GOP to Dems: Slow down, start again

CQ Politics: "Fresh from his upset victory in Massachusetts, Republican Sen-elect Scott P. Brown said Thursday that he agreed with suggestions that Democrats should scrap their health care proposal and start over." Arriving at the Hill Thursday, "Brown, who will become the Senate's 41st Republican, depriving Democrats of their filibuster-proof majority — was greeted as a conquering hero by Senate Republicans" (1/21).

The Associated Press/Boston Globe: "U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, smarting over the way Democrats moved health care negotiations behind closed doors and left her and other Republicans shut out of the process, is waiting for them to make the first move toward salvaging portions of the health care overhaul bill." Although Snowe says she continues to want to play a "constructive role" in the process, she was left frustrated by the partisanship she saw after Senate Democrats mustered 60 votes, enough to move forward without the threat of delaying tactics by Republicans" (Sharp, 1/22).

Roll Call: "Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) on Thursday once again urged Democrats to abandon their efforts to enact wholesale changes to the nation's health care system or overhaul energy and immigration policies, arguing that Sen.-elect Scott Brown's (R) victory ... suggests the public wants a less ambitious approach" (Stanton, 1/21).

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This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.