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« More on Podcasting | Main | Harold Ford Jr. » February 21, 2005"Gov. Bredesen has botched the TennCare fix..."Political columnist Tim Chavez in Sunday's Tennessean: Phil Bredesen was elected for one primary reason - he was a wealthy healthcare executive who said he knew how to fix TennCare, and the people of Tennessee, knowing that TennCare's out-of-control cost increases were the root cause of the state's budget problems and tax increase pressures, wanted TennCare fixed. Bredesen been governor for two years and he hasn't done it yet. Increasingly, it isn't clear he even has a cogent plan to do so, or the courage it may require. Posted in Bredesen Watch
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I got a plan. Get rid of it. Posted by: Glen Dean at February 21, 2005 04:33 PMPhil's problem is that he now has higher ambitions. Unfortunately, those ambitions directly conflict with any reasonable solution to TennCare. Any real solution to TennCare would be so unpopular with leftist Democrats that Bredesen would have zero chance of winning the Democratic nomination for president. So he really doesn't want to go down that road, because he would forever lose any chance he has for higher office. There is another class of solutions to TennCare, and they all involve raising taxes to spend more money on it. These are not long-term solutions, but politicians like to pretend that if the problem is shoved into the future beyond their term of office, then it's "solved". So look for Phil to play a waiting game on TennCare, and to be very circumspect about an income tax or any other tax during next year's election. Then, when he's safely beyond the wrath of Tennessee voters forever, he'll come around "with great reluctance" to the need to implement an income tax, and raise total revenues significantly as a part of it. Then a few things will be trimmed around the edges of TennCare and it will be proclaimed "solved" - and we'll have to deal with it again in five or ten years. Our only hope is to keep making legislators, particularly in the Senate, irrevocably committed to opposing an income tax. Otherwise, Bredesen is going to pull a Sundquist. And, being a good deal smarter than Sundquist, Bredesen will not make Sundquist's mistakes. Posted by: at February 21, 2005 06:19 PMI disagree that Gov. Bredesen is more concerned about a future run for President than he is with trying to "fix" TennCare. Scrapping a state plan, after many years of financial woes, that is vastly more generous than other states, is less offensive to the hard left than a prepared speech that declares that Medicaid "has more in common with a socialist economy than the commonsense economic and business principles that do such a good job in allocating resources efficiently in other parts of American life." Yes, the Governor may be hedging his bets on the whole issue, but I think it's a little premature to suggest his motivations are liberal Democratic activists in Iowa and New Hampshire. Posted by: Jay at February 22, 2005 08:07 AM--I got a plan. Get rid of it.--- Shhhh. You have a secret plan and then you run on it. Posted by: Sandy P at February 22, 2005 10:00 AMPost a comment
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There is a growing and obvious truth that not enough people - including Tennessee Democrats - are willing to admit: Gov. Bredesen has botched the TennCare fix and left the state in a precarious fiscal and moral situation. Predicating an entire reform plan and state budget on favorable decisions from the federal courts is like depending on Kid Rock to spend his free night in front of a fire with a good book. Don't be surprised when the opposite happens - with terrible results.