Rockefeller Stands Up for Liberals on Health Care

[andym]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/health/policy/18rock.html

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All summer, the White House deferred to Senator Max Baucus, the Democrat from Montana who heads the Senate Finance Committee, as he negotiated with two moderate Democrats and three Republicans. Their failure to agree on a bipartisan bill left the administration scrambling to pass an overhaul with Democratic votes alone.

And that has emboldened liberals like the 72-year-old Mr. Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat. He heads the health subcommittee of Mr. Baucus’s panel, and yet he was relegated to the sidelines as the so-called Gang of Six talked and talked. Senate liberals are now pushing for an overhaul fully on Democratic terms — legislation more like that in the House, where liberal Democrats dominate.

“I represent a state that really needs health care reform, and I want it to be good,” said Mr. Rockefeller, who came to West Virginia 45 years ago with the Vista program to teach in a mining town. “It doesn’t make me liberal,” he added. “I care. That’s the Vista volunteer in me. My passion has not diminished one bit since 1964.”

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“I urge my colleagues to seriously consider this troubling new information before hanging their hats — and most importantly the livelihoods of millions of Americans — on an untested concept,” Mr. Rockefeller said in a statement. He predicted that Mr. Baucus’s tax on insurers for their most generous policies would translate into higher premiums for union workers with good coverage, like coal miners. He also objects to Mr. Baucus’s proposal to incorporate the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which benefits children of the working poor, into the new insurance exchanges.
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I love that he still feels like the Vista volunteer he was 45 years ago.

[Stardust]

1. Rockefeller's always been an enigma to me, especially that he hailed from

West Virginia. That always seemed unusual to me. I tend to think of Rockefellers as New England aristocrats. Should have done my research...now I find out that he migrated there. Pretty fascinating. Does he actually profess to being a (gasp!) *liberal* or even a *progressive*? All I know is, whenever I've heard him speak out on an issue, I agree with him. Interesting that Obama met with him after the Baucus Bill fiasco.

I suspect some DUers will come forth with all kinds of misdeeds committed by Sen. Rockefeller, but for now, I like the guy. A lot.

[tishaLA]

2. That's the weird thing. He's normally so cautious and moderate

about almost everything. And he's so much of a hawk--to my mind at least. It's really interesting that he's willing to go to the mat on health care reform.

[andym]

3. Here's some interesting info from wikipedia

"After college, Rockefeller worked for the Peace Corps in Washington, D.C., under John F. Kennedy, where he developed a friendship with Robert Kennedy and worked as an assistant to Peace Corps Director Sargent Shriver. He served as the operations director for the Corps' largest overseas program in the Philippines. He continued his public service in 1964–1965 as a VISTA volunteer, under President Lyndon B. Johnson, during which time he moved to Emmons, West Virginia."

...
"In 1993 Rockefeller became the principal Senate supporter, with Ted Kennedy, behind Bill and Hillary Clinton's sweeping health-care reform package, liaising closely with the First Lady, even opening up his mansion in Rock Creek Park for its first strategy meeting. The reform was subsequently defeated by an alliance between the Business Roundtable and a small-business coalition."


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His initial position on the Iraq war (supporting Bush) and later position on torture (no prosecutions) are decidedly not liberal. Also he was for retroactive immunity for the telecoms in the domestic spying affair. Wikipedia discusses possible contributions from the telecoms influencing him (but I find the idea that campaign contributions influenced a Rockefeller to be absurd) In his defense after 2003, he was a consistent critic of the Iraq war.

[Cha]

4. Thank you, Jay Rockefeller..

for your enthusiasm in getting real Health Care Reform passed.

[Bravo Zulu]

5. Charlie Rose interviewed him tonight and,

he explained some things very well, like why buying health insurance across state lines is a really bad idea, he said WV has pretty good regulations but a place like wyoming doesn't have any so people in WV buying insurance from an unregulated health insurance company from wyoming would end up with bad coverage!

[Honeycombe8]

6. Well, SOMEONE has cajones. He should loan his to some others. nt