Strange bedfellows

Maybe Obama's campaign promise to bring us all together is starting to bear fruit.

Union pulls back on supporting bill

The SEIU executive board will hold what Lodes described as an "emergency" meeting Wednesday night to decide how to move forward. "Right now, they don't have the information they need to make this decision," said Lodes, who added that the SEIU informed the other organizations on Tuesday they would not be joining the press conference.

The board meeting likely will not produce a final determination by the union about whether to support advancing the Senate healthcare bill, which not only lacks a public option and the Medicare buy-in but also would levy an excise tax on so-called Cadillac health insurance plans that some union members have, Lodes said.

(Emphasis added.)


Howard Dean: Health Care Bill 'Bigger Bailout for the Insurance Industry Than AIG'

Dean sent shockwaves when he said Tuesday in an interview with Vermont Public Radio that the removal of the Medicare buy-in means Democrats should just kill the health care bill and start over.

"This is essentially the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate," Dean said.

(Emphasis added. Say! Wasn't "Kill the bill!" one of the frequent chants at the tea parties? Maybe Dean was listening.)



NBC poll: Public sours on health reform

As the Senate sprints to pass a health-care bill by Christmas, the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that those believing President Obama's health-reform plan is a good idea has sunk to its lowest level.

Just 32 percent say it's a good idea, versus 47 percent who say it's a bad idea.

In addition, for the first time in the survey, a plurality prefers the status quo to reform. By a 44-41 percent margin, respondents say it would be better to keep the current system than to pass Obama's health plan.

Okay, some are stranger than others. (See Howard Dean for a definition of strange.) Still, this is one weird coalition that's forming against unread, unknown Obamacare.

UPDATE: Olbermann joins call to kill bill Olbermann? Dude this health care bill is toast! Strange bedfellows, indeed.