Reply #24: Seems Wyden has Obama's ear by playing hoops.......

[snowdays]

In any case, the Republicans like his plan.




http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/wyden-is-winning-over-the-gop-on-healthcare-2009-05-18.html

........Republicans are so impressed with Wyden’s bill that some are convinced he represents President Obama’s best chance for getting major healthcare reform signed into law this Congress.

And while Democratic Sens. Edward Kennedy (Mass.) and Max Baucus (Mont.) may chair the committees charged with shepherding the bill through the Senate, Wyden, a 6-foot-4 former college basketball player, has his own advantage: a standing invitation to play hoops with the president at the White House, which may come in handy when hashing out the final details behind the scenes.

For Wyden, the key to passing lasting healthcare reform is finding a legislative solution that can win at least 70 votes in the Senate — and he’s not shy about letting Democrats know that means dropping thoughts of a government-run public plan for the entire nation.

To make his case, he has met individually with more than 80 Senate colleagues to discuss his proposals. He has envisioned his role as neutral broker so vividly that during the height of the Democratic presidential primary, Wyden refused to back either Obama or then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).

Wyden counts among his closest friends Sens. Bob Bennett (R-Utah), who is a confidant of Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who is widely respected and has a knack for persuading colleagues to support compromises.

Bennett has signed on as the chief GOP co-sponsor of Wyden’s bill and has persuaded two other members of the Senate Republican leadership to join him: Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) and Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.)...............