A lot of bark, but not much bite to Blue Dogs' health reform deal

July 31, 2009

Originally published in The Examiner

Before Blue Dog Coalition Democrats break out the champagne because of the deal they won this week to water down the Big Government health care bill in the House, they should pay close attention to the difference between the way the deal is being spun in public and the way it’s being portrayed in private. 

While some of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s consiglieri were hyping the deal to the media Wednesday as a significant breakthrough, others were huddling in private with liberals to encourage them to keep hope alive.

Exhibit A is what was said in a private Capitol Hill meeting between a representative of Pelosi and disgruntled House liberals.

According to Politico, Pelosi’s emissary to liberal Democrats in the House, Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, met with progressives who were in near revolt about the Blue Dog deal late Wednesday. Miller reportedly downplayed the importance of the deal, noting that it’s only one of three bills passed by the House and the only one lacking the public option that’s make or break for the left-wing.

Just to be clear, “changing it back” means reverting to the punitive, high-taxing, Big Government bill favored by President Barack Obama, Pelosi and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles.

House liberals reportedly left the meeting “somewhat reassured.”

Even if it sticks, the Blue Dog deal is still bad for American health care consumers — it’s just slightly less bad than the original House bill.

But under the so-called deal, new taxes and mandates will still be placed on the small businesses that employ 70 percent of all small-business employees. Small businesses that have an average of just 32 employees will be subject to an 8 percent payroll-tax hike. Even small businesses that have an average of just 17 employees will face new taxes and mandates under the deal.

But the larger problem is that it only slightly slows down the train toward mandatory government health care, doing nothing to change the track.

The deal supposedly makes the public insurance plan that would quickly overwhelm the private insurance market optional.

Blue Dog Democrats from conservative rural districts have put their future in the hands of one House leader who represents San Francisco and another who represents Beverly Hills.

As the saying goes, a deal is a deal — until it’s not. Blue Dogs may not think they rolled over, but it sure looks like they got rolled.


Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has published 19 books, including 10 fiction and nonfiction best-sellers. He’s the founder of the Center for Health Transformation and chairman of American Solutions for Winning the Future. For more information, see www.newt.org. His exclusive column for The Examiner appears Fridays.