Comments on: Jim Cooper: 16% Approval On Health Care Among Democrats

By: susaninCO

susaninCO — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:13:08 +0000

I called Cooper’s DC office (202-225-4311) and said that while I am not a constituent, his vote affects me. I told his aide that if Cooper sides with the insurance industry rather than the majority of his constituents who want a single payer system, I will contribute to anyone who challenges him in a primary.

The aide thanked me for my call.

By: PillBilly

PillBilly — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:45:35 +0000

$108 (European bank bailout) ain’t even “walking around” money. Was it more like billions, with a “B”? Thanks for the story, though.

By: perris

perris — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:21:24 +0000

another example would be my litle 2 litre ecotech engine, this only exists because of regulations, it’s a tiny 4 cylendar engine that gets more horsepower and torque with more reliability then the super cars of the 60’s and 70’s

By: CasualObserver

CasualObserver — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:36:23 +0000

Must read:

4. Cost controls stifle innovation.

False. The United States is home to groundbreaking medical research, but so are other countries with much lower cost structures. Any American who’s had a hip or knee replacement is standing on French innovation. Deep-brain stimulation to treat depression is a Canadian breakthrough. Many of the wonder drugs promoted endlessly on American television, including Viagra, come from British, Swiss or Japanese labs.

Overseas, strict cost controls actually drive innovation. In the United States, an MRI scan of the neck region costs about $1,500. In Japan, the identical scan costs $98. Under the pressure of cost controls, Japanese researchers found ways to perform the same diagnostic technique for one-fifteenth the American price. (And Japanese labs still make a profit.)

By: Blub

Blub — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:16:23 +0000

yeah.. I think that we’ll need to start developing explicit strategies to develop credible primary threats against specific individuals as part of our healthcare initiative.

….either that or develop a reform program that just outright cuts out the southeast and the plains Dead Zone states ;-P. Healthcare for all, ‘cept in Tennessee, Texas and South Carolina, or something like that.

By: OldFatGuy

OldFatGuy — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:14:38 +0000

What does the Health Insurance industry add to the US economy?

Several multi-millionaire CEO’s that contribute to politicians.

By: jrubin22

jrubin22 — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:11:52 +0000

what value does the Health Insurance industry add to the US economy? They don’t build or design anything, the don’t add to scientific understanding or improve transportation or telecommunication.

what am I missing? What does the Health Insurance industry add to the US economy?

By: JoeBuck

JoeBuck — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:10:46 +0000

Can we recruit a primary opponent to knock this guy off? Or to force him to shift left, or both?

By: SanderO

SanderO — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:06:17 +0000

Can you explain where these donations go and what they are used for …. and are the linked to policy positions so that the critter who gets them sees them as a support/reward for doing the right thing?

By: lukasiak

lukasiak — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:05:29 +0000

A well-funded organization like HCAN could do a media buy large enough to be meaningful in his district. They’re received $45 million for just that purpose. We don’t have that kind of money. If you want to ask why they are not doing so, that’s a fair question.
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We know why they aren’t doing it. The sole purpose of HCAN was to keep medicare-for-all/single payer “off the table” (which they succeeded in doing to the point where the “A-List access” bloggers all bought into their multi-million dollar myth-making), one really can’t expect (let alone rely on) them to go after a Jim Cooper.
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