GOP Leaders Hype Op-Ed Calling On Them To Produce A Bill

Today, prominent House Republicans are hyping an editorial in the Chicago Tribune as a response to charges that the GOP does not have a solution for health care reform. 

Reps. John Boehner (R-OH), Eric Cantor (R-VA), and Mike Pence (R-IN), the top three members of the GOP caucus, each promoted the column on Twitter.  Similarly, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) blogged about it at Townhall.com, where she wrote:

You see, there's been no shortage of great ideas offered by Republicans which would give us much needed reform without breaking the bank. In fact, I've authored the Health Care Freedom of Choice Act to give people who buy insurance in the private market the same tax breaks as those who get it through their employers. The Tribune actually mentions this as one of several viable solutions for true health care reform.

No one denies that any number of Republican lawmakers have proposed any number of ideas.  The problem, as Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) recently lamented, is that the party refuses to put its weight behind any specific plan. 

Instead, GOP leaders have judged that writing and defending their own legislation is more politically challenging than simply continuing their efforts to kill reform.  Accordingly, Boehner and Cantor have refused to endorse any of the Republican proposals. 

The Tribune, while praising some of the Republican ideas, actually observes this failure in leadership and calls on the party to bring a "coherent alternative" bill to the floor:

Instead of taking more potshots, some Republicans say their party should present a coherent alternative to whatever final Democratic plans emerge in the House and Senate. Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee reportedly are drafting legislation the GOP could introduce when Democrats bring their proposals to the floor.

Here's hoping they do.

Considering their eagerness to promote the paper's opinion, one can only assume Boehner & Co. are finally ready to stop taking "potshots," produce a bill, and let the public judge it against Democratic proposals.  Still, you probably shouldn't hold your breath.