I second that!

It’s good to see the threat held out there.

Does anyone understand how this would work? Is this a ”discharge” petition to get the bill out of committee or can they just take the bill from one of the other committees and vote on it? I’m not familiar with the process.

Now that is some ‘Big Ol Balls’ there Henry. Let’em Swing Henry – Let’em Swing.

I suggest he put in the MedPAC amendment and pass it on. Then we can have the Representatives go back to the their districts and talk about a bill that is ’surplus generating’.

The Blue Dogs can go back and figure out how to spin that they are ‘fiscal conservatives’ but somehow wanted to ’spend more’ and then not vote on a bill that will be scored by the CBO to not only be ‘budget neutral’ but ’surplus generating’. I am certain LABOR and NORMAL CITIZENS will not see that they are full of shit … yeah right. I have a name for them CORPORATE WHORES.

Mornin’ Jane and Firedogs

well it’s about damn time Henry

Mike Ross has put in $99.6M in earmarks this session alone. The 7 BD’s are on the books for $240M this session, up from $155.9 in the 110th

Henry clearly is paying attention to his committee members, and doesn’t like what he’s seeing and hearing from them.

Go, Henry, go!

Just read that on thehill.com !!!

AND>… just called Waxman to 1) thank him for his work on the public options and 2) ask him to pls bypass the Blue Dogs and take the bill straight to a vote.

His no. is (202) 225-3976 if any of you also want to thank him and encourage this support.

It’s about time I read something hopeful about health care reform. If the votes are there, end this charade and bring it to the floor now. Even if the votes aren’t there, I want names and votes. I don’t want the public option to go away quietly.

that’s a fact Jane.

In the ear. With relish.

Jane

one more thing – Congr Black Caucus was blowin’ hard on these Blue Dogs yesterday @ Politico

called them up, reminded them our Pledge would provide a helluva pushback and followed it up with yet another call to Chairwoman Lee’s office – going over to their FB page and Congr Lee’s FB page now

walk the damn walk awready !

How do you guys know about the pork?

Do you have specifics? Bastards.

The heroes and villains are emerging. Waxman is earning his cape.

Ugh! Stay strong, Jane!

Love the pic. The nuts are gone and nothing but empty shells for the shell game they’re all playing.

His LA numbers are
323-651-1040
310-652-3095
818-878-7400
for those who want something more local.

now jane’s really mad.
and we are, too.
time to get those fone banks around the country to good dems in blue dog districts so their constituents call and visit those offices.

that’s what courage campaign is helping with in CA. can Move on do this nationwide?

I went over to The Pigbook, usually a tool of reactionary clowns, but the numbers don’t lie

I went to that linked page, typed in Mike Ross and away we went – did it yesterday with all 7 of those currently trying to hijack Henry’s committee, hence the combined $$$ figures

That’s not being fair to “whores.” I prefer corporate sacks of shit.

I love the Internets!

Shedding sunlight on the blue dog cockroaches.

Fuck ‘em.

With no lubricant.

Well a sack of shit, actually has some intrinsic value as potential fertilizer. What can we call these jagoffs?

yeah! great job. Thanks for that.

Well if Obama is serious about heath care reform and earmark reform, here’s his opportunity to do it. That would require that he honor his campaign promises however, god forbid.

Fuck ‘em.

inside baseball types – I know it simply isn’t done – but I’ve wondered why Leadership doesn’t take Ross out, single him out publicly – start naming names, listing donors, detailing his hypocrisy, good cop, bad cop his cracker ass – doing so would demoralize the other 6 obtructionists, show ‘em what can happen when you cross us

so much easier than herding 7 cats, take out their leader

I know, I know . . .

Go get ‘em Jane, but don’t blame it on the doctors. Most of us have been pro-reform for years, despite what you might hear from the AMA. I feel guilty about not doing enough in ‘93, so this time this doctor is all over anyone I can get to listen about why (and how) we have to get it done this time.

Thanks for the local #s. Just called and gave him my thanks for cutting the legs out from under the Blue bastards. Not in those words :)

Has anyone heard about right wing radio organizing phone banks to have their minions, I mean listeners, call Congress saying the people do not want health care reform. According to Bernie Sanders the a holes in Congress do not recognzie this propaganda effort by the neo-fascist media.

Agree with DrRobin: doctors are treated almost as badly as patients by insurers today, and most that I’ve run into are hopeful for the first time in their careers. The ONLY people happy with the status quo are the insurance companies, who use their massive profits to beat back any efforts at reform.

Welcome !

His no. is (202) 225-3976 if any of you also want to thank him and encourage this support.

Got right through to Waxman’s DC office. Let’s get dialing folks.

Thanks for supporting this and for being a doctor. My doctor is also in favor – she is always talking about the insurance companies.

I think they can take a bill that’s passed one committee onto the floor.

Are we advertising that the “Tri Committee bill” creates a budget surplus in the obstructionist Blue Dogs districts?

Our ads worked for SCHIP. They can work now.

If the Blue Dicks get their delay, the end of the summer will be a reliving of the Swiftboat Summer against John Kerry.

The ads will fly, the smears will flow and people will get scared.

Can’t the Democrats point out that the same cretins behind destroying this healthcare bill are the ones who wanted to give their Social Security money to Bernard Madoff to invest?

-G

In case it wasn’t obvious by now, there appears to have been a strategy to run candidates under the banner of “D” who are actually in the back pocket of Republicans and the oligarch’s agenda. This strategy will be implemented more broadly in the next cycle. Watch for the likes of FAKE DEMOCRAT – former Fort Lauderdale Mayor (and gay hate advocate) Jim Naugle and his ilk to be pushed to the top of certain strategic tickets in time for 2010.

Go Waxman!

This could be heading into a big train-wreck. And maybe that would get single-payer back on the table?

Hell Greg who do you think is working with that group that is running all of the BS ads.

It won’t work. If they try to use a ramrod procedure, the Blue Dogs won’t pass the bill, pure and simple. They said as much this morning. Not only would it be an insult but it would be a blow to anything resembling “transparency” and “openness”. The public has a right to see the bill over the recess and ponder if this is the right solution. The Congress should defeat this until it is made right. Doctors should be reimbursed according to the MARKET for their expertise, not some government bureaucrat (or tort lawyer-liar).

If we’re really lucky, the Blue Cross/Blue Dogs will get pissed and join the Connecticut for Lieberman Party.

I’d love to keep going on the House (and Senate) cleaning we’ve been doing of these infiltrators. Don’t care about vote counts and all that jazz now…it’ll be very beneficial in the long run for these liars to get rid of that “D” after their names.

Re: “Fuck ‘em” … more of this, guilt-tripping!!!!!!!!!!

Excellent point. Thank you for your valuable contributions.

Paid according to what market?

You forgot /snark.

His DC number was busy just now, but I got through on the 323 number. Lots of people calling in to say THANK YOU, according to the very cheerful and happy staffer who took my call.

Every one of my doctors, from my primary care physician, to my cardiologist and my endocrinologist is opposed to Obama-care. IT will bankrupt them. They can’t afford the government reimbursement schedules. Now if they pass tort reform, they can see more patients, order less tests, and see the insurance costs go dramatically down.

Thanks, DrRobin! Feel free to expand on this, either here in the comments or over at The Seminal!

I could not get through to DC, but I did get through to an office (numbers @14) in California. They were so pleased to hear from me, and they say they will pass my comments along to Rep. Waxman.

Go Henry!

These Blue Dogs do not realize that they are affecting EVERYONE, not just the folks in their districts, who they apparently don’t care about. This has to stop.

Do we have a list of the Blue Dogs on Waxman’s committee? I am dying to dial.

And so it must be. Thank you.

That’s not fair to shit.

I’d go for second opinions if I were you.

The FREE market unencumbered by government meddling.

Obama has said that many of the payments for some services will actually go up under his proposal.

Read somewhere today that Rahm had a 3-hour come-to-Jesus meeting with the Blue Dogs. Interesting to see what (if anything) comes of that. Paving the way for your suggestion? Surely they can feed info to the liberal media! /s

OT:

But gotta say damn, I’m liking Charles “Fierce” Pierce.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..44172.html

Just saw this clip, and particularly love the consistent use of “The InternetS” terminology. Trying to imagine Fierce Pierce and Cliff Schecter together on a Meet the Gregory show. Maybe with Peggy Nooners and Newt Gangrene on the other side? Wow. That would be somethin!

Mike Ross – AK
Barron Hill – IN
Charles Melancon – LA
Barton Gordon – TN
James Matheson – UT
Zach Space – OH
John Barrow – GA

Office Numbers here

fyi – from personal experience, it is easy to waste time and energy on these clowns – we really should be focusing our efforts on those who are leaning towards the Pledge – but hey, if you want to give ‘em some firedog, um, love . . .

Yes, the power of the magical markets. Great point! Thank you again.

The free market that dumped me for “seasonal allergies” and “mild osteopenia” after paying high rates for years as an individual insured, having no covered events and few doctors visits, some years ZERO doctors? Yes, the “free market” is really a winner.

Just spoke to a sweet young thing in Waxman’s LA office. I don’t think she knew what the hell I was talking about, but she promised she’d see he gets word that the heartland is grateful to him today.

yeah, saw that as well – whatevah, suspect ol Rahm his own self ‘leaked’ that

p.s. your comment earlier in the am about Mayo Clinic – Moonie Times released an anti-reform statement from Mayo earlier in the week – be aware, no one was quoted by name in said article, just “clinic officials”. of course Mrs Greenspan and her ilk are quoting it like it’s an official Mayo relase – color me shocked

Looks like Waxman’s getting tough has just made the Blue Dogs blink:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes…..are-talks/

Pharmacy-owner Mike Ross.

Which ones? I don’t find them in the bill. Or is a bunch of unelected bureaucrats going to decide.

Local letter-writing campaign tomorrow. I guess I’m heading it up. We get to write to Evan Bayh AND Joe Donnelly (and I suppose Dick Lugar too). But more importantly we can write letters to the editor – put some real pressure on.

I think I’ll make sure to have phone numbers handy as well, I’m sure there will be more than a few cell phones in the room.

This article has a few more comments from Waxman:

House Chairman Signals ‘Breakthrough’ on Health Care Talks
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes…..are-talks/

not just “Pharmacy-owner”, if you don’t know, they “sold” the business and now he and Mrs Pharmacy Owner are getting a $100K in annual dividends from “the buyer”

That private commission consisting of Drs. Pharma etc.

As far as physician reimbursement. I think I’ve heard that the House bill contains language pegging reimbursement to Medicare rates + 5 percent. If that’s correct, it should be enough for physicians to remain profitable.

They must all know where to read the script that they all seem to follow. It’s weird, but I get the same thing in almost the same words from all the doctors that I know, too. My pulmonary doctor just said almost the same exact thing within this week. Geez. Between that and how bad things really are in England and Canada, they ought to find some new scripting.

You mean like the unelected, bureaucrats with no medical training who currently decide for the for-profit insurance industry what kinds of treatments we get to have?

Well for the first time the AMA is actually backing reform.

Actually Mayo published an open letter to Congress:

Read here and here.

Be patient. Takes a long time to load the first one.

Who’s he gonna trust? Whose word is as good as their vote? Dunno how this horse-trading will work. Can Blue Dogs read and comprehend?

False assumption:

The bill has viscera.

Of course, since the public option only covers 10 million people by 2019, it has been, as it were, pre-eviscerated.

Incidentally, the “pork” in question is Medicare rates in poor areas, at least according to AP . How bitterly ironic that single payer, with its “everybody in, nobody out” policy, would take care of the rural districts because health care becomes a right, and not dependent on where you live or work. Unfortunately, our “progressives” determined that the only policy that’s actually been proven to work wasn’t “politically possible”…

Couldn’t agree more. Waxman never let Weiner’s amendment to substitute the text of HR676 for HR3200 come to a vote in commmittee. So, the exclusion and censorship of the only policy that’s been shown to work — single payer — continues. That makes Waxman a villain in my book. People shouldn’t just flat out lie to your face about an “open” and “transparent” process. At the best, it gets remembered, and at worst it delegitimizes a process that’s not all that legitimate to begin with (see under Campaign Finance Reform, lack of).

Thats a hoot. Where you been? Under a rock? Are you in high school? Jeebus…

Given the choice, I trust insurance companies before I trust government. Bureaucrats in the government can mess up and can’t be fired; bureaucrats in insurance companies will be fired if they make too many bad decisions. There is far more accountability in private industry than there is in government.

Not really…my cardiologist and endocrinologist won’t take Medicaid patients because they said they’d go out of business with the reimbursement rates and paperwork required.

Hahahaha. Insurance company bureaucrats get promoted for making decisions that kill people.

Well, thanks for checking in here from RedState. You can go cash that troll check now.

Yes corporate America is such a bastion of good judgment. Enron, any big bank over lately, Wall Street investment firms, Exxon and the other oil companies, all demonstrate the high ideals that we should strive for.

yep, when I’m looking for integrity, first place I go is corporate America.

And the rugged individual, when I think of that, I think, “Bernie Madoff.”

According to roll call, negotiations between waxman and energy and commerce blue dogs just collapsed.

The rahmbama drama is going thru a familiar phase: negotiating with the blue dogs. Mind you that the blue dogs didn’t even start barking until rahm got shouted down on his contention that a public option wasn’t necessary. Then, of course, the dlc dem’s best friends started snarling and growling and now rahm is negotiating with them like he always does when big business is unhappy with a bill. At the end of the day, the blue dogs will likely be given some nice pork bones to gnaw on for essentially keeping big business happy and giving rahm, and likely obama despite his theatrics, cover to betray the American people and keep their big corporate donors happy. The way that the bill is that is supposed to be coming out of the house, which doesn’t bring universal healthcare to the american people until the inexcusable date of 2013!!!!!!, obama can’t lose becoz if the bill goes thru, he gets to hold the country’s health hostage for the next election by the threat of a republican president repealing it, or he looks good for trying so hard to bring universal healthcare to the American people all the while his chief of staff and the dlc’s master of deceit, emanuel, works behind the scenes to fuck us. That’s how the dynamic duo of deceit work: everything is angled to benefit them no matter what the outcome and, more disgustingly, no matter what the American people want.

Z

Follow the Money… Link
Call Congress and demand,

SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE FOR ALL NOW!

SEMPER FI!

The FREE market unencumbered by government meddling.

And what mythological bus did you ride in on?

The same one that we all rode to the soaring economy at the end of the Bush years, that has us all in clover now?

???

As far as physician reimbursement. I think I’ve heard that the House bill contains language pegging reimbursement to Medicare rates + 5 percent. If that’s correct, it should be enough for physicians to remain profitable.

I heard Rep. Peter deFazio D-OR, a true progressive who represents one of the most liberal non-urban districts in the House, say on the radio just a couple of days ago that the Blue Dogs did raise a valid point about the true disparity in Medicare reimbursement rates over the country, and how those rates were locked into Medicare when the legislation was passed all those years ago. I don’t want to slow down the dialogue in this thread, but I trust deFazio and his point was that unless the public option, basing reimbursement rates on the regional Medicare rates, made some some regional disparity adjustments then those of us in semi-rural areas on the west coast could wind up with no physicians who would take the public option.

No one has discussed that here as far as I know. Why not? Blue Dog hate? What if they have a point?

@73:

Incidentally, the “pork” in question is Medicare rates in poor areas, at least according to AP.

PW, I have his contact page for e-mail bookmarked too; I hit that even before posting the numbers. (I’m in his district. The boundaries are convoluted enough they ask for zip-plus-four on that page.)

It ain’t free and the decisions are made by insurance company non-medical personnel, not by anyone with your best interests in mind.

You must mean ‘unfettered’, like all the other ‘Publicans put it.

Bill Moyers had a story last year about a FORMER insurance exec who “saw the light,and testified before Congress that coding of a medical claims by non medical insurance personnel caused the death of a policy holder.

Imdeed,this ability to save the corporation money,at the expense of a policyholder’s life,was what merited her advancement in the company.

I always wondered why CEO’s are paid so much.

When you get them before a Congressional committee they are deaf,dumb and blind as to what transpires on their watch.

What I finally realized is they are often paid commensurate with their willingness to check any vestige of humanity at the Boardroom door.

“Fuck ‘em” is exactly right, Ms. Hamsher. The time for civilized back and forth has passed us by. Your directness and heart is to be admired. Thanks.

Amen!