Pile Up & On

1,990 PAGE HOUSE HEALTHCARE BILL ---

RAISES THE RHETORIC

Missouri Republicans were falling over each other to make the most striking and eye-popping attacks against the new $894 billion dollar House Democratic healthcare bill.

WATCH THE KY3 NEWS @ 10 REPORT HERE

Congressman Roy Blunt went after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, accusing her of "procedural chicanery and shutting Republicans out of crafting legislation." National Review reports Blunt noted that even as they scramble to figure out what's in the 1990 page bill it's "highly likely" that an "800 page amendment will be offered the moment it hits the floor... Nobody will know what’s in this bill 72 hours from now."

Talking Points Memo hit the GOP leadership for not giving any indication of when (or if) they'll offer a clear alternative of their own.

4th District GOP candidate Bill Stouffer called on Congressman Ike Skelton to oppose the legislation, even though Skelton has made clear he does not support a public option: "I call on Ike Skelton to not only vote against this legislation, but to publicly urge his colleagues to oppose this legislation. Ike should listen to his district, which said loud and clear this summer that they did not want more government involved in health care. This bill is a slap across the face of the hard-working farmers, small businesses and families of Missouri’s Fourth District," Stouffer said.

4th District GOP candidate Vicky Hartzler called the legislation "worse than bad." Hartzler didn't mention Skelton and instead listed a 10-point plan that would be in legislation she could support. Hartzler's first point was transparency: "No final votes should be taken until a bill has been printed in full, with a final cost analysis and a common-language explanation where the public can see the bill in full, in the form of a standard bill report."

8th District Republican Rep. Jo Ann Emerson's office released the above photo to show the size of the 1,990 page bill. "The legislation contains a public option for health insurance which Emerson opposes, and she says the bill lacks necessary cost savings the American people deserve and require," read the release.

Conspicuously absent: 7th District GOP candidates; Not one sent out a release on the legislation. Also notable: While Skelton's office produced two releases on pork trade with China and small business financing, it had no statement on the House healthcare bill.