Missed this story a few days ago

But Bill Clinton endorsed Mayor Gavin Newsom for governor a few days ago, over current front runner Jerry Brown.  Lots of history between Clinton and Brown.

Bucking Baucus

Reports have been coming out for days that Sen. Max Baucus’ fellow Democrats have been screaming at him all week.  With the Republicans gone except for Sen. Olympia Snowe who’s bouncing back and forth like a tennis ball, Democrats are wondering why a bill which the Republicans are universally opposing should be written to accommodate them.  And so Congress Matters reports:

What happens when the hottest legislation to hit DC in decades falls to the jurisdiction of a committee with nearly a quarter of the entire Senate serving on it, but the Chairman locks three-quarters of them out of the drafting of that legislation?

Five hundred forty-three amendments. That’s what.

Jay Rockefeller, one of two Senators pledging not to vote for a bill lacking a public amendment (Bernie Sanders needs to hear from you), has introduced one of them.  Actually, he’s proposing several of them.  But one has the public option.  It will be debated before the bill leaves committee.

And while it won’t make Obama happy, I’m hoping they’re going to ditch the deficit neutrality provision as well.  It’ll pay for itself in spades in the long run.

Addendum: Check out this short compilation from Obama’s speech at a reform rally yesterday.  He brings up the Baucus bill and he has to muddle through to dilute the boos.  He brings up the public option and the deafening cheers seem to have him a little uncomfortable.  Since he won’t meet with the Progressive Caucus (though he did reportedly meet with Rockefeller and other P.O. advocates in the Senate on Friday), he’s got to hear it somewhere.  He got it here.