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Reid: Stop Chasing GOP Votes
Enough is enough, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. On Tuesday the Nevada Democrat ordered Finance Chairman Max Baucus to stop chasing down Republican votes for a health care-reform bill, and to also stop proposing taxes on health benefits. Baucus’s plans, Reid said (according to Democratic sources who spoke with The Washington Post), would cost the bill 10 to 15 Democratic votes and would, at best, win only a few Republican votes. Baucus wants to implement bipartisan-supported health care reform with a price tag less than $1 trillion that is deficit-neutral; the U.S. Senate Committe on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is slated to complete its health-care-reform-legislation blueprint this week or next. The panel’s Democrats support the HELP bill unanimously, while no Republicans are willing to back it.
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BAUCUS BLOZ
Give 'em Heck, Harry!
nothing is free, Nancy and Harry and ruining this country
right, because the earth was formed on 1/20/2009
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It's much smaller than the 72% of Americans who want a public option.
http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/CBSPOLL_June09a_health_care.pdf?tag=co ntentMain;contentBody
this more recent poll is down to 51% for, 45% opposed
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/01/health.care.poll/index.html
Sure, when you look at the poll questions, it's easy to see why.
The CNN poll was 5 questions very clearly directing answers toward one's political affiliation.
You don't really think 20% of people changed their mind in two weeks, do you?
It's not the repugnanticans the dem.'s have to worry about, it's the scum sucking blue dogs getting a taste of that 1.4 million a day the lobbiests are passing out for a vote.
People like Evan Biegh
My gosh, the left will eat their own until they get their way!
It's the independents you really have to worry about! Those blue dogs are a problem too. That 60 might come up on somethings but it won't be a cinch like is expected. Not supposed to be either.
Democrats have not agreed about the funding, the current plan will cost $1 trillion dollars. Replacing the current system will mean higher taxes and could cause a major change for private insurors. Taxing health benefits will hurt all employees. With the economy still in a slump, this will hurt most Americans. And Dems are not sure what impact this will have on Medicare. National Health Insurance will take money away from Social Security. Congress really needs to start putting money away for Social Security so it does not go bankrupt in a few years.
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
It's not the repugnanticans the dem.'s have to worry about, it's the scum sucking blue dogs getting a taste of that 1.4 million a day the lobbiests are passing out for a vote.
People like Evan Biegh
sorry I'm having trouble with my computer, the operator's probably stoned.
You mean the scum sucking blue dogs that got you the majority? I'm sure they'll appreciate your opinion in the next election. The party is already bleeding worse than the republicans, it just doesn't get the same attention from the lefty media.
Finally, maybe Harry will put on his 'big girl' pants and we - the middle class - will get a healthcare option that doesn't pander to Big Pharma or Big Insurance or Big AMA. We the people need something that cuts out the insurance companies from coming between us and our doctors & care.
I don't think the gov't really fits that bill. If the gov't would streamline their administration it might work but I don't see that happening. We've added yet another "czar" to the bunch. Way to go big gov't!
if big government screws up healthcare, we can vote out the jerks who ruined it. Not a perfect answer, but right now big insurance screws up healthcare all the time, and while in theory people should be able to vote with their dollars, the way the system is rigged if you have any health issues whatsoever, you don't have a chance in heck of actually being able to switch to something better.
Capitalism is awesome in so many ways, but health care doesn't model properly as a product.
It's about time for Harry to start getting these Blue Dog prima donnas in line. Kick ass and take names, Harry!
Hallebloodylujah! Dare we think there is a sign of a spine in any of the Jellyfish Invertebrate Quotient, Profiles in Cowardice Democrats, woefully my people? How *could* Fat E arrange for Max Pharma-Boy Baucus to be the Chair of the crucial Finance Committee?? It's too darn cruel to bear. (Fat E's obsidian sense of humor makes ferocious-and-fiendish seem distinctly gandhiesque. She is wont to say, "God? Piffle. I run The Show, in case you hadn't noticed, peasants." Cross her at your peril.)
Walk upright, Harry, we plead. Draw the Line in the Sand. Triggers NO, Co-ops NO. A robust Public Option PERIOD.
Hey, Y'all let our president know what you think:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
And don't forget to write your rep & Senators!
I just wrote my rep. He's a real tighty-righty, but what the hell, it can't be a bigger waste of time than this comment board
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Even if you're in a Red State, you might as well, it's as good a use of time as reading & writing these comments!
Absolutely. I wrote everybody from the White House down yesterday.
The dems now have 60 votes in the senate. They don't need a single republican vote to pass any bill or do anything President Obama wants them to do. Its a good thing that Harry Reid finally figured that out.
Unless of course they are trying to pass junk that even demoncats know is junk and are not afraid to call it what it is.
Plant - please remember that dems aren't goose stepping Rove minions. A majority of dems can mean 60 minorities. And put lots of lobbyist cash in their pockets, like Landrieu and then see how they vote.
It seems that way Plant but Mad and Etienne are both right. Add to that Dems are poll watchers and the swirl might not come out 60 after all is said and done. Reid is just honking off without the facts. He's got no support from home and election time is coming up. Consider the source!
Squig (mornin'),
If all these folks were poll watchers, it'd be a done deal. the only minority that really influences this debate are the lobbyists. 72% of Americans favor a public option.
http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/CBSPOLL_June09a_health_care.pdf?tag=co ntentMain;contentBody
mornin rapier, I would agree but there are states where that is not the % and those guys especially have to watch how the wind blows, they don't want to end up on the street at election time, agree the lobbyists have a lot more to lose and they are pushing hard, makes the water murky, I reckon...........
What we are witnessing is a pell-mell race by the Democrats to wreck the American economy. Essentially, Reid is saying, to hell with the cost, we already have a $2 trillion deficit, what's the big deal in adding a few hundred billion more. If the Obama agenda passes, we are looking at unemployment in the upper teens. Change we don't need. Time to pack the bags and move to Asia.
People just need to remember that Republicans voted AGAINST Medicare and just about every other healthcare program. Now, they wouldn't think of taking it out of the system.
The GOP is shrinking daily because its lost sight of what people need and want. And, while the masses may not always understand subtle details they do understand that their lives are far more difficult than twenty or thirty years ago.
For far too many the work of a lifetime will leave them with nothing, especially if they face a major medical challenge.
So the GOP be damned. Full steam ahead on real, substantial healthcare reform that makes it affordable, and accessible for all.
The percent of America's wealth in the hands of the top 20% has been increasing every year for a very long time. Nobody wants class warfare and the less fortunate don't hate the rich. But there comes a point where we have tipped so far that some adjustment has to be made. Healthcare is one way to do that.
are you willing to double your taxes? once the country goes bankrupt like California, we can all go back to 1900, few doctors and real home care. Medicare's funding problems are coming much sooner than Social Security's: http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TRSUM/index.html
Yeah, and according to your citation, health care costs must be contained. That's what a public option would do, keep people (and gov't) from getting soaked all the frakkin time
somebody has to pay for it......and that would be YOU!
fine. I have a job. I want more people to be healthy enough to have jobs and keep jobs and pay taxes too.
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including one that bankrupts the country?
If the French have the best system and can do it at ~11% of their GDP and we are currently spending ~15% of our GDP no bankruptcy is necessary. It is a question of allocation of funds and removing the "no value added" chaff.
There is no reason if they spend billions on health care that everyone shouldn't be covered. Steamline administration and regulate dollar increases in care.
Dude, its ALREADY bankrupting the country.
Right on Hardrain. GM had to spend as much on healthcare PER CAR as they did Steel!
Wars bankrupt the country...that doesn't seem to bother anyone too much...
Politicians are not very good at allocating. They prefer freebies for their constituents. Does anyone seriously believe that cost will be contained by a government run program?
How Veterans' Hospitals Became the Best in Health Care
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1376238,00.html
neverlatte - yes I seriously believe cost can be contained. Health Care is not a business or should not be a business answering to shareholders. Where health is concerned do you want some bean counter telling you which doctor to go to or if the procedure your doctor prescribes is acceptable?
That is what we have NOW! at least the people that have insurance.
Yikes, that was the statement most scary of all!! So there it is, Health Care is no longer a business. It is now a Right. So anyone reading this who is still deciding on a career, stay out of healthcare if you want to be an innovative business owner!
And what makes you think that a Government Bean counter will not be telling you what you can or cannot have vs. the Insurance industry bean counter?
Theo, Remember the private option would still exist, so if you can determine a new way to take a temperature as a innovative business owner, go for it. If you think I am referring to implant makers, pharmaceutical companies and the like then you are twisting my words.
A government beancounter is not driven by greed (corporate bottom line) so yes I would prefer the gov. beancounter tell me what i can and cannot have. I have experienced the Insurance beancounter already and it sucks!
I think your view of the world of business differs greatly from mine.
You associate profit with greed. I associate with profit as incentive to create industry.
Of course there are people and companies that are greedy, so you do not need to point that out.
But if there is ZERO incentive for profit, is that really better?
Many people experience with government bean counters is that they are inept and just don't care. They get paid wether they are polite or rude. they have no incentive to get work done quickly and efficiently, etc.
And I would almost say the govenment bean counter is driven by greed, as they will continue to justify their jobs to keep a paycheck coming in. And for some reason, when budgets are difficult, our federal government says its okay to increase spending.
I have had alot of experience with insurance too, and it does suck when they decide to pay your doctors X, even though they bill Y and you are left holding the bag for Z.
I think what you will find with government insurance is not that you are left with a bill that you didnt expect, you just wont get the care/proceedure in the first place.
TheoPitt,
-The fact that you view this as a mere business shows your worldview.
-Profiting from the sickness in the world is as noble as profiteering from war. Innovation in medicine comes from a nobler place in people. Jonas Saulk took a lot of money away from the medical industry by curing polio.
-Profit can be measured in terms of less days missed from work, longer, healthier tax-paying years of life, reducing costs of training replacement employees.
-Profit can also non-monetary like the profit to be gained from living in a society where we live by the beatitude of healing the sick
-a government bean-counter is much more accountable than a company's bean counter because the former's boss is an elected official. The latter has an incentive to protect the company first and deny the customer whenever possible.
-paying for insurance pays for the salaries of advertising, CEO's, billing clerks, and claims adjusters whose job is to say "no" first.
-we have more than enough resources to care for the sick here, especially providing simple, preventative care like checkups, exams, flu shots, etc. Think about the difference just those small steps would make...
theo - we do not necessarily have different views of business. I am 100% percent for business profit, innovation, etc., etc. I am against business making profit decisions where my health or a loved one's health is part of the equation. Again I am talking of primary health care. (doctor's visits, medical tests)
Current health care coverage is supplied by mini-monopolies with no competition for the average citizen.
Sorry Rap, it is a business. If I go to school and become a nurse or a doctor, I am doing it to make a living doing what I like.
Its not charity work. People who work hard in that industry deserve to be paid and PROFIT from innovations they make that saves lives.
So when your child becomes a physician, and has a huge student loan ahead of him and gave up an extra 8 years of his life just to become a physician, you explain why to him that having someone go to work instead of staying home is his payment.
Heck, then lets make food production have no profits! Let them feel good about giving people nutrition to live, that is profit enough for them.
And lets not forget Politicians! They are the ultimate givers of greatness to the country! They should not be paid to work, they should enjoy the "profits" of giving everyone "free" healthcare.
Do you even have a job, Rap? I am sure if you do you are losing money for your employer since "profit" is such a vulgar word to you.
I have no problem paying doctors and nurses and scientists, your mischaracterization is extremely dishonest and typical of a partisan.
I have a problem paying advertising agents and board members and lawyers and claims adjusters whose job is to say "no" as well as any of the hundred other flavors of middle man in the industry.
I have a job that I love. Because of that, I am in the top quintile of my profession in my market. I wish you the same, but you seem so angry and fearful, that it makes me doubt that.
Your slippery-slope equivocations and ad homonym attacks are tactics of the losing side. Your attempts at distraction only work for so long, and that time is passed.
The private sector has abused Americans for too long. It is time for the people to hold our leaders accountable to do what should have been done years ago; create access to affordable healthcare for all Americans.
I did not address the "freebies" comment. Freebies although often misguided usually result in jobs. The problem is not the freebies, it problem is exercising constraint of freebies when the budget needs adjustment.
Give one example where Government successfully contained cost without shifting them to other parties? Give me one recent example where government has made some tough decisions and said no to anyone? Name one politician who will tell "grandma" she can't have her hip replacement?
your attitude is a bit harsh however having served in govt. for almost ten years i learned that the bureaucracy is full of little fiefdoms run by minor league megalomaniacs and inhabited by wide of girth employees whose big moment of the day is 5:00 PM. if anyone is honestly hoping that govt. is the solution, well as they say "there's a bridge in brooklyn that i would love to sell you."
And the private sector is any different! You are talking about human nature. We can vote the bosses in the government system if we don't like it.
The discussion is health care. Big business is not doing there job as they have to answer to shareholders like you that would deny grandma her hip replacement.
This link is for you.
How Veterans' Hospitals Became the Best in Health Care
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1376238,00.html
Personally, I think that are system works pretty good. Just had our 233 b-day. Yes we pay taxes and that is OK. If we don't think we are being represented we can vote.
Perhaps you should go to Asia and then write us about how much better it is.
Army Starts New Program To Replace Canceled FCS
http://industry.bnet.com/government/10002128/army-starts-new-program-to- replace-canceled-fcs/
US government says no to nuclear loan guarantees
http://weblog.greenpeace.org/nuclear-reaction/2009/02/us_government_says _no_to_nucle.html
I will name a few politicians that would deny their grandma a hip replacement, Al Franken, Robert Byrd, Arlen Specter
Now, answer a question for me. What do health insurance companies do for the amount of money they take in?
not dam---n much. wouldn't it be nice if we only paid for catastrophic insurance (ie real cheap because it doesn't happen much) and we get a tax credit for $ we spend on run of the mill care?
considering the people whose salaries we pay (advertising, CEO's, claims adjusters whose job is to say "no" first) we get far too little bang for the buck!
jus1drun, I'm gonna throw preventative care on top of your idea that helps keep people out of the emergency room (immunizations, annual checkups, dieticians), but I like your idea!
I really don't care if Reids motives here are suspect or not.....I'm just glad that one democrat has finally said to hell with the repubs. The GOP will never actually do anything that would benefit the American people, we all know it and regardless of our president's efforts to work with them, they will work to defeat any policy reform just so Obama fails. With Franken now seated we are the majority. Now, all we need to do is keep after Congress (especially Baucus) that this country wants single payer and will not sit back any longer and allow our elected officials to railroad us into bankrolling the insurance industry any longer.
Over the weekend, I was channel surfing and came across a ceremony on C-SPAN. They were dedicating a new statue of Ronald Reagan in the Capitol rotunda, and Harry Reid was speaking. And he was effusively praising Reagan as this great and wonderful President. I couldn't believe my ears. That hypocrite Reid hates Reagan's guts, but there he was, just gushing over him. Made me sick. When he was done, it was Pelosi's turn, but I couldn't bear to watch another phony performance like that. These people disgust me.
Ronald Rayguns disgusts me.
You should have seen when he emptied the state hospitals as Gov. of Cal. Talk about a homeless mess!
you no doubt were at Woodstock....
I'm calling ad homonym irrelevant BS on that one, TP!
I'm sure your not in favor of more mentally-disturbed homeless on the streets, are you?
rap, my response was to Redhead... Rayguns... can't remember who, but someone dedicated a song for "Gov Rayguns". Some anti-war song. Thats all.
Ole Harry has whimped out in the past so I am surprised. No Republican senators will ever vote for real health care. They are elitist. And they have to oppose anything Obama or the Dems are for. So screw bi-partisanship. That's why you have 60 votes! Time to rule.
but watch carefully, see if the minor league megalomaniacs opt not to be included in the grand, all wonderful system. we're all equal but some are more equal than the rest of us. i smell an animal farm.
Everybodys paying into medi-care right what if that gets transfered to the health care system and get rid of medi-care totally hand it over to the health care system let them take care of it "NOT the government.Let health care take care of health care let all the funds be transfered .So that the government can't dip into it to fix other problems .Just transfer everything to them if anything happens it would'nt be a government problem but a healthcare problem.It would take healthcare out of politics period.There so good and know whats best for the patient well lets see how good they are it would be no longer be medi-care .But healthcare for all by them and not the government.A TOTAL TRANSFER just say here you know whats best lets find out........!
dude have you worked in govt.? how did you find out about the shell game?
While not completely out of the gov't hands, a state health offering commission, whatever they called it, would take it out of feds hands, where it should not be!!!!!!!!! It would put it into the hands of the people where we can walk or drive to their door and complain when things don't go right. The commission could also watch prices and regulate them! What I don't want to see is more money in the hands of bureaucracy and less in the hands of the patient, where it needs to be! Your heading in the right direction!
Work on pulling the Dems together, forget the party of No and lets get a great public option.
are you ready for your taxes to double? and it's likely that some, not all, will be covered
For 1/2 of what we are spending now, we could have an eqivalently good health care system. For 2/3 of what we are spending, we could have a health system that is 50% better. The only catch is, you have to stop bending over for insurers,
Some states have already tried their own indigent care plans and it bankrupt their budgets. I agree that costs need to come down. I'd like to see the focus on controlling costs first and then a more gradual plan to offer basic qualified treatments, such as vaccines, initial doctor visits, full child and pregnant women coverage, emergency room visits. With hospitalization, major surgeries, and extended treatments, private insurance can still cover this step until we get a handle on the first 2 steps.
FIRST STEP: Control Costs
SECOND STEP: Offer Basic Qualified Treatments
THIRD STEP: Offer Some Degree of Major Medical if funds are available
Just announced: hospitals will take $155 billion cut in future medicare and medicaid payments, that is 15.5% of a trillion! So my question, what happens when costs increase? Will care decrease?
Costs will decrease. Prices are going to go down when the gov't plan offers a competitive alternative.
The only things that should decrease are the salaries of board members, claims adjusters, and advertising types.
Independents are now the largest self identified group for the first time ever. Dems are bleeding as bad if not worse than the republicans in the last few months. By all means dems freeze your moderates out of the process.
freeze them out? A single-payer representative wasn't even at the table during negotiations!
Just because someone has a (D) soesn't make them Liberal or moderate.
They want to screw up health care for the 70% of the people who are happy with their coverage, to help the other 30%, over half of whom are either a) illegal or b) can afford insurance they just choose not to get it. Hmmm, hard to figure why this is a tough sell.
The constant theme from Obama and his supporters is - private industry is bad and inefficient - Government is good and efficient. This is patently untrue and easily disproved by a cursory look at history. There are distortions in the healthcare market that need to be fixed, but the government take over of health care is not the answer.
You are wrong! Do not take it out of context. Private industry in primary health care is bad and frighteningly efficient at "making a profit" and bankrupting this country, but not at healing people or keeping them from getting sick in the first place. And please don't make yourself out to be an idiot, government is not suggesting the takeover of the health care system. That is a ditto head remark to disseminate fear among the uniformed.
If you know the answer, write it down and we will all praise you!
Until then the system is broken and the majority of us would like to try a government sponsored option. This will also force the private sector to be more competitive as well. We need competition in health care for the consumer. Open the free market to the consumer!
so stevenstar, how about catastrophic coverage for big ticket items, tax credits for ordinary medical costs and a medicare type program for those under the poverty level. that's not a scary rework of the existing system (ie a lot less unintended consequences)
ps ever hear stella star?
and just imagine all the insurance employees who vote.
They matter an iota as much as the lobbyists voting with $!
Typical way of this Administration, bully people and companies to get what they want! And to discount the voice of Republicans.
Thank you.
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