Health Reform Still Alive

I agree with the Repubs. (0.00 / 0)

lets start over, and begin the discussion with a Single Payer Plan...I could give a flying f%#k that Obama doesn't want one, or that Max spent 9 months to give birth to a 2000 page pile of shit.

Obama opened the door in his SOTU speech when he said if anyone has a plan that will cover the 40 million Americans without insurance, lower costs, cut premiums, and provide quality care, he'd like to hear it.

Lets make it an open discussion, on TV...what a joy it would be to watch Rahm and Obama squirm and call single payer "fucking retarded" in front of the nation.

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by: bigsage @ Mon Feb 08, 2010 at 17:17:46 PM UTC

The Repubs want to discuss single payer? (0.00 / 0)

Hmmm.....

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by: Matt Singer @ Mon Feb 08, 2010 at 21:18:01 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

health care lll - empire strikes back! (0.00 / 0)

Matt- would this be monty python's black knight screaming "come back you cowards"?

it is too late to punt.

my guess is rahm and messina are keeping their desks clear of extraneous mementos re: all that "problem-solving" and "expertise in healthcare" they were supposed to be providing the president.

i will consider the game turning in favor of single-payer when security comes for their clearance badges. which shouldn't be all that far off in the future....

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by: problembear @ Tue Feb 09, 2010 at 16:33:08 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Still alive? (0.00 / 0)

Man, are you smoking something today Matt?

The Great Leader has been out, pleading with his own party to forget about getting reelected, and follow him over the cliff, and it isn't working.

If, and I say if, The Great Leader actually works across the aisle, they might pass something that he can call a success, but The Great Leader is looking like a man that's gotten in waaay over his head, and can't figure out why the job is so difficult.

Those two bills are dead.

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by: Eric Coobs @ Mon Feb 08, 2010 at 17:43:18 PM UTC

Once again Mr. Coobs (0.00 / 0)

you are a boob.  Passing a bill that would provide affordable, quality care for everyone would insure a generation of electoral wins for the Democrats.  Did you even pay attention to the polls in Massachusetts? I didn't think so...

What do the Republicans offer?

Tort reform? That's a laugh! My sense is there are very few "frivolous" medical lawsuits. If they don't get tossed out before they begin you can bet your ass they aren't that "frivolous".

Sell insurance across state lines? Hey, why not, right? It worked so well for the credit card industry. They cherry pick the best states to do business in, set up shop, and go about screwing everyone. And I seriously doubt you can find a single study or report that would show how that would save anyone very much money.

I don't know Mr.Coob, but that does nothing to put health insurance in my pockets...so what other "gems" do you Republicans have?

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by: bigsage @ Mon Feb 08, 2010 at 20:40:56 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I did - (0.00 / 0)

I did pay attention to the polls in Massachusetts - The Great Leader went and campaigned for the Dem candidate, and lost huge. Just like the two Governor races he single-handedly lost for them. Maybe they should get a new guy programming the teleprompter? I just hope that this November The Great Leader gets out and campaigns for a lot of Dem candidates!

And for the record, bigsage has predicted sweeping Democratic victories this fall, and for generations to come !

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by: Eric Coobs @ Mon Feb 08, 2010 at 22:07:44 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Once again Mr. Coob (0.00 / 0)

you are ignoring the facts. There's 3 or 4 polls taken of people that actually voted in Massachusetts and they show majority support for Obama, stronger health care reform, more bank and financial institution regulation, and surprisingly, little regard for the Republicans in Congress.

Now, I guess you have a reading comprehension problem, or you routinely mis quote what people post.

I will copy what I posted again for you...see if you can understand how different it is from what you said I posted.

"Passing a bill that would provide affordable, quality care for everyone would insure a generation of electoral wins for the Democrats."

and now your words

"And for the record, bigsage has predicted sweeping Democratic victories this fall, and for generations to come !"

I'm coming to the conclusion that you're a weasel. Big in the mouth, but small brained...

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by: bigsage @ Tue Feb 09, 2010 at 02:43:51 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Your metaphors are bumping into each other ! (0.00 / 0)

Too funny bigsage -

first I'm a 'boob' - next a 'weasel' - and small-brained to boot - LOL

I'm not sure I would say that if I were you - if I was getting my ass handed to me in a discussion, I wouldn't want the guy beating me to be small-brained!

We'll revisit this discussion in November -

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by: Eric Coobs @ Tue Feb 09, 2010 at 14:15:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Matt, you're reading way too much into this (0.00 / 0)

"Improving"???

How is trying to incorporate republican ideas at this point going to improve anything except dem messaging? Especially when it probably won't even buy a vote.

"cameras from C-SPAN for a conversation"

This is nothing more than attempt to backfill some broken campaign and other promises for transparency. It is all about messaging, when the real problem is that the substance is lacking, and the process has been ugly and overly drawn out.

"If they want to take a pass on being able to provide input, let them pass"

How was Baucus's months-long dreary drudge with the gang of six anything but providing republicans with the opportunity to provide input. And water the hell down out of Baucus' white paper starting point? Obama allowed the gang to trudge along hopefully with the intent of it being his show of bipartisanship. Why the hell he doesn't collect his chits from that fools errand I don't understand. Well, yes I do understand--it's all about messaging, and its not good to telegraph Baucus' failure to deliver any votes at this point.

"let the President outmatch them once again"

Just like he did with the gang of six? Maybe I'm daffy here, but at what point has Obama outmatched republicans at all in the health care debate? i must have missed it.

"pass the Senate bill and a corrective bill through both chambers,"

Beings as this diary is about Obama, show me where he has endorsed reconciliation? He hasn't. I read his attempts as trying to buy a republican vote--just one--so they can move  a conference bill through the regular order and avoid the inevitable republican whine machine over using reconciliation (if it's good enough for Bush's tax cuts for the rich, isn't it good enough for subsidizing health insurers to cover some of the poor and middle class??? Such utter nonsense from our conciliator-in-chief).

I fully expect Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins to dictate the final form of health care reform, if a bill is to pass at all. I think this is what Obama wants--he's going to put Snowe or Collins or maybe another republican on the spot and ask them what they need out of conference to get their vote, further watering down an already horribly compromised, and special-interest-ized, bill. Another token republican vote so he can add bipartisan to the message that will be blaring from here to election day this fall. And if they won't do it, he'll have them on camera saying so, and he can blame republicans for the failure of health care reform this time around.

Again all about messaging and posturing, but not substance.

If people thought legislative sausage making was ugly, wait till they get to see dem message-building in action, or "how to appear what you are doing is really a good thing, even if everybody know it is a steaming pile."

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by: JC @ Mon Feb 08, 2010 at 18:57:20 PM UTC

Let Baucus Start It. (0.00 / 0)

Lets get Max buzzed on Oxy and he can start the "conversation". Then we can listen to Grassley for a few hours talking about tort reform. Then we break for lunch and start back in with Obama on how The American People Want Results! Start a war in Sudan, watch the Market plunge and call it a day!

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by: troutsky @ Tue Feb 09, 2010 at 06:41:36 AM UTC