The Problem Solvers are going to be a problem
by digby
9 Dems are choosing to hold the entire 220+ caucus hostage if we don’t accept their GOP-friendly rules that will hamstring healthcare efforts from the get-go.
People sent us here to get things done, not “negotiate” with an admin that jails children and guts people’s healthcare. https://t.co/ih8ygftjHo— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 23, 2018
These people are going to wield their power as the Blue Dogs and the new Dems used to do, all the while pretending to be “pragmatists” working across the aisle like Americans all say they want people to do.
The right flank of the Democratic Party has always been complicit in enabling Republicans who take them for exactly for the suckers they are.
The Problem Solvers Caucus is a bi-partisan group in the United States House of Representatives that includes approximately 48 members – equally divided between Democrats and Republicans – who seek to create bi-partisan cooperation on key policy issues. Created in January 2017, the group is currently co-chaired by Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Tom Reed (R-NY).[1]
Writing in the New York Times about the formation of the Caucus, Reed and Gottheimer said: “We all knew the partisanship in Washington had gotten out of control and felt the need to create a bipartisan group committed to getting to “yes” on important issues. We have agreed to vote together for any policy proposal that garners the support of 75 percent of the entire Problem Solvers Caucus, as well as 51 percent of both the Democrats and Republicans in the caucus.”
The Problem Solvers Caucus developed over time as an outgrowth of informal meetings organized by the political reform group No Labels. Past successes include the introduction of nine bipartisan bills to reduce government waste and inefficiency and the passage of the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013.
The Caucus’ signature success to date occurred on July 31, 2017, when its members unified behind a bipartisan health care fix to shore up the nation’s struggling health insurance exchanges and to reduce premiums for individuals, families and small businesses. The Washington Post described the Caucus plan as “a viable bipartisan compromise focused on stabilizing health-care markets rather than enforcing one party’s will on the nation.”
Aside from its bipartisan health care plan, the House Problem Solvers Caucus has aligned several times on votes and on policy including:
Supported and voted into law a “clean” continuing resolution—free of any ideological riders—to avert a government shutdown
Released a comprehensive bipartisan proposal to rebuild American infrastructure (January 2018)
Released the first bipartisan immigration proposal in the House; pairing a long-term solution for The Dreamers with investments in border security (January 2018
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Supported the long-term budget deal that averted another government shutdown and could not have passed without the Problem Solvers’ bipartisan votes (February 2018)The Caucus is also building a bipartisan bridge into the Senate. Its members have been attending regular bipartisan, bicameral meetings hosted by No Labels that feature No Labels’ honorary co-chairs Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and several of their Senate colleagues.
On July 25, the Problem Solvers Caucus released its Break the Gridlock reform package, featuring proposed rules changes the group said would “reward openness and transparency, encourage a willingness to reach across the aisle, create debate on divisive issues, and empower lawmakers to find real solutions concerning our nation’s most pressing matters.”
Right. In other words, enable Donald Trump and the batshit crazy Republicans.
We’ve been here before. It didn’t work out.
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