Jane, is there a separate list somewhere of Dems who won with significant majorities who are NOT on this list, and whom we should be bugging [more — I assume we’ve all bugged them in the initial go-round]?

I ask because Neil Abercrombie [HI-1] is not on the list. He’s retiring from the House to run for Governor, but Jesus, he OUGHT to be taking the pledge.

Just asking so I can get “armed” [in a non-2nd Amendment way] for a town meeting — even though I’m in Hirono’s district. Abercrombie feels free to troll in “my” district for campaign contributions.

Chris VanHollen’s probably got some high D+ numbers, but of course doesn’t have the courage to buck Obama.

Just sent this to the WH, please copy or use it as you like:

Dear President Obama,

This message is from a … who was inspired by you campaign and spent many hours working for your election in … . One of the issues that you promised to give us “change we can believe in” is health care. Just today, I see that you appear to be backing away from a public option. DO NOT ABANDON THE PUBLIC OPTION. It is essential to real reform of our broken system. You understand quite well what is at stake here; I have always been impressed by your grasp of this issue (and others). I urge you to come out strongly in favor of a public option. It is essential, and without it no real reform is possible.

Thank you for your time.

If Rahm and Obama find a way to pass a piece of crap bill which mandates the public to pay private profiteers for junk insurance and which does not lower costs for premiums in the long run, and which provides HMO poor level care in coops with rationing and yes deliberate restriction of benefits……..if they want to go ahead without the Progressives with their crap plan, then they will own this failed, convoluted mess and the political stink of it which will follow them around, spinning like a dead skunk on their drive trains, around and around…… forever.

Jane,

I am not certain but you may need to edit this paragraph – the math is off by 2.

There are 57 Democrats who signed the July 30 letter saying that they “simply cannot vote” for a bill that “at minimum” does not have a public plan (PDF). There are 7 more not listed on the letter who have pledged to vote against any bill that does not have a robust public plan. That makes 66 Democrats who won’t vote for the “co-ops” that both Kathleen Sibelius and Robert Gibbs say the White House is “open” to.

My thought exactly, “… piece of crap bill which mandates the public to pay private profiteers for junk insurance …”

They can mandate I buy insurance, but not with some POS company run by snakes I’ve got no say in the hiring or firing of. If these politicians don’t have the guts to do what they said they would, or even the brains to make the case for it, they ought to resign.

Mauimom, I’ve been calling my rep., Rob Andrews (NJ-01). He’s not in the progressive caucus but he’s in a deep blue district and he supports the public option.

I could use some help putting more pressure on him.

I also think we should continue pressuring Joe Sestak (PA-07), even though he’s a member of the NewDem caucus. He strongly supports the public option and has said things like “Everybody wants it,” referring to the people he has talked to across the state of Pennsylvania, and “We have to have it,” referring to a public option in the reform bill. On Saturday at NN’09 he said he’s “150% behind the public option” and in his town hall last week he said that he would not budge on the public option.

I’ve sent requests to Sestak asking him to take the pledge and I’m sure others have too, but after his appearance at NN09 on Saturday, I believe the time is ripe for him to receive requests from many people in the Netroots by calling his office.

So, in summary, I think we should work on:
Rob Andrews (NJ-01)
Joe Sestak (PA-07)

Jane –

Denouncing a bill without the public option is counterproductive.

Sincerely,

Matt Yglesias

Yglesias: do you get cocktail weenies for that one?

. Instead of giving up on the public option and harassing progressives, perhaps Obama can give Rahm the task of reeling in the Blue Dogs and the rest of the campaign and pac contribution crippled Dems in the Senate to represent the People instead of their corporate masters.

. With deference to Senators Byrd and Kennedy, if it is necessary to bring them in on gurneys to vote then do what needs to be done. There are so many good ideas out there to cut costs, they should be able to craft a satisfactory bill without foregoing the one thing that the majority of Americans want in the bill.

. Grow a pair and show some leadership! That’s what you were hired to do, Mr. President.

If Rahm wants to beat somebody into voting for something that their district doesn’t want, let him go talk to the “centrists” he’s been coddling.

18 at plus 30 or better.
15 more between 20 and 30.

Uh, Rahm . . .

Not passing “health reform” will destroy the Obama presidency. Rahm better think twice about deleting the public option to satisfy a coupla Senators who each represent less than half a million people. Seriously, Kent Conrad and Max Baucus aren’t worth destroying your mandate, Mr President.

And that is exactly what you will do. And you can certainly expect a people-powered challenge in 2012 as well.

I mean, does Rahm expect to pass this in the House with GOP votes? If so, could he please name them?

I mean, does Rahm expect to pass this in the House with GOP votes? If so, could he please name them?

Rahm can’t imagine Dems with spines. He doesn’t expect the GOP to vote with him — he expects the Dems to cave.

I think the bill is doomed. Its not like the public plan was all that stood in the way of very good Dutch system style reform. Grassley is going to kill the bill one hissy fit at a time. It will leave like 20 million uninsured. It will cost way more than expected. It will not slow cost. It will not make health insurance truly affordable.

And this “free rider” idea is the most dangerous thing I’ve heard that might become law in a very long time. It is creating a permanent underclass. It is so dangerous that I honestly think any reform with that would be worse for our country than no reform at all.

typo
thanks!

Can’t pass a health care/medical insurance reform bill without the actual Senate Finance Committee meeting and doing its work, either.

COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

I. RULES OF PROCEDURE
(Adopted January 15, 2009)

Rule 1. Regular Meeting Days.—The regular meeting day of the committee shall be the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, except that if there be no business before the committee the regular meeting shall be omitted.

[…]

Rule 4. Quorums.—(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) one-third of the membership [7 or 8 members] of the committee, including not less than one member of the majority party and one member of the minority party, shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business.
(b) Notwithstanding the rule prescribed by subsection (a), one member shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting a hearing.

Rule 5. Reporting of Measures or Recommendations.—No measure or recommendation shall be reported from the committee unless a majority of the committee is actually present and a majority of those present concur.

[…]

Rule 12. Open Committee Hearings.—To the extent required by paragraph 5 of Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate (relating to limitations on open hearings) [see below], each hearing conducted by the committee shall be open to the public.

Rule 13. Announcement of Hearings.—The committee shall undertake consistent with the provisions of paragraph 4(a) of Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate (relating to public notice of committee hearings) [see below] to issue public announcements of hearings it intends to hold at least one week prior to the commencement of such hearings.

[…]

Rule 18. Transcripts of Committee Meetings.—An accurate record shall be kept of all markups of the committee, whether they be open or closed to the public. A transcript, marked as “uncorrected,” shall be available for inspection by Members of the Senate, or members of the committee together with their staffs, at any time. Not later than 21 business days after the meeting occurs, the committee shall make publicly available through the Internet—
(a) a video recording;
(b) an audio recording; or
(c) after all members of the committee have had a reasonable opportunity to correct their remarks for grammatical errors or to accurately reflect statements, a corrected transcript; and such record shall remain available until the end of the Congress following the date of the meeting.

[…]

II. EXCERPTS FROM THE STANDING RULES OF THE SENATE RELATING TO STANDING COMMITTEES

RULE XXVI
COMMITTEE PROCEDURE

[…]

(b) Each meeting of a [Senate] committee, or any subcommittee thereof, including meetings to conduct hearings, shall be open to the public, except that a meeting or series of meetings by a committee or a subcommittee thereof on the same subject for a period of no more than fourteen calendar days may be closed to the public on a motion made and seconded to go into closed session to discuss only whether the matters enumerated in clauses (1) through (6) would require the meeting to be closed, followed immediately by a record vote in open session by a majority of the members of the committee or subcommittee when it is determined that the matters to be discussed or the testimony to be taken at such meeting or meetings—

(1) will disclose matters necessary to be kept secret in the interests of national defense or the confidential conduct of the foreign relations of the United States;
(2) will relate solely to matters of committee staff personnel or internal staff management or procedure;
(3) will tend to charge an individual with crime or misconduct, to disgrace or injure the professional standing of an individual, or otherwise to expose an individual to public contempt or obloquy, or will represent a clearly unwarranted invasion of the privacy
of an individual;
(4) will disclose the identity of any informer or law enforcement agent or will disclose any information relating to the investigation
or prosecution of a criminal of fense that is required to be kept secret in the interests of effective law enforcement;
(5) will disclose information relating to the trade secrets of financial or commercial information pertaining specifically to a
given person if—
(A) an Act of Congress requires the information to be kept confidential by Government officers and employees; or
(B) the information has been obtained by the Government on a confidential
basis, other than through an application by such person for a specific Government financial or other benefit, and is required to be kept secret in order to prevent undue injury to the competitive position of such person; or
(6) may divulge matters required to be kept confidential under other provisions of law or Government regulations.

Since February 1, 2009, I count a total of eight health care-related hearings held by the Senate Finance Committee (not counting the nomination hearings for Sebelius):

3 “Roundtable Discussions” held in April (1) and May (2)

2 in March by Rockefeller’s subcommittee

1 in March on the President’s “Fiscal Year 2010 Health Care Proposals”

1 in March on “workforce issues” in health care reform

1 in February on the CBO’s budget options for scoring health care reform

But since May 12th: no further hearings on health care reform.

And since February 1st: Not a single executive business meeting, or mark-up meeting has been held in the Senate Finance Committee on health care reform.

It would appear to be time for at least three of the 23 members of the Senate Finance Committee to utilize Senate Rule XXVI to force the committee to finally begin its process of public consideration of health care reform, in accordance with our democratic principles of government, as it appears to be a committee with integral jurisdiction in the matter:

Special Meeting. Three members of a committee may make a written request to the chair to call a special meeting. The chair then has three calendar days in which to schedule the meeting, which is to take place within the next seven calendar days. If the chair fails to do so, a majority of the committee members can file a written motion to hold the meeting at a certain date and hour (Rule XXVI, paragraph 3).

The rest of August is available to the committee; there are no restrictions preventing any standing Congressional committee from meeting while the Congress is in recess (not that you’d know it from today’s in-name-only-Congress).

OK, dumb procedural question here.

If the liberals in the House hold firm would they have to insist the Senate pass their bill first, or would it matter?

PeterK, I think this is far too gentle to get anyone’s attention.

I think Obama needs to be told that if a bill passes without a robust public option, and that doesn’t mean the crap in HR 3200 or the Senate HELP bill, you personally will never vote for him again or give a dollar in contributions to his campaign, or to the Democratic Party or to the DCCC. In addition, you will begin work today to begin to form a third political party that is willing to represent the American people against corporatists like him.

Sorry, Matt, counter-productive relative to what?

Jane, Thanks for reminding us that all is not lost. But will enough of the 64 Democrats really hold the line to block the sell-out the President and Rahm are trial-ballooning right now?

Possible typos in the post?

Keith Ellison D_23 MN-05
Eric Massa R+5 NY-29

So, what should we do with this list? Should we all pitch in and send flowers and card signed by a few thousand of us?

Good job, Jane. Our position should be set in concrete: no cave to the insurance companies. If there’s not a real public option, there won’t BE a health-care reform measure passed.

Deal with it.

i saw sestak last week in pHilly. He clearly stated that the final bill MUST have a public option in it, and he’s not willing to budge.

so instead of pressuring him, call and thank him for his unequivocal statement in philly and tell him you want him to follow through.

o thanks to the progressive members of the House who have pledged to vote against any health care bill that does not have a public plan.

those democrats, at least enough to make it happen will be pressured and they might cave

this is not a done thing here, those pledges mean something but it’s not a guarantee

Instead of giving up on the public option and harassing progressives, perhaps Obama can give Rahm the task of reeling in the Blue Dogs

that’s the same thing as tasking rahm to reel in the republicans, the blue dogs are not democrats they are republicans dressed up as democrats

The White House shouldn’t ask them to do otherwise in order to pander for Republican votes they are never going to get. If Rahm wants to beat somebody into voting for something that their district doesn’t want, let him go talk to the “centrists” he’s been coddling.

“Shouldn’t”? Who cares about “shouldn’t”

They browbeat liberals like Doggett on the energy bill, got him to switch, and they’ll do it again as they please. They only need to whip/switch 25 or so to move a gutted health-care bill through the house. They can do that.

Does the Urban Caucus overlap with the Progressive caucus?

Ho do you like it under the bus, people?

Jane, how confident are you that the 64 will be able to stand up to Rahm? Thank you for this post. When I heard what Sebelius said yesterday, on the heels of Obama’s “sliver” statement in Colorado, I cried. Now I see there might still be some hope. And glad to see Howard Dean speaking out. Was the Admin testing the waters again? Man, I hate that stuff. We sent him there to get things done, not play games.

Sincce Obama wants to fight us in favor of insurance companies, we will defeat his bill.

Rahm and Obama don’t have enough fear of progressives.

Remember this on cap and trade, EFCA, all bills in the future. This is the end of hope and of trust.

Contrinute to progressive caucus members. Cut off Dem Party. I already unsubscribeed form Dem Party emails and OFA and told them why.

We need to show them.

There’s a far bigger picture, but you likely don’t want to know:

http://news.goldseek.com/Golde…..491300.php

Because the bill would mandate poople to buy unaffordable insurance, the worst of all worlds.

Here’s what I wrote to the WH:
Dear President Obama:
I realize you are floating a trial balloon and want to gauge how strongly your supporters will push back against your backing down on the public option. Why must you do float a balloon? Your balloon was the 2008 election. I, for one, am flabbergasted that you would allow yourself to look so weak, so compromised, that you cannot even vigorously fight for the watered-down public option. Single payer should have been your starting point, just as a bigger stimulus with no tax cuts should have been your starting point. But you know all this.
I guess what I am trying to say is this: what now distinguishes your presidency from George Bush’s or any other Republican, corporate-friendly president? I cannot think of one single thing you have done that makes you any different. I honestly can’t. You don’t seem to have the will or the desire to improve lives in America.
I wish you well. You’ll need it. You have decided that the extreme right wing is your base, not the people who elected or supported you.

The CIA even computes life expectancy since it is absolute health measure. Canda is 8 and the US is 50. The performance by corporate lobbyists Coburn and a tipsy Armey was almost funny.

As for quality of medicine, the current Insurance Company Death Panels discourage new and alternative therapies. Of course, treatments depending on medications from the pharmaceuticals are forced on doctors and patients. Keeping people ill is more profitable than keeping them healthy.

The lies, damn lies and corporate thuggery proves neo-cons are fighting a new “long war” against Americans.

SEN. COBURN: There is no indicator anywhere in this country that the quality of medicine has declined. There’s every…
SEN. DASCHLE: Oh, that’s not true. That is not true.
REP. ARMEY: Absolutely.
SEN. COBURN: That, that—no, that is…
REP. ARMEY: Absolutely…
SEN. DASCHLE: That is not true.
SEN. COBURN: That is absolutely true.
SEN. DASCHLE: What are we ranking in life expectancy in this country?
SEN. COBURN: The—no, you—life expectancy is not an indicator when you have a society that’s built our way.
SEN. DASCHLE: It’s not an indicator?
SEN. COBURN: Look, let me finish, Tom.
SEN. DASCHLE: What about, what about…
SEN. COBURN: Let me finish, Tom. We, we talk about neonatal mortality. Where’s the neonatal mortality? It’s not in the private insurance plans, it’s in Medicaid. Well, here’s the government-run program that is failing us in terms of neonatal mortality, and yet we use as an indicator neonatal mortality to say we need more government rather than less.
MS. MADDOW: That is so disingenuous, that’s unbelievable.

You have identified 63 districts where 76% of there people prefer a public option. Please cite the source of your evidence. I don’t get the point. Many of these people have stated that they do not vote based on polls or public opinion. They are elected as part of a Representative Republic and if their constituents don’t like how they vote they should be thrown out.
It is apparent that Shelia Jackson Lee does not listen at her town meetings unless someone is PRETENDING TO BE A DOCTOR.
I do not live in her district and know many people who do. They have attended the town hall meetings and seen the first hand arrogance of this person.

Lets not forget about drug costs as long as Americans who invented many of these drugs are charged more than everyone else in the world for drugs.
The costs of any plan public or private will be higher than they should be. But if its a public plan higher drug costs cost the tax payers money.
Lets see if the GOP and Blue Dogs remember that.

Attention Jane/All
Discussion on the “public option” happening now on the Diane Rehm show
Call
800- 433-8850
drshow@wamu.org

“Kent Conrad on Fox News”

What else do we need to know about this asshole?

My Question just sent

At the Netroots nation conference this past weekend Howard Dean and the blog Firedoglake’s Jane Hamsher spoke for most single payer advocates “the public option is the compromise”. The progressive movement is drawing the line in the cement. PUblic option is the compromise. Prediction…The Blue Dogs will take a hit in mid term elections of 2010

Do these co-ops that Republicans are pushing for leave control of Health care coverage and profit margins in the bulging pockets of private insurance companies?

It was clear at the TX Medical Assoc gathering that most there want a public option of some description, perhaps similar to Medicare. I know that is not her district, but representative…

______________________________

POSTCARDTO OBAMA

HEALTHCARE NOW!!!!!
CHANGE WE BELIEVED IN

_______________________________

SEND MILLIONS TO WHITE HOUSE

Finding the evil in Obama’s abandoning of the public option:
The Number of the Beast in Health Care Reform

Obama takes it one “six” more; the number is now 6666.

The Blue Dogs will take a hit in mid term elections of 2010

We pass healthcare with a public option, a plan that takes effect now and price controlsparity on drugs with other countries or next election we stay home and keep are checkbook closed.
I also want a promise we will be out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Do what you were elected to do Dems I have no patience for excuses.
You control the House, the Senate and the WH there is no reason for excuses.
Unlike the GOP we won’t be played like they have on abortion and the Supreme Court for over 20 years.

This is really not helping.

It’s a dark, stormy Monday. My dog disappeared this weekend. I’m going on very little sleep and now it looks like the health care fight is taking a serious turn for the worse.

I’m not in a very good mood today.

As far as I can see the Public Option is the only thing keeping this health care “reform” from just being another government-mandated windfall for big corporations.

ASSISTED HEALTH CARE SUICIDE

The lobbying groups scaring gullible Republican seniors into manically opposing national health care reform are the very same lobbying groups who for years have been advocating the ELIMINATION of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

That is and always has been their ultimate objective! That is how stupidly naive the teabaggers, bithers and deathers truly ARE! They are virtually providing the ropes for their own hangings.

Fox news, Lou Dobbs and Sarah Palin are real world Pied Pipers of Hamelin provoking and leading vulnerably frightened Republican dullards to financial ruin and assisted health care suicide.

Find your dog first. Deal with these shitty little other things later.

Is there any prospect of cherry-picking 6 or 7 key fence-sitting Democratic senators up for re-election in the next cycle and explicitly target them, now, with firmly identified primary contenders and the beginnings of a fundraising warchest – support this or we will devote our resources to removing you from office.. and here is our plan for doing exactly that? I haven’t done the math to see if enough of these people are in 2010 (Nelson-FL’s up in 2012 I think, Baucus is up in 2010 isn’t he?). It seems to me that the 11th hour play here (and the only hand we have left) has to be to play the numbers with a lot of focus and put the fear of God into just the right number of people.

I’m assuming that we will continue to work hard to get this done in the House, but the Senate is the gorilla in the room here. This cannot be won by national rhetoric (even persuasive rhetoric on our part) and, in the absence, of overwhelming presidential pressure… leadership that I don’t think the WH is willing to provide beyond that which they’ve already done. It’ll be down to the numbers (as it always is in fights like this) and right now it looks grimmish.

Jane,

Thank you for all of your work on this action. A most historic action which is greatly needed.

Have you thought of having Krugman back to the Lake?

the conversation here in Athens about Zack Space in the 18th district (next to ours) is not good. The conversation is amongst many who worked their asses off for Zack.

This could take him down especially in the Glouster, Chauncey, Trimble area)
http://space.house.gov/index.html

6th and 18th district in Ohio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:OH06_109.PNG

plunger, the value of gold is a fabrication also, there is no value in gold accept the value they make it and there’s no reason money wasn’t based on something of value, say an hour’s work

it’s all a game unless you make the value of a dollar have value, gold has no value other then those who wrote the rules of this game

think of that, suppose the value of a dollar was based on an hour’s work performing a certain task…think how hard it would be getting people to work for less then that value…of course a person could negotiate tasks based on how much time they put in learning the skill performing that task, etc

Keeping you in our thoughts. A year ago, our neighbor lost her dog. My then 4 year old and I headed out for two hours in the car. We found a sign on a pole with “found dog” and the description matched our neighbor’s dog. Went to the address listed and found our neighbor’s dog.

Have you put an item of clothing you recently wore out by the door that your dog normally exits and enters the house?

I always thought Obama might use an investigation of the Bush/Cheney lawlessness as a stick to get some Republican support for health care reform. Now, I don’t think so. My heart sank to historic lows when Obama caved in on FISA and without health reform that includes the Public Option he’ll not be the leader I worked so hard to elect. We’ve all been punked.

Hear! Hear!

I worked my butt off for Obama and donated frequently to his campaign.

I feel betrayed.

And, I will stay home or join the nuts, who say government has just gone away from the people if the public option gets taken out or watered down to nothing.

I don’t get the gold thing, either. It can’t be used as fuel, you can’t eat it, you can’t drink it, etc. It’s an arbitrary assignment. Further, the fact that Glenn Beck, G. Gordon Liddy, etal are hawking it on the radio suggests to me that a bubble is developing. Sooner or later, those who are stockpiling are going to get clipped.

If the shit really hit the fan, I’d much rather have sacks of pinto beans, and barrels of oil and water than a pile of gold.

Jane on my way back from Pittsburgh to Athens I drove down 7 runs along the Ohio River through most of Charlie Wilson our Rep who rode in on the tail of our Former Congressman now Governor Ted Strickland. Towns like Steubenville, Fly, (that one got to me), Brilliant, Matamoras, Marietta. Stopped at a Bar/Restaurant along 7 called “Bada Bing” to take a break. Yowser

This is an area of Ohio where folks have worked in Coal power plants and steel mills (some out of business) and our out of work and many are without health insurance.

Wondering how to put more focus on Appalachia and the conditions in this part of the country. Have knocked on doors for years, organized lots of volunteers etc in this region, lobbied in D.C. etc, called into national radio programs, lobbied for programs focused on this region.

Anyone else have any ideas how to work this area in regard to the lack of Health Care coverage?

the blue dogs are not democrats they are republicans dressed up as democrats

here’s my point;

BlueDog Mike Ross: “I will never vote for a bill to kill old people, period.”

the man who repeats that republican lie is NOT a demcrat and I can rest my case right there

Thanks for the thoughts (klynn and SD). Unfortunately he disappeared Friday afternoon-evening. I went out of town for the weekend but my wife and kids were home and looked everywhere. The good news is that we didn’t find a body… but we’re thinking he might have been stolen.

We’ve got the word out – we live in a very small town and school starts tomorrow, so if someone local has him we’ll surely hear about it. It’s frustrating to think that someone could just steal a family’s dog. (Although we don’t know for sure that’s what happened).

Maybe he just got so frustrated with our political system he decided to head up to Canada where they have sensible health care.

Amen….and good luck with the search.

SD, what are you doing here? Angela and I started early, but we are having a very slow morning. Take care….let us know about your growing family.

Target Mike Ross (and fellow travelers) in 2010. You play, you’re gonna pay.

Here’s my quick email to the whitehouse, largely cribbed from a comment I made on an earlier post:

“76% of the American people want a public option, according to a June
2009 NBC/WSJ survey (Study #6095, question 34a). It only takes a 75%
supermajority of states to ratify new constitutional amendments. If
our elected officials can’t represent this clear majority by voting
for a public option, then it is clear they no longer represent the
people.

“I voted for you in 2008. If you don’t push for a bill with something
that 76% of America is demanding, then I will vote for whoever runs
against you in 2012, and everyone I know feels the same way. Enjoy
your pyrrhic one-term legacy.”

I may be living in an alternate universe, but it seems to me that we can’t pass a bill, at least through the Senate at this stage in the legislative procedure, with a public option. Most simply put, there aren’t 60 votes for the public option in the Senate.

But, all is not lost. If the cards get played right, a reconciliation bill with the public option might pass through the Senate.

Obama really doesn’t care if the public option is in or out. He wants something…anything. He is on the same side of the debate as the Blue Dogs.

Also, where are you getting this ‘76% of the American people want a public option’ stat?

I think we should start right now going after Ross, Conrad, and Baucus. These are the 3 who have done the most harm.

So where is the labor movement on this? The silence is deafening.

Seconded.

Washington Journal callers were absolutely fucking pissed this morning about losing the public option–all democrats and independents who called in as well as two of the republicans. I don’t blame them. But one common thread was that most of them were blaming congressional republicans. That’s a mistake. The real problem isn’t the crazy minority party, it’s the democrats who can’t get their shit together.

Abandoning the public option is WRONG.

Even with cooperatives, which would be like having lemonade stands compete with Wal-mart, there will be no real competition in the health insurance market. It doesn’t help that the McCarran-Ferguson Act grants immunity from federal anti-trust laws for the insurance industry. It’s almost like a rubber stamp of approval for the insurance industry to continue colluding and price gouging Americans.

If the Dems come up with more excuses and try to pass off a lame ass Healthcare bill well Zack Space won’t be the only one. Yes We Can we can kill a lame ass Healthcare bill. Yes we can kill any Judas agreement with the drug companies.
We can kill Rahm’s dream of taking credit for Our successes in getting Dems elected.
Lets see Rahm in charge running things his way without our help and input get Dems elected.

Jane, Thanks for the tireless and lonely work.

This line in the sand is all important; if we fold on this one progressives will be, rightly, taken for granted and become irrelevant.

We have no natural allies in the White House; all we have is “pragmatists” who care more about keeping score than about the result of their work.

Let’s work hard to pass a public option and make it clear that if something passes without, there will be electoral consequences to those who made it possible.

one thing that should be considered is to advocate a commitment now to establish as a Party platform priority retaliatory legislation directed against the insurance industry after we increase Dem majorities in 2010 – the Comprehensive Insurance Reform Act (CIRA) of 2011. Unless we pass an acceptable healthcare reform bill now, we will devote ourselves to going after the insurers explicitly in 2011: cross-sectoral rate caps, profitability limits, regulatory approval of all actuarial standards, total bans on AIG-style financial products dalience and other non-core business activities – basically, unless you give us what we want on healthcare, we will not rest until we make you into the most heavily regulated, pro-consumer industry in the country, and not just limited to health insurance – auto, casualty, life, business, whatever. The Glass-Steagall Act of the insurance industry on a scale that’ll make it clear that whatever they might gain from killing or limiting the puplic option, we will make them give it all up and much much more. Who’s to say that this isn’t needed?

Targeting Blue Dogs and replacing them with even more progressive Dems is not a winning strategy for maintaining a congressional majority.

Progressives have misread the mandate. Americans want out of Iraq, to be sure, but re: domestic policy and health ‘insurance’ reform they DO NOT want BIGGER government!

Bush started us down that road and it is moving us in the wrong direction!

Blue Dogs will keep Dems in the majority if a reform w/o a public option is passed. Dems may even ‘hold the line’ or benefit from doing nothing.

“Politics is the art of the possible.”
Public option = single payer= rationing & ‘death panels’

Like it or not THAT is where this debate re: the ‘public option’ is at.

I sent a similar e-mail to TWH.

I hope they get hammered harder than ever before.

If, at a minimum, there isn’t a robust public option then Obama must be held accountable. Should Obama decide to run for reelection all efforts must be made to mount a vigourous primary challenge.

If the cards get played right, a reconciliation bill with the public option might pass through the Senate.

Sadly, I’m pretty sure that any reconciliation between House and Senate versions of the bill will simply take the worst parts of both bills to form a new, even crappier version than either one was on it’s own.

And I wonder if some of the ConservaDems in the Senate are willing to actually filibuster — if they’re not, we don’t need 60 votes, but merely 50.

They may be willing to vote against a bill, but not willing to actually filibuster.

*G*

*WAVES*

*MAKESBANJOMOTIONS*

*G*

The American people want meaningful healthcare reform. It’s not merely the simplistic question of “big government.” Are you satisfied that the U.S. is now ranked 41st in healthcare for it’s people. If so then preserve the status quo.

Call the White House and show your displeasure at the WH caving in on the public option. WH 202-456-1111

““Politics is the art of the possible.”
Public option = single payer= rationing & ‘death panels’

Like it or not THAT is where this debate re: the ‘public option’ is at.”

Only the wet dreams of insurance lobbyists. Perchance are you a lobbyist?

Sadly, I’m pretty sure that any reconciliation between House and Senate versions of the bill will simply take the worst parts of both bills to form a new, even crappier version than either one was on it’s own.

Why do you think that?
I remain relatively optimistic that in October we will get a bill that will represent real progress.

indie, the blue dogs do NOT keep the democrats in power, they are republicans, it actually helps us if republicans are voted onto their seats because then we can blame those at fault for this

we do not need blue dogs

And the corporate media used the frame given to them by the Republicans and the insurance industry. When is the corporate media and their rich celebrity talking heads finally held accountable. How much blood is on the hands of the likes of Charlie Gibson, Charlie Rose, Brian Williams, David Gregory, George Stephanopolus, Bob Schieffer et al?

The legitimacy of your cause is betrayed by the intellectual dishonesty of continuing to insist that 74 percent of the public supports the government option. Take a look at current polls. This desperate frenzy on the left to enact a huge expansion of government under the guise of improved healthcare is bordering between humorous and pathetic.

Because even our heros have taken health industry money and these boys play a tougher brand of hardball than we’ve ever seen in this country.

Because we are still in Iraq.

Because to buy a good American car, you buy a Honda.

Because our Congressional leaders shoot themeselves in the foot more days then they miss entirely.

Because we have the White House, The House and the Senate and we can’t pass something 76% of Americans want.

That’s why.

No, that is the current state of the debate re” the ‘public option.’

How do your propose to get public support back on track for a public option?

Repeating ad nauseum that 76% of Americans really do want a public option is outdated in the context of the real time state of the debate.

I’m actually kinda surprised the insurers and their lobbyists haven’t been more diligently using progressive blogs to concern troll.. or perhaps they have. Any record of Indie posting here before the last couple of weeks? He’s probably a junior K Streeter sitting at his desk in Georgetown. Such tactics would be consistent with their general FUD strategy… not only create FUD on the part of the public at large, but to assault our own confidence by making facetious and unsubstantiated claims that we’ve already “lost” the American public to “death panels.” These claims ring false because no true independent would use the term “death panel” in the way that the commenter does above.

Jane, how did Jackie Speier get on your list? As far as I know, she hasn’t made the pledge. Is she one of the seven you say has made the pledge but not signed the letter? Where and when did she make the pledge? If what you say here is true, then I want to make sure to thank her for changing her mind.

Howzabout the muscles that campaign financing flexes in the health care debate? Both parties facilitate private mechanisms (Fanny & Freddy for the Dems, Blackwater for the Repubs), a primary purpose of which is to provide a steady flow of campaign funding. Instead of government providing direct, low-overhead health care like Medicare, congress creates a costly layer of private insurers that kick back campaign contributions from their obscene profits.

Just by floating the possibility of a government plan, the congress critters could take the August break to hit up the private insurers for big contributions, the payback in September being to drop that option.

Perhaps Rahm is like Cheney in that he has his own power center to manipulate events. Seems like when Obama leaves town, there’s an increase in random comments emanating from the WH.

Chellie Pingree D+8 MN-01 Hi Jane. Chellie is a Representative from District one of the State of Maine, and a great one at that!
Should be ME-01! (Not from MN -Minnesota)

Conrad has clearly let his payoff by the Insurance and Pharma companies come shining thru over the past couple of weeks…Just another crook and liar. Now, Rahm is doing the same thing as highlighted by emptywheels notes above…

This whole exercise has turned into a group cluster-fox and Rahm and O are right, square in the middle of it. O has put his presidency on the line with this one (his words) and if there is no public option in his plan – he fails.

they do not want a more compassionate health care system as they hide their “me first” beliefs behind little crosses around their necks on their way to church on Sunday.

You know those white folks who are swinging their bibles in the air while they step over the poor and disenfranchised on their way to interrupt the health care reform town hall meetings.

the hypocrisy is just way too much to digest

Thanks for the number.

I’m trying, but it’s busy. I guess that’s good news.

Good to know. I’m extremely angry at him for his actions in this health care bill.

Man, the Libertarian troll is really spoutin’ the bs today.

Cellar47: “How do you like it under the bus, people?”

Appropriate question. “Not worth a shit.” is the appropriate answer.

There are several things that Barak Obama has evidently not yet figured out:

How desirous of real change were the people who voted for him, and how willing they would have been to support him while he went after it.

How much political capital he came into office with.

How much americans would respond to some REAL leadership, instead of delegating so much of the good fight (or what’s left of it) to other and less influential people, as he tries to hoard that political capital.

How his capital is evaporating as we speak, and now that the know-nothings are on the verge of getting a victory: i.e., in the form of watered-down “health reform”, how much it will cost he and us, to lose to them.

And lastly, how much of a political ticking time-bomb are Iraq and Afghanistan, with every likelyhood that the time of detonation will be just before the mid-terms, at which point we will be hamstrung, and HE will probably be a one-term preznint.

either a K Street plant or a Paulista.

With the House and the Senate in conflict, and and the President unwilling to resolve the conflict in any meaningful way, what is left for progressives to do?

It’s the Public Option or Bust!

And I hope our Democratic ‘Dogs’ clearly understand that is not just a figurative statement. Their asses are so ours next election cycle.

Paulista methinks. Was here yesterday stinkin’ up the place. I’m waitin’ for the “return to the gold standard” bs to nail it.

Even after I scattered Bud Light Lime all around the Lake, to repel the trolls … tsk tsk tsk …

I was wondering about this, Jane. I assume that whoever it is in the Obama Administration who doesn’t want a public option expects some of those fifty-seven to cave, just so they can say they made a health bill. Looks like twenty-five out of those 64 would have to change their minds. It might be doable, I suppose.

Time will tell. One thing’s for sure, we need more progressives in Congress.

If the liberals in the House hold firm would they have to insist the Senate pass their bill first, or would it matter?

I’m a little late, ES, but I’ll take a stab at answering this, or at least maybe help you to refine your question.

I think any answer to your question has to involve the ominous and inscrutable secret proceedings of the free-for-all conferencing process (to which only the most powerful Party bosses will be invited, absent a rebellion in the rank-and-file ranks) – which will take place after the House and Senate have finished their public work on medical insurance reform. A secret conference in which, if past is prologue, Rahm Emanuel and his colleagues in the White House will effectively be in charge, on behalf of Obama. With Reid and Pelosi (unless she decides to stand her democratic, independent-legislature ground for a change, even if against her will because of a firm stand by House progressives) obediently manufacturing political cover for their members in exchange for votes on what the president wants from a conferenced bill.

Most of what’s going on right now behind closed doors (largely by way of the private Baucus machinations) is a bastardized process of selecting a legislative outcome before debate and amendment and voting takes place in public. It’s an effort to prevent pressure-packed votes for incumbents on measures Congress and the president know full-well the public wants, but that they know their campaign funders do not want. So they are in the process of trying to find an end product that meets with the approval of their funders but that can also somehow be plausibly sold to the American people, without mobs descending on Congress when we see them selling us out.

The Party is in charge, in short, and the wimps in Congress want that Party to protect them from us, however it can best be done. And that means a relative handful of people at the top, including Baucus, are in charge, if the rest of the Congress, and the rest of the Finance Committee, won’t buck him or them, and demand genuine committee and floor debate and consideration, let the political-heat chips fall where they may.

The House progressive caucus does have the numbers to make a difference here – but almost certainly only by openly bucking their Party, and so far, Party (and its first African-American president) has trumped nation and the public interest for a large percentage of that fair-weather-friend, progressive-in-name-only caucus.

If House progressives (and/or others) do take a genuine stand to protect a meaningful public option, and stick to it – and assuming Republicans don’t cross over – the choice will become stark for the White House and the Senate: compromise with Pelosi and the House, or get no medical insurance reform this year. Such a stand would at least bring the issue and the different sides very clearly into public view (a big plus for the will of the public) – and that’s when the serious negotiating would really begin…

Nice try, but no, if health reform fails it will be because liberals decided that expansion of federal powers and a diminishing of the private sector is far more important than enacting reform legislation. That is your true agenda here, isn’t it?

what bill….there are five of them. None of them have been voted on. I suppose you would rather have some MBA Beancounter in an for profit telling your doctor what treatment they will pay for…overruling your Doctor. Its time to get rid of these beancounters who actually collect a commission everytime they turn you and YOUR DOCTOR down. In 2000 I had to get a pacemaker…cost $50,000. Two weeks ago had another cost $150,000. the device is no different from the first one. Medicare got billed, (gouged) for that increase in cost. Using our premiums to knock out any real reform. 350,000 new lobbyists on the Hill, delivering money to secret accounts to the blue dogs and repukes? Right Obama and Rahm, all the millions of progressives who supported you, worked our butts off for you are now turning against you. Forget the wing nuts, you better worry about our voting block. Group after group are waking up to the fact that your regime is as disgustingly corporate whores as the last one. no change I can believe in.

This is what bugs me. Why hasnt Obama TOLD us what he wants. His bs is wrapped up in flowery words, but no details. He could have gotten control of this debate long ago but he didnt. He has had to admit again and again that “single payer will cover everyone”, and in the next breath talk about the unknown for profit co-ops”. This is the blue dog Kent Conrad who had received millions from the very corporations he is supposed to be challenging. They are not blue dogs…these are yellow dogs with a lot of green in their campaign coffers.

In Delaware the corporate capital, our state was so in the tank because of the bankers/credit card companies going bust,the state budget for 2009 was in the red $780 million. Our democratic governor decided to fix it we would go to “gambling….casinos and sports gambling”. We have had a single payer bill (a mirror of HR 676) in the legislature for 6 years. If that bill had been voted and passed, we could have saved GM and Chrysler plants that have now left the state. We can only hope no matter what these yellow dogs do….they leave in the provision that “states can enact their own single payer system”. California legislators twice sent a single payer bill to Arnold, and he refused to sign. Maine has sent theirs up twice and a repuke refused to sign on. Massachusetts lost their single payer system by one vote and adopted the horrific system of keeping the for profit and a Mitt Romney plan now driving Mass into bankruptcy. Even Romney stated when running for Prez, “he wouldnt want to adopt the Mass Plan for the country”. So why is Kennedy supporting it. Why John Kerry who received $8m in campaign contributions support a single payer plan…cuz they were all bought off decades ago. We have the lowest form of political culture, all our representatives are on the take and voting against any good government, for the people legislation that would finally give our people a break.

Haha! The whitehouse line has been busy for over 30 minutes….keep calling! Let them hear our rath.

Howard Dean made that point today — that without a public option there’s no health care reform for millions of Americans. The co-op idea must really be making Republicans laugh because they know it’s absurd on the face of it yet they also smell blood.

Perceiving that Obama is caving in faster than they anticipated they are making sounds like, “Oh, private non-profit cooperatives? Hmm, we’ll have to think about that and then get back to you.” Like they care.

Of course, it would make no difference at all what plan Obama has in the works, especially one that helps tens of millions of Americans who desperately need immediate help. Republicans will oppose anything and everything that is connected to Barack Obama because to them, this is déjà vu 1994. That’s when Republicans defeated Bill Clinton’s health care and then took over both houses of congress, control which they held for 12 tortuous years.

Democrat,”yellow dog” Kent Conrad says we can’t chase the government option rabbit and it won’t work. Well, who is he to say when he comes from a state that has fewer citizens in the entire state than we do in the city of Austin, Texas?

Not only that, but North Dakota lost population, decreasing from 642,200 in 2000 to 639,715 in 2007. What happened to those other 2,500 people? Did the 2003 end of life doctor-patient consultation provision that the Republicans included in the Medicare Part D kill grandma?

No public option, no health care reform — period. Unless something changes drastically between now and 2012 I can’t think of many things Barack Obama could do to make me want to vote him back in again. The way he caved in to the gun lobby it won’t be long before he capitulates to the Religious Right and supports overturning Roe v. Wade and the teaching of Creation Science in public school science classrooms.

Congressman Steve Cohen from Memphis has a recent video (from a speech he gave on the house floor) on his website saying he believes we need Medicare for all. I live in Memphis but unfortunately my congresswoman is that dark-hearted dizzy-headed Marsha Blackburn. it is totally a waste of time to call her.

But several weeks ago I called Cohen’s office and I was told he had not made a commitment yet.

It looks like he is squarely in our camp now and probably needs to take the Firedoglake pledge.

I can’t think of a more important issue to me today than universal health care in America. We all know the statistics when we’re compared to other modern industrialized countries who have coverage for all of their citizens so there’s no point in counting them off. We do know for sure that we spend more on health care per capita than any other country, but the benefits apply only to those who can afford it.

Barack Obama was the most promising Democratic Party candidate to come along in the new century with overwhelming support from young voters, minorities, Independents and other disadvantaged people in America.

Yet, in spite of the “audacity of hope” I have this nagging feeling that Republicans are winning the war of words and their anti-Obama propaganda is being regurgitated on the evening news to a nauseous extent. I keep asking myself, “Haven’t the mainstream media learned squat since the horrific W.M.D. lies that led up to the catastrophe in Iraq?” Then, they were all tripping over themselves to show how patriotic they were while simultaneously pillorying those who criticized the Bush “just and noble” war.

Now, all the media cameras are focused on the violence-prone NRA types who are circling town hall venues with assault weapons, allowing the grandstanding that Fox News are exploiting to the hilt. After all, more Southern whites, according to a statistic just released, watch Fox News more than any other TV network.

Howard Dean appeared on Keith Olbermann’s Countdown tonight and said a few things that were reassuring though. He believes a good bill, mainly one that includes the public option, will be passed and Obama will sign it by December. I hope he’s right. The rest of the gnashing of teeth and hand wringing by Democrats predicting chaos, he says, is typical angst and they’ll eventually get over it and sign on. The way I see it, there’s no half-good bill. It either must give all Americans accessibility or the Democrats might as well say good-bye to their majority status.

Sorry, Not Enough House Votes To Pass Health Care Bill Without a Public Option
Sorry, not enough Senatevotes to pass health care bill with a public option. The Senate will not be able to pass a bill that has a public option. Very likely could be a stalemate and nothing gets done. I could live with that.