Comments on: White House Admits the Public Option is Gone, Will Sistah Soulja the Left

By: Oliver

Oliver — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:33:14 +0000

Obama traded control of the healthcare debate already. He cut deals with Big Pharma and Big Insurance so as to prevent them from giving too much campaign money to the Republicans in 2010 and 2012. He cut deals because he was afraid that if he gave the People what we want, he would lose power.

The party currently in charge, the Money Party, has had a long string of unbroken influence. The richest 300,000 of us have had a grand old time on the backs of the 300,000,000 rest of us, and the time has come to re-balance the load.

The game is rigged, but the only way to have a chance is to get out there and play. What we need is a new team .. a new political party.

By: letsgetitdone

letsgetitdone — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:32:46 +0000

alank, Not “tantamount.” It was misdirection; and it’s worked perfectly. And still, the progressives won’t reset to Medicare for All.

By: AngelsAwake

AngelsAwake — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:15:43 +0000

Fighting the blogs is like battling a thousand tiny fire-breathing imps- even if you dodge three hundred fireballs, you simply place yourself in the way of the remaining seven hundred.

Obama can’t do this and win. Doesn’t he know that yet?

By: letsgetitdone

letsgetitdone — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:10:50 +0000

Sorry cregan, I believe in the constitution which only requires a majority vote in the Senate, and I also believe in Democracy and in the people’s ability to vote for change and to get change. The filibuster is anti-democratic. It serves no useful purpose in the Senate except to preserve the power and influence of individual Senators. We need to get rid of it. Insofar as reconciliation is a way around the filibuster, I’m for it. I know that Republicans will use it once they get back into power, as they did before, whatever we decide to do now. So we may as well do it and implement the result of the last election.

More generally, right now the US Government is a perfect instrument for preventing us from collectively meeting our problems. At the center of this instrument from thwarting problem solving and change is the US Senate and the filibuster.

We need to get rid of it. Then we need to get rid of the electoral college. Then we need to get voting in the Senate weighted according to the population represented by each Senator. Then we need to get the Federal Reserve Bank placed under the Executive Branch. it’s lack of responsibility to the voters is an intolerable abuse.

That’s enough for now. But don’t get me started on all the changes that are needed to transform this faux democracy into a real one.

By: milagro

milagro — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:28:07 +0000

Hey Revolutionaries, Plan B is to regulate the profits out private insurance. 95% medical loss ratios.

By: cagefreebrown

cagefreebrown — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:53:17 +0000

the only reason I support the public option is because the leadership has said for some time that this is our best hope. well, they sure don’t ACT like it’s our best hope. it seems to me that the democratic leadership is more concerned with people holding pictures of Obama with a Hitler mustache than they are in people who voted for them and support health care.

compare and contrast Bush bullying everything he wanted through with Obama timidly wanting to meet people in the middle who want the lord to strike him dead.

the steady beating of right wing tom-toms is wearing away the popular support of the plan. I’d like to see O. or Sibelius or somebody from the Admin. stand up and cheer for this and rally the support that exists for it. every day they don’t is a day that I don’t believe they have any intention of passing a public option.

By: inmymindseye

inmymindseye — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:52:13 +0000

I meant the Bill Clinton campaign. One of the reasons why I didn’t support HRC.

I knew Obama would be a disappointment (aren’t they all?), but I had no idea he would be so flagrant.

It makes me ill.

By: whyknot

whyknot — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:45:58 +0000

FDL working again on my laptop, yea! Expecting to be flamed for supporting the President but please at least wait for his speech to the joint session of Congress called for September 9 and hear what the man has to say. I don’t understand why he is being attacked for trying to let Congress do their job and write bills rather than dictating and expecting a rubber stamp, a la Bush. Do you want change in this country or just a never ending pie fight?

By: solerso

solerso — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:30:57 +0000

No this completely goes against everything Obama has said a bill “must” contain, “it must lower cost” a bill that rasises cost should not be an option, right? well that has to be our focus now. NO “strong” PO, no mandates, no compromise, no bill. that HAS to be the line in the sand.we have to convince enough progressives, including senators (like Sanders for instance) that, forget the white house, their own political careers are riding on it, even if it means no bill.

By: redX

redX — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:29:59 +0000

HRC would have suckered you as well.

I knew Obama was going to pan out like this, though I think the next 6 months will show most of the cards. The last bit will be shown as the dem’s turtle up to “win” the 2010 election (what they will give up, I am guessing its the poor people stuff that they have no use for).