Susan Collins had a malign influence on the stimulus package, demanding $100 billion in cuts arbitrarily, mostly to state fiscal stabilization, which crippled state spending and led to massive losses in government jobs at a time when the private sector isn’t hiring. Fresh off of Olympia Snowe’s vote for health care reform in the Senate Finance Committee, the AP reports that Collins is back, looking to dangle her vote on the condition of more bad public policy:

Another Republican senator says she’s open to voting for a sweeping health care overhaul this year. Maine Sen. Susan Collins said Wednesday the status quo is unaccaptable and she shares the goal of passing responsible health care legislation to expand coverage and curb costs. But Collins also said she has serious concerns about the version that cleared the Finance Committee Tuesday with the support of her Maine colleague, Olympia Snowe. Collins said she worries the coverage won’t be affordable for many families and small businesses, and said proposed Medicare cuts are too deep.

But the AP story is based on a statement from Collins that is indistinguishable from something most other Republicans who oppose the bill but don’t want to be seen as obstructionists would write. Indeed, on Hardball, Collins said that the bill “doesn’t do enough to rein in costs,” parroted the discredited AHIP line that the bill would increase costs for consumers, and called the public option a “non-starter”.

Affordability concerns are valid, and hopefully the HELP version of the bill will prevail on that front. But Collins is arguing two diametrically opposed points here. She wants more affordable coverage, which would cost money to the government in subsidies, but she thinks Medicare cuts are too deep, and she wants reduce the cost of the bill too, somehow, even though all her concerns would add to that cost. So this looks like a total tease to me, and some sloppy reporting from the AP (I know, big shock).

Snowe, meanwhile, has already started laying down markers. . . .

Gibson: You said your vote today was only your vote today and it might not signify your vote tomorrow. What would cause you to pull back? What does that mean?

Snowe: That would mean significant costs are added to the bill, or significant taxes. If some issues aren’t addressed such as affordability, we still have to work on that issue making sure Americans have affordable health plans. They do under this legislation, but we need to do more and to be certain of that. And finally of course, the public option. That is not an area I have agreed to. I don’t want the government at the outset of the process. It really could shut off the private sector. I think the private sector can do a lot because of the market reforms that we included in this legislation that will compel them to live up to a standard.

Snowe also implied to McClatchy that she would withdraw her support if a public option was included. She’s still pushing for that trigger.

It’s important to note that neither Snowe nor Collins are necessary for cloture. All Reid has to do is hold his caucus, which Alan Grayson demanded on Wednesday. The Democrats need to make a decision on whether they support bipartisanship for bipartisanship’s sake, or a bill that works for people.


Related posts:

  1. Americans Care More About Having Public Option than Gaining Snowe’s Vote
  2. Burris: Health Care Reform Must Have a Public Option
  3. Feingold: No Public Option “A Very Strong Reason Not To Support” A Health Care Bill
  4. This Is Absolutely Nothing Even Kinda Like a Public Option
  5. Americans Want A Public Option, Not Bipartisanship