pull out all stops to ensure the health care and insurance industry leaders continue fleecing America regardless of how much blood they end up with on their hands. Thousands of people die everyday due to no access to health care, but these people can’t be concerned with such trivial matters. Their campaign contributions may be at risk, and that’s infinitely more important.

Every one of them, all fifty, need to be primaried in 2010.

As I noted earlier today, Blue Dog Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee were scheduled to meet with President Obama this afternoon to discuss health care reform. However, instead of forcing “the landscape to change” as result of that their foot-stomping, The Hill reports that “no final decisions have been made.”

Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), a Blue-dog Democrat who has led the charge to reduce the bill’s costs, said after the meeting that “no final decisions have been made.” He said he and others want to wait for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to score the bill and potential cost-cutting measures.

Ross said the president laid out what he wants to see in healthcare legislation, including that it be deficit neutral. House members discussed “about 10 issues we’re concerned with,” he said. “Obviously, cost cutting is first on that list,” Ross said.

Ross said the Democrats met with the president and his staff for about an hour, but the members were at the White House for more than two and half hours. They left abruptly and returned to Capitol Hill after Ross and committee chairman Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) made brief statements to reporters. The two did not take questions.

Waxman agreed with Ross that the entire committee — not just the Blue Dogs – “have great concern on the cost of the legislation.”

I wonder if Blue Dog Democrats have received similar contributions as Max Baucus has from the health care industry. Only a fool would think all this opposition to reform was motivated by what their respective constituents want. This is all about the flow of money inside Washington.

Blue Dog Democrats were scheduled to meet with President Obama about an hour ago and were expected to demand that he slow down (read: kill) health care reform. According to TPM, a Blue Dog aide declared, “The landscape will change after that meeting.”

Sounds like they’re getting a might big for their britches. And who knows, they may be.