Group questions whether Grassley an ally on health-care

By James Q. Lynch

The Gazette

CEDAR RAPIDS -- A union-backed group lobbying for health-care change says it is re-evaluating its belief Sen. Chuck Grassley was an ally in light of his comments he won't support a plan without broad bipartisan support.

However, a Grassley spokeswoman said the Iowa Republican's position has not changed and he remains committed to working for a reform plan that can win support “from 80 people in the middle of the Senate.”

The mixed messages from the White House suggesting “a win is a win” with or without bipartisan support “work against that kind of coalition building, Grassley spokeswoman Jill Kozeny said Wednesday.

However, Grassley's comment on MSNBC that he is unwilling to be one of only three or four Republicans to support a health-care reform bill signals a “disturbing” shift in Grassley's tone, according to Andrew Mertens of Change That Works, a labor coalition that has been “trying to be positively engaged with Sen. Grassley.”

More alarming to Cathy Glasson, Local 199 SEIU president, was a comment from Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Finance Committee and member of the “Gang of Six” that have been working on a bipartisan plan, “I'm negotiating for Republicans.”

That makes it clear Grassley's priority “is only advancing his party's political agenda,” she said.

“Saying you'll vote against a health care bill that you helped craft is saying you'll vote against the hardworking Iowans who elected you,” Glasson said.

Trying to blame Grassley for the lack of consensus on health-care reform “doesn't get around the fact the public isn't sold on what's been presented so far,” Kozeny said. “That's pretty clear, whether you read polls or actually go listen to people during town meetings.  Most Americans don't want the government takeover, the deficit spending and the failure to do anything about health care costs that you have in the Pelosi bill and in the Kennedy-Dodd bill.”

Grassley and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus “have been trying to come up with an alternative that stays focused on fixing what's broken in the current system and leaving the good parts alone.” It might take more time to win broader support, she said, but “Until people have confidence that a partisan, political agenda is not the end-game strategy, it'll be hard to build broader support at the grassroots.”

Change That Works and other health-care reform advocacy groups are calling for a day of action Saturday, asking supporters to call, e-mail or talk to Grassley about the issue.

Also, Health Care for America Now plans to demonstrate outside the Iowa State Fair Friday when Grassley visits with his international guests. They will rally along East 30

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Street outside the main gate to the fairgrounds and have members inside the fairgrounds to visit with fairgoers interested in the issue.