With a 14-9 vote the Senate Finance Committee has passed its health overhaul bill. Republican Olympia Snowe’s “yes” decision was the most anticipated of the day, leading liberal power site The Huffington Post ran with the headline “SNOWE MELTS.” Here’s what others had to say:
Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey: “Charles Grassley predicted that the Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee would stick together on the final panel vote on the Baucus health-care overhaul plan. Unfortunately, he didn’t reckon on colleague Olympia Snowe’s desire to make ‘history,’ which apparently trumps fiscal responsibility and common sense. Snowe will vote to pass the non-bill, giving Democrats some much-needed political cover.”
The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein: “[health reform has] a high-profile Republican supporter in the Senate. There are compromises left to be made, and bad days left to be endured, but health-care reform has the votes. It has them in the House. It has them in the Senate. It looks to have enough of them, in fact, to overcome a filibuster. That is to say, it looks to have enough of them to actually become law.”
The American Spectator’s Philip Klein: “This is a good headline for Democrats today, but it doesn’t solve the underlying friction between moderate and liberal members of Congress. … Everything will hinge on whether House liberals cave in on their demand for a government plan, or dig in.”
Critical Condition’s Tevi Troy says Snowe could have “driven a better bargain” and continues “this probably locks her in to voting for the final package, as she would make no new friends by switching at this point. Furthermore, I think that she loses leverage for any additional concessions she might want, as the Dems will now look elsewhere among both conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans (read: Susan Collins) to boost their numbers.”
The New Republic’s Noam Scheiber: “now that Snowe has voted for the bill in committee, she can basically dictate the terms of the final bill. (Anyone wondering about the havoc she might wreak need only look at the stimulus.) That’s because, if you alienate her during the forthcoming negotiations, her defection from the final bill would be disastrous.”
Wonk Room’s Igor Volksy: “Some have speculated that the recent insurance industry report encouraged Snowe to vote in favor of reform. The insurance industry attacked Snowe’s amendments to lower the penalties for Americans who don’t meet the requirements of the individual mandate and the senator harshly condemned the industry’s conclusions. ‘It wasn’t based on any valid assumptions,’ she said.”
Tags: finance committee, snowe
