CSPAN Dares Democrats to Broadcast Health Debate
The House and Senate have each passed their own versions of the healthcare bill, and now before Obama can sign it all they’ll have to do is work out the differences and come up with something that both chambers can agree on.
Now, there are quite a few differences in the bills, with the House version being a small help to some poor people and the Senate bill largely being a massive corporate give-away, so there’s quite a bit of interest among the voters and political analysts as to which one will ultimately shape the law of the land.
The CEO of CSPAN is even offering to help the Democrats publicize their “great” reform of a critical social system – but the party’s leadership doesn’t seem too interested in showing their constituents how this money-stuffed sausage is made.
Of course, its not like reconciliation of other legislation gets broadcast on cable TV, so this isn’t a new trend toward secrecy (its just the old one we’re used to by now.) Instead, CSPAN is giving the Democrats a chance to live up to Obama’s campaign ideals of open discussions and transparent political processes. Only problem here is that publicizing the political process is unlikely to win them many fans – especially as they’ve gone out of their way to make sure the insurance companies are the #1 group represented by said reform.
A public conference would probably require Congress to stand up for the common voting folk, but it would do incredible damage to their ability to raise funds and deliver on the expectations of their corporate sponsors.
I won’t be holding my breath for live coverage of the legislative reconciliation process, but I’m getting the popcorn ready for what will promise to be an interesting public response to an incredibly unpopular bill. Aren’t you glad to know that you’ll be forced into buying an inefficient product from a publicly traded for-profit business?