Lincoln Changes Her Position On Reconciliation
March 9th, 2010I think we’re seeing the value of a primary challenge here…or at least one value. Apparently, Halter’s got Lincoln running scared and considering changing her positions. So much for that “one tough lady” crap.
A moderate Democrat who had vowed to oppose any effort by party leaders to push a health care bill through the Senate with a simple majority vote is rethinking her position.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln said Tuesday that she wants to see what is in the companion bill before deciding.
I wish I could wean people off of calling corporate stooges like Lincoln moderates. Call them what they are-politicians sold to the highest bidder. But that aside, it’s apparent here that Lincoln is struggling to respond to Bill Halter’s challenge, moving away from her previous opposition to reconciliation now.
Mark my words though, this is no reason to vote for Lincoln. She’s changing her position now only to save her sorry hide and if she wins the primary she will revert back to her old ways in a flash.
There’s a clear choice for Arkansans now- A person who stands on principle and doesn’t back down from what he believes in or someone who changes her positions based on the way she thinks the wind is blowing (and if you haven’t figured it out yet, she’s not good at figuring out directions).
Update: Apparently Lincoln realized that her bit of waffling took away from her “one tough lady” image and released this “clarification”:
U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln today reiterated her opposition to altering the health insurance reform bill using budget reconciliation.
“Sen. Olympia Snowe and I have proposed a bipartisan way forward on health care and I still hope that my colleagues will consider it,” Lincoln said. “I have promised my constituents that I will not support income tax increases to pay for health care and I will seek bipartisan solutions. This takes budget reconciliation as an alternative means to pass health care reform off the table for me. I have fought for and ensured transparency throughout this process, and I believe we must get over this final hurdle using the regular rules of the Senate.”
Tags: Bill Halter, Blanche Lincoln, health care reform, reconciliation
This is just par for the course for Lincoln. During the last election, she lied straight-faced to union members, including my husband, about her positions on labor. A few months later, after she was elected, of course, we all saw that awful, racist commercial of hers portraying union men as mob bosses and thugs. She won’t be fooling us again.