Word: gop
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...there a way out? In theory, if the Democrats won so overwhelmingly that they controlled nearly 70 seats in the Senate, as they did when Franklin Roosevelt secured passage of Social Security and when Lyndon Johnson got Medicare through, they could simply steamroll the GOP. But America in 2010, unlike America in 1935 or '65, is closely divided between the two parties. Although bipartisanship is not an end in and of itself, the reality remains that today, and for the foreseeable future, neither party can do big, controversial things without help from the other...
...Republicans should not be afraid to walk in with a series of positive ideas and to work with Democrats on legislation in a genuinely bipartisan fashion. Some GOP partisans so deeply distrust Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate majority leader Harry Reid that they assume even meeting with them is an act of betrayal. But Republicans should have confidence that they can always say no to bad ideas. Indeed, they should be open to the possibility of finding supportable measures that would be good for the country and totally compatible with their values...
...Ultimately, the U.S. may be heading toward a similar brand of nuclear socialism. Obama talks about massive nuclear subsidies as just one part of his larger clean-energy agenda, but he hasn't made them contingent on GOP support for that larger agenda. So the nuclear subsidies are sure to pass, while the larger agenda is likely to stall. Eventually, extravagant government largesse might create a nuclear rebirth of sorts - but it might end up strangling better solutions in their cribs or prevent them from ever being born...
...Democrats are not the only ones rattled. Tea Partyers are boosting former Republican state legislator Marco Rubio's challenge to Governor Charlie Crist for the GOP's U.S. Senate nomination in Florida. In Arizona, the movement is targeting Senator John McCain, whose willingness to compromise on issues like immigration makes him vulnerable to former Representative J.D. Hayworth in the primary. Indiana Republican Dan Coats, a former Senator, is itching to get his job back after the retirement of Democrat Evan Bayh. But he too hears rumblings on his right. It is the sound of Tea Partyism on the march...
...political ramifications of the Anthem Blue Cross story don't end at the Beltway. Steve Poizner, the California insurance commissioner who has been aggressively pursuing Anthem, is running for governor, though he is trailing far behind fellow GOP candidate (and former eBay CEO) Meg Whitman. Poizner says he supports reform of the U.S. health care system but generally opposes the Democratic House and Senate bills. Dave Jones, a Democratic state assemblyman, is running to replace Poizner in the commissioner's office on a platform of changing California law to require health insurers to get state approval before increasing rates...