NEWS

Pelosi: Protests won’t derail health care overhaul – Associated Press

DENVER — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says boisterous protests at health care promotions sponsored by Democrats this summer won’t derail a massive health overhaul looming when Congress returns to work next month.

Tempers flare over health care plan - Detroit Free Press

U.S. Rep. John Dingell was greeted with jeers and cheers Thursday as he tried to explain why changing the nation’s health care system — as he has advocated for more than a half century in Congress — makes sense.

Health Care Town Hall Turns Violent in Tampa – Fox News

A town hall meeting to discuss President Obama’s health care reform descended into shouting and violence in a Tampa, Fla., suburb Thursday as angry opponents clashed with event organizers.

Unions To Take On Conservative Groups Health Care Town Halls – Huffington Post

The nation’s largest federation of labor organizations has promised to directly engage with boisterous conservative protesters at Democratic town halls during the August recess.

Democrats Launch Web Site Targeting "Republican Lies" on Health Care – Washington Post

The Democratic political machine is firing back against what it says are "Republican lies on health insurance reform." The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which supports House Democratic candidates, unveiled a new website Thursday "dedicated to exposing the truth-twisting attack by Republicans and their fringe right-wing groups."

Sen. Grassley’s "Idiotic" Failure In Bipartisanship - Media Matters

Sen. Chuck Grassley made an absurd straw man argument to support his claim that Democratic proposals for health insurance reform are "idiotic."

Denied Claims Placed At Health Insurance CEO’s Doorstep (VIDEO) - Huffington Post

A new video puts denied health insurance claims on United Health Care CEO Stephen Hemsley’s doorstep.

Democrats Say No to Cost Cap for Drug Makers – New York Times

Congressional Democrats said Thursday that they intended to push the Obama administration to back away from its deal with the drug industry to cap its share of the costs in a health care overhaul.

OPINION

Could Democrats Circumvent The Senate Finance Committee And Move HELP Bill To The Senate Floor? – Think Progress

Yesterday, during an appearance on MSNBC’s The Ed Show, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) suggested that if the Senate Finance Committee fails to pass a bipartisan health care bill by the September 15th deadline, Democrats should begin moving the Health, Education, Labor, Pensions (HELP) Committee’s bill through the Senate.

EXCLUSIVE: Time to Vote Enzi Off the Island? - Jon Cohn

President Obama just finished a meeting with the six senators now at the center of the health care reform narrative. Three Democrats, three Republicans, all of them from the Finance Committee and all of them trying, in theory, to do what four other congressional committees have already done: Report health care legislation to the floor.