noooooooooooooooooooooo! ;-) ..idjits. The co-ops were proposed as a process compromise – a political lubricant.. they were never intended to become a real plan. They don’t work.. their isn’t even a serious proposal to make them work.

The potential for being a great country is there but given the quality of those leading and governing and given the provincialism and ignorance of large swaths of the population that greatness is only a dream.

please, everybody call Pelosi’s office now.

Arlen has changed his tune since facing the prospect of a primary challenge.
Perhaps focussing fundraising yet-to-be-named primary challengers
for the 15 or 20 most vulnerable Blue Dogs
would concentrate their attention.

Bloomberg right now: “New York Senator Charles Schumer, a member of Reid’s Democratic leadership team, said his own test for creating an entity to compete effectively with private insurers wouldn’t be met by Baucus’s proposal on cooperatives.”

I guess that meeting yesterday with the blue dawgs was to congratulate them on their win in the health care arena.

Here’s my letter to Obama this morning (long, sorry)… after reading about Conrad’s placating of the idiot Shoutout Joe Wilson… I really am truly at the end of my rope:

This was our one shot at true healthcare reform. And you President Obama along with your henchman Rahm Emanuel, have sold Americans out.

The public option that was supposed to be a strong pillar of competition to insurance companies, AS YOU CAMPAIGNED ON…. is now a weak watered down option for 5% of Americans who can’t get insurance… and in all probability will be coopted to coops or triggers.

In your speech on Tuesday you made it seem as if “your friends on the left” (oh, do you suppose he means me? who went door to door, registered new voters, took first time voters to the polls? Do you think he means the people who elected him?)… were radicals pushing for a public option. And as if speaking to third graders you assured us that “there are many ways to achieve these ends.”

As if somehow we had made up the idea of a strong public option and were now a fringe element expecting real competition to the multi-billion dollar insurance companies…. making profits off denying people coverage.

YOU were the one that promised us a public option Mr. President…. we did not dream it or make it up.

And now you and Mr. Emanuel have bargained away our one chance at true helath care reform. We will never have this chance again.

Some say the end of pre-existing illnesses and rescission are more important and that we should be happy with that.

But now that you are mandating EVERYONE will have to have health insurance… this is a windfall for the insurance companies.

They will have so much more money coming in… they can eliminate pre-existing illnesses and rescission … and still only pay a tiny slice of what they are supposed to pay.

The fact that insurance cos.’ stocks went up after your speech is clear indication that they are very happy with “your plan.”

They are criminals… and you have negotiated away Americans’ hopes for not having to deal with them …. which is what you campaigned on.

Thanks.a.lot.

Was the real purpose of Obama’s Wed. p.m. speech merely to rally the Dems in Congress to solidy around any plan no matter how feckless it might be? Just what does the Democratic Party stand for? At least we know what Republicans stand for, a return of feudalism. Democrats, who the fuck knows.

There is just so much money being thrown at these weak people that they can’t stand up and do the right thing. It’s much smarter for the government to create its own health plan than try to directly engineer the way the private insurance industry works.

Didn’t HMOs start out as exactly this kind of concept? Not exactly an encouraging model.

Three cheers for Sen. Schumer… at least someone is standing up for us.

I think the purpose of the speech was to throw co-ops, forced purchasing of insurance, and single-payer into the “goody bag” so everyone would hear something they wanted in what Obama was talking about. But of course in the end, they will only pull the co-ops and force purchase of insurance out of that goodie bag. They’ll leave the public option in the bag and stomp on it until it dies.

Hopefully the progressive can prevent a fake victory which gives away the store.

Thom Hartman revealed an intersting fact about all the health care systems in the world where they use an “insurance model”. Not one of them allows them to be for profit.

America can’t seem to abandon the idea that profit = god

I wrote last night that we should use net and grassroots in Nevada to find and run a progressive to primary Reid. Reid is not popular in Nevada. Las Vegas has been devastated by the collapse of the housing bubble and is hurting more generally from the downturn in the economy. And Reid despite his being Majority Leader has done zilch to help. A progressive running on a populist platform to stop foreclosures, investigate the banks, and focus on the real economy where Americans live could probably beat him in the primary and the Republican in the general. This is a great opportunity to have some real “change we can believe in.”

Can we start planning now for the massive blogswarm that will be necessary to stop this thing?

Jane,

Let’s make sure that there is no more ActBlue love for anyone in the progressive caucus who goes back on their promise.

Reid has never been popular with Nevada netroots, but I don’t think they will primary him.

I just called Pelosi, the moment the words co-op and public option came out of my mouth, I was interrupted to say he would transfer me to the appropriate line… …which was voice mail.

They won’t even take our calls.

What a thoroughly depressing 9/11 thus far. I’m going to bed.

Well, if they want to screw us over, we can turn our attention toward defeating their crappy plan. I bet it wouldn’t be too hard to get liberals AND teabaggers all worked up over the government MANDATE forcing us to buy insurance.

I’m hoping that some pups at the Lake can volunteer on the ground and donate money for any primary challenger to Reid. If Reid wins the primary I’d be willing to vote in a Republican just to get rid of this spineless cult member.

Jane ,the PO is going to be ditched.There is no ands.ifs or buts.The giveaway for me was exactly what Pelosi said but moreover,Pelosi is trying to “bamboozle” progressives.She is giving away the PO but take a look at what she said about Afghanistan.

So the gullible will say she “tried” on the PO but she is standing up for NO more Troops in Afghanistan.Pelosi was never on board with the PO same as BBoxer.Like I said prior.We will see who the real progressives are soon.It’s another kick in the face.

yep. same thing just happened to me. but that’s fine.. just leave a message. I’m sure it’ll get logged somewhere.

It doesn’t matter about Reid… they will appoint some other weak, feckless leader of the Senate… who will do the bidding of the “centrists”… if I hear that word again I will scream.

Call them what they are… fucking corporate representatives.

Booyah @ 7

Yep. Your letter sums it up pretty well. It almost feels like this is the outcome Obama has wanted from inauguration onward.

Public option didn’t come out of nowhere (like the co-op idea). He campaigned on it. Did he campaign on mandates? Let’s see, should we ask HRC that question and see her head explode? (Jane, I’m sure that little BO turnabout has increased your intracranial pressure.)

Opportunity squandered. And the gravy for Republicans is that they’ll be able to argue — when co-ops don’t work — that government can’t do the job.

Do you mind if I steal most of that for the letter Obama is about to get from me?

Color me disgusted. Never thought much of Harry Reid in the beginning, even less now.
The public option was the fallback position. When you fall back from your fallback position, that is the definition of retreat.
This is not our country anymore. Lincoln’s government by the people and for the people is expiring after a long period of illness. There was a brief rally early this year, but the cancer was too firmly metastasized to be removed.

Just fucking perfect. Exactly what we’ve been afraid of.

I always think I’m too cynical, but then this kind of thing comes along to remind me that perhaps I’m not cynical enough.

Maybe we can get TRIGGERS too!!! And MANDATES!!! AND FINES!!!!

LET’S JUST MAKE SOME BIZARRE, COMPLICATED AND EXPENSIVE THING THAT NO ONE UNDERSTANDS AND EVERYONE HATES!!

Good luck with that over the next couple election cycles, you stupid spineless fucks.

As booyah says, maybe the purpose of the speech was to spike up the insurance company stocks.

Is this a great country or what?

Not any more.

The best Democracy money can buy.

Wasn’t it just last week that Pelosi said “No public option, no bill”?

But you know, it really doesn’t matter anyway… the “public option” barely has a pulse anyway and given that only 5% can use it, who really cares about it anymore?

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs…..-care.aspx

go right ahead.

“only 5% can use it”

That’s not what I mean by a public option.

Step right up folks and order your new and improved American flag.

Tuesday of this week, I think

I said it yesterday, he isn’t going to be re elected and he is only a lobbyist now. He needs to be expelled for criminal behavior. I hope the new Senate Majority leader has the hatchet in hand, raised high, poised to strike… When will he bury the hatchet?
We need a department of justice that won’t allow Cheney’s perjurer’s a get out of jail free card, and one that will arrest the criminals in our government now. We haven’t had an independent investigation in this country that was allowed to collect the facts since WWII. We really have nothing to save. The experiment failed, and the people are asleep at the wheel. The whole world’s watching us kick off those chains that bind us to the Weimar republic.

700,000for Wilsons challenger,CAN WE DO 2 million for a REid challenger

CCChhhing…

The current government and leadership in the United States is making the former rulers and governments of the Russian and Ottoman Empires look like paragons of honesty, efficiency and foresight. At what point do people admit that the current system of corruption, crony capitalism, indifference and inequity is beyond reform?

Is this a great country or what?

Country?
Naw.
It’s now descended to simply being an enabling appendage of mega corporations.

After all, corporations can’t make laws.
They still need an appendage called ‘the federal government’ so they can continue to extract profits.

I just did. Intact except for the opening, and I threw this in at the end.

They are criminals… and you have negotiated away Americans’ hopes for not having to deal with them …. which is what you campaigned on.

DEMAND no less than a ROBUST public option available on day one. I am a Registered Nurse, and I see people dying due to our failed system of health care EVERY DAY. It is MY job to talk to the people who have waited 4 hours in the ER waiting to be seen… …because we are seeing everyone in the city who has no other option for care.

A mandate without a public option will be a complete disaster.

Do not fail your country.

(and now I really am going to bed)

Do you have any links to that analysis or a similar summary of other G20 country systems?

i called my senators. they are definitely keeping score on the PUBLIC OPTION, according to the tallier at Feinstein’s office.
After chatting for 5 minutes, she asked me again:
So you are for it?
For what–i asked.
The Public Option–she asked.
YES, all four of us in this household.

For awhile I’ve been wondering if there might be another legislative scenario brewing, one that we don’t suspect. All along we’ve been assuming that there will be almost no Republican votes in favor of healthcare reform, but that might not be the case.

Let’s imagine that the progressives hold firm and keep their promise not to vote for a bill that doesn’t include a public option. If that happens, it will not surprise me if the big healthcare corporations encourage their Republican lackeys in Congress to go ahead and vote for whatever shitty bill is on the table, thus a bill passes through Congress in spite of the fact that the Progressives voted against it. The Progressives may not be holding the trump card that we think they are.

Is there any way to get the same 60 or so Congresspeople to reaffirm in a new letter they will not vote for co-ops coming out of conference?

My understanding is there is no one to be a challenger even if they want to primary him.

yes.. we need a calling campaign I think. Jane, what do you think?

welp. i guess god sure has damned the usa.
rev. wright’s a goddam prophet!

who knew?

Great find.

Obie could veto

you dont need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. just call.
i didnt call my CONG because he is an insane RWer.
If he was even a fence sitter and not a koolaid talker, I would.

out of millions of people,not one progressive professional,or scholar,wants the job?

Yea but didn’t you see Obama’s poll numbers went up after the speech? Wasn’t that what the speech was all about? Oh that and throwing the people who help elect Obama under the bus, while the people who would rather see him fail got support.

So I guess the tern failure is not an option has been replaced with failure is the option, my name is Barack Obama and I endorse this message.

Are you kidding???? Getting Republicans to vote for a piece of crap would demonstrate that Obama’s fetish of bipartisanship has been vindicated.

sadlyyes,

Thanks for the response, but there is no way will Obama veto a bill. He’ll sign whatever piece of shit Congress sends him.

Jane… I owe you an apology.

Last week (I think) when you wrote about a Politico article saying the PO was dead… I was STILL holding out hope that Obama would come through for us… and I though Politico was just spreading rumors or making things up to get the progressives all shook up.

But after the speech, with the waffle words, it really became clear that you were/are right all along.

And when you put the timeline up about how the “coops” were first mentioned (in late June) and how Ross’ bill has the same exact wording as Baucus’ … I suddenly remembered something else that meshed perfectly with your timeline and explanation.

Back in June, my Senator… Bingaman, one of the Gang of Six (can we make that the Chain Gang of Six?)… published an op-ed where he talked about the fact that the healthcare reform needed to provide competition to the insurance companies… but guess what? I know this will surprise you… “It could take many forms, from coops to other ways.”

I organized a rally at Bingaman’s office the first week in July… and eventually talked to Bingaman’s lead legislative aide on healthcare… who had just stepped out of an ongoing Baucus committee meeting to assure me that Bingaman supported the public option, and in fact had written the “coverage” part of the Senate HELP committee bill at Kennedy’s request (btw… whatever happened to that bill?).

But I was confused and asked the aide… if that was the case, why did Bingaman mention that coops would be a viable option to providing competition to private firms?

Well, said the aide, Bingaman doesn’t like to promise things he can’t deliver.

Now, in retrospect, it is clear that as Jane has said for a while… the fix was in… Bingaman knew what was up… and included the wording to cover his ass cus he knew how it would all go down.

Boy have we been dupped.

Obama and Rahm always presented the problem of insurance company obligato
since Chicago is the insurance capitol of the country. This was always the game plan, the republicans just made it look like a fight. The instinct for
democratic reform is weak in the democratic party as in not enough of a
majority of members are reformers… still too much triangulation hangover
in the current membership. We need new candidates for a couple more election cycles to change the political geography in DC.

You should have answered… “no, I prefer to keep paying murder-by-spreadsheet insurance companies to get no coverage.”

It seems that the only Public Option now is one of our own to begin to write in massive email petitions to promise,to swear..that we will never vote for anyone , including Obama , who does not vote for and stand firm for a real Public Option. And swear to vote for and work for any Senator or Congressperson who at least refuses to vote at all for anything that doesnt include at least a Public Option (which was a compromise anyhow). Keep publishing lists on who stands where in Congress. And keep putting our money where our mouths are, as that is a real Statement they can hear.

Also begin backing new Democrats and Independents who are staunch liberals and not beholden to the Corporations. Publish their names and states to begin backing them. Its maybe too late for this , but it will have an effect down the road when they can another stab at real Health Care. And when this ‘bailout’ has time to show what a crock it is. Because it is going to be just as successful as the Bank Bailouts and do just as much for the People.

Also strategists need to come up with ways to totally screw up the Insurance Companies. Non violent sabotage. Something very clever that anyone can do. After all they have declared war on us.
Of course I would not even mention hacking as that would be dirty pool, wouldnt it ?

I dont think emails and petitions do any good anymore at all. Unless they must have some kind of promise or threat to back them up. No more asking Please.

Exactly ! Direct action. Everyone who has a Corporate Sell-out for a representative needs to do the same. Good for you.

damn them to hell

911=3,000 lost

EVERY YEAR 20 TO 30,000 DIE…..MURDER BY SPREADSHEET

Those who have been paying attention now realize there is every reason to believe they’ve been duped. For large swaths of the American public that rely on the corporate media for their source of information they will be told that a shit sandwich is fois gras and will swoon at the delicious aroma. An ignorant, provincial and myopic public is always ripe for being seen as dupes and chumps. The politicians bank on it.

I guess the title of Michael Moore’s next book will be “Stupid Black Men.”

Or perhaps, “Stupid Progressive Voters.”

Something is clearly not right. Got my third out of four resolutions approved — unanimously, I’ll add — and sending to the congressional delegation.

But the district I was aiming at pressing is still up in the air; they are clearly wanting maximum wiggle room for negotiation and do not want to be pinned down.

Reading between the lines, they’re willing to settle for incremental improvement. And we all know that’s a joke. There would be no Medicare today if it had been an incremental approach; there will be no expansion of a national health care alternative if we do not get this done within the next three months because Congress’ composition after 2010 cannot be assured.

I don’t know what it’s going to take to explain how party discipline works, they clearly no longer understand it, or that majorities must move when they can as an expression of the will of the people, or risk being torn apart by the same will of the people.

Believe me, I needed a couple of beers after that mess last night — and it wasn’t the party rank-and-file, for once in my handful of years as an activist in its ranks, that was the problem.

Steny today: “The public option is a priority for us, it’s our objective, and we think that in some form, a public option will be available”

Steny yesterday: “If the public option wasn’t in there, I still could support it, because I think there’s a lot in there that’s good.”

This is a yoyo.

HEADLINE:

DEMOCRATICS WIN PAYOFF MONEY RACE.
RIGHT WING DEMOCRATS BESTOW MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR BONANZA ON PROFIT HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES.

REID, PELOSI SUPPORT RIGHT WING PLAN.

Did any other plan ever really have a chance.

I’ve wasted another vote on a Democrat. There is nobody in sight worth voting for.

polish yer pitchforks NOW…SHARPEN THEM TOO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faxEtxEzP2M

Oh, yeah… it is no longer a “representative Democracy” … MSM have clearly taken that concept away long ago… but of course most people don’t know that.

I remember when I went door to door for Howard Dean… and spoke with a really wonderful 80 year old named Virginia… who was actually TRYING to be informed… said that she kept up on things cus “I read the paper and watch CNN.”

Campaign finance reform is our only hope… and we can predict how that will turn out.

Hey Jane the teabaggers are in Washington tomorrow for a rally. Would be great if someone went around on was able to get on tape how many are Birthers? Or ask them where they were when the Bush administration was spending billions in Iraq to fat cats tax cuts…where were they theb?

There’s nothing uglier on this planet than watching a bunch of progressives crying in their beer.
You guys lost pure and simple. Progressives are simply not that important in this country and thanks be to god for that.

Reidless Harry, always not there when needed. He’s a boxer only Las Vegans could love; he’s throwing the match.

you mean with ads like this:
http://brendancalling.com/2009…..has-to-go/

anything to get rid of the worm.

What’s so telling is they feel compelled to keep the term Public Option (while co-opting it), because they know it’s so popular.

And what happens when they try to enforce the mandate but people just can’t afford it? Do they start throwing the uninsured in jail?

looks like the House Progressive Caucus is demanding meeting like the one with the Blue Dogs yesterday.. apologies if someone already posted this:
http://theplumline.whorunsgov……g-meeting/

one might say the same about these whiny bitches you call teabaggers

One gets decent healthcare in jail

how the fuck is this any fucking different than if LBJ had let the Klan write the Civil Rights Act ?!?!?

wha ? x number of cross burnings would have ‘triggered’ increased voter registration in Mississippi ??

what in bloody hell

storm the Bastille already

damn them

I still say we get the teabaggers riled up about the mandates.

They’ll oppose anything coming out of the current government, but since the media loves paying attention to them, get them to do our work for us and talk about the government mandate.

The mandate isn’t going to go over with your average Jane or Joe once they get wind of it. If they really want to sell us out with a crappy bill, I say we turn our efforts to just killing the whole thing. Not out of sour grapes, but because a crappy bill really will make our horrible system even worse.

The PO really isn’t much:

http://cboblog.cbo.gov/?p=352

I think the Dem’s are clearly going the Romney regulatory path. They want a federal role and this is how they plan to get it. They could have gone with some expansion of Medicare to increase the federal program role in health care, but they obviously, clearly have not done that. Wouldn’t it be sort of an empty victory to pass the PO the CBO says it is?

The Dems plan to kick the can by establishing a federal role and come back later with more regs. I don’t think it will work in the long-run, but it’s fine. This is the path they have chosen. I just wish people would open their eyes to that. The next battle will be on expanding the federal program role via the 800 pound gorilla in the room, Medicare, which is likely why Weiner is using the PO position to lay the groundwork for a Medicare expansion.

Blue Texan’s regularly scheduled post is up: “Ralph Peters: 9/11 is Obama’s Fault”

I mean, Obama has basically endorsed Baucus. The insurance investors recognize this:

http://www.reuters.com/article…..1P20090910

I’m really not willing to make this fight about the mandates.

had to quit making phone calls this morning – a little too much fire for their tastes

Well for me the mandates WITHOUT a public option are unacceptable.

agreed.. but I’d rather put it: a bill without a public option is unacceptable.

And, what kind of PO makes the mandates ok for you? The one described by the CBO I link to above?

goodonya

we cant fail….we can rope a few dopes too

@ Sufilizard2 – Ditto!

I am extremely disappointed in our leadership. I’ve tried to stand with the Dems, and I’ve held off green party membership or independence for a long time,but this stunning lack of spine by the Democratic caucus is a rebuff to all of us who would see a progression toward a single-payer health care system.

Well, David Brooks is happy:

“Fourth, the president introduced the public option to its own exclusive Death Panel. As Max Baucus has said, the public option cannot pass the Senate. On Wednesday, the president praised it, then effectively buried it. White House officials no longer mask their exasperation with the liberal obsession on this issue.”

Which is not to say that this is effective health reform. The only risible parts of the speech came when Obama said that parts of the system work (they don’t; they’re unsustainable) and when he said he would be the last president to take on health care (we still await a president willing to take on fundamental perversities in the system).

For whatever reason, President Obama has decided not to be that president. He has decided to expand the current system, not fix it. His speech on Wednesday, and the coming legislative changes, make it much more likely he will achieve his goal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09…..GlETTRggxA

Too Bad we have to wait till the piece of crap legislation is passed in/on/or near Thanksgiving/Christmas to start trashing this entire Administration for everything from its crappy mortgage crisis legislation to its escalation of Afghanistan so that we can make this president a ONE TERM PRESIDENT! Who can we pick to the left of Obama that actually has Cojones? They also have to be charismatic. I don’t think Kucinich is our guy.

OK. This is disgusting. They’re loving this.

% change in shareprice Sept 9 to Sept 11 2:00PM

Big Insurance:
HUM +7.3%
UNH +4.2%
WLP +4.2%
AET +5.4%
HNT +6.0%
CIG +5.8%

Market:
DOW +1.0%
SP500 +1.5%

Brooks has sadly nailed it…

“For whatever reason, President Obama has decided not to be that president. He has decided to expand the current system, not fix it. “

Really unbelievable if you take a look at what he campaigned on.

“Progressives are simply not that important in this country and thanks be to god for that.”—and which god would that be? At least ‘progressives’ are real people, not some mindfuck a dis-eased brain made up.
And if ‘progressives’ weren’t that important, you’d be working much more than a 40 hour week.
Not quite sure why you keep exposing your ignorance here, but ,hey, it is a country of ‘free speech’(until SCOTUS rules it’s just,effectively, for the corporations).

The democrats stand for a return of the Republicans.

“Really unbelievable if you take a look at what he campaigned on.”

Not to me. I really didn’t have any expectations.

No problem, did not particularly want to be right.

Someone suggested when all this began we just should’ve bought insurance industry stock and been done with it. Still not there, but cynicism in this case probably did pay $$ dividends.

I’ll say it again: if the Democrats pass a bill with a MANDATE to buy insurance without the option of a cheap public alternative, those Republican governors threatening to block federal health care laws will be regarded as heroes, and the Democrats are totally finished.

Thanks Rayne. Appreciate all your hard work.

If you and I can see this, why can’t the Democrats?

I was never a big Obama fan. I thought his claim to be the candidate of change was a marketing gimmick and that he would govern in a way that reflected his slightly right-of-center views. But I didn’t think he’d just flat out ignore positions he took while campaigning and completely throw the Democratic wing of the Democratic party under the bus.

OT:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..83678.html

Bradley Schlozman Won’t Face Criminal Charges For Lying Under Oath

What do we want….justice! (no, we don’t want anything – everything is all good, especially crimes/theft/murder.

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder has decided not to bring any criminal charges against a former Bush administration official who lawmakers said lied to them in sworn testimony.

An inspector general’s report found that Bradley Schlozman, the former head of the civil rights division, misled lawmakers in sworn testimony about whether he politicized hiring decisions.

At his February confirmation hearing, Holder pledged he would review that decision to prosescute Schlozman when he took over the department and promised to strengthen and rebuild the civil rights division.

Holder’s decision was revealed in a letter sent to lawmakers on Friday.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who was one of Schlozman’s questioners at the original hearing and had urged Holder take a second look at the case, called the attorney general’s decision “very disappointing.”

“Perjury is often a close call, but in this case it wasn’t. Mr. Schlozman was way over the line,” Schumer said.

W.T.F

Last summer Barack Obama was talking and walking different.

I know there are lots of Democrats in Congress who have been trying real hard since the 2006 election to prove why they should be voted out again.

Ex-candidate now President Obama evidently is running plays from the same play book as the loser Democratic Party “leaders” in Congress are.

Calling this fraud laden handout and handover to the current American healthcare regimes “reform” is very abusive of that word. This is not reform. This is money politics,revolving door public/private sector career gaming lubrication and putting the American citizen in last place and giving the corporatists first place.

Barack Obama gave a good speech the other night. He must think he really can give such speeches and then toss many of his supporters into the ditch and still expect to win in 2012 again.

As for Pelois,Reid,Hoyer and any number of other Democrats who are part of the current Democratic Party “leadership” in Congress this seals for all time what has been plain to see since the 2007 cave ins and pee in pants shakes this bunch of sell outs and pretenders has been racking up.

I hope President Obama gets all of what he wants out of the so called reform. It sure looks like Rahm Emanuel is. Next time maybe Rahm should run for the Oval Office in first place and cut his middle man out of the sham and charade. Barack Obama should understand that elections have consequences and poor choices and screw overs do too.

I hope this mandated forced to join/pay in ploy the for profits insurers have injected into this phony reform without public option choice brings on massive blowback which causes the Democrats in Congress and the Obama WH to fully know and realize too late they have phucked themselves royally with this clever by half sell out stunt with the for profit insurers.

The lying and duplicity laden bastards.

It’s the only thing left that has a snowball’s chance to kill the damn thing – corps would go from “on board” to “no way” in a heartbeat without mandates.

It is time for the progressive caucus to remind the Speaker and the Whitehouse that, while the co-op shill provided by Wellpoint may be acceptable to Harry Reid, it in not acceptable to the progressive caucus. We are always expected to toe the line. It is time for the piper to be paid. Kill the bill.

yes. whatever their corporate masters tell them.

blue dogs, undisciplined messaging, talks of obama’s inexperience… all this is just cover to give obama what he wanted in the first place.

you really think he’s going to go back on the backroom deals he’s already cut?

lol

Yes, “tomorrow’s another day.” — Scarlett And “in the long run we’re all dead.” — J.M. Keynes

Big OFA event in Tampa tomorrow. I just RSVP’d ‘Not attending’ with the following:

I can’t, in good conscience, support a bill without a strong public option. Co-ops have never succeeded in providing competition or lowering rates. A bill with co-ops and a purchase mandate will do nothing more than deliver higher profits to the insurance companies and provide fodder to the Republican party that government can’t do anything right.
I would rather have no bill than this combination. It is a recipe for disaster. Sorry, this isn’t the kind of change I can believe in.
The big slap in the face is the quote at the top of this page from the man himself:
“I’m asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington… I’m asking you to believe in yours.”

Hoping the Millionaires for Wealth Care show up at the teabaggers rally tomorrow. Contacting them.

“Privatize Medicare” What do old people need money for anyway

“Survival of the Richest”

“thanks for protecting our proftis”

“Wealth care not Health care”

Jane,
Is it possible that you or one of your talented associates could develop a letter? Something generic that each of us could send to our Sen or Rep. Could you find a way to simply ask what their vote would cost? You know, something like, “We favor a true public option. We are prepared to donate $XX,000.00 to those who also support a true public option. Can we count on your support?”

I understand this sounds totally facetious. But I would like to be able to say that we know you’re getting $XX,000 from the insurance industry. What if we matched it? How would you vote then? Just give us a number so we’ll have a goal to shoot for.

I mean, at this point I’m perfectly willing to contribute if we only knew what it would cost to get a few swing votes.

The Congress is back in session and doing the dirty work for the Medical Industrial Complex.

mcconnell $3.3M, hatch $2.9M, baucus $2.8M, grassley $2.7M,
lieberman $2.6M, burr $2.4M, ensign $2.4M, cornyn $2.2M, kyl $2.1M,
conrad $2.1M, cantor $1.8M boehner $1.7M, coburn $1.2M, j wilson 800K
were paid by the Medical Industrial Complex to kill Health Care Reform.

Citizens for Tax Justice pointed this out. The tax legislation enacted under President George W. Bush from 2001 through 2006 will cost $2.48 trillion over the 2001-2010 period. This includes the revenue loss of $2.11 trillion that results directly from the Bush tax cuts as well as the $379 billion in additional interest payments on the national debt that we must make since the tax cuts were deficit-financed. Over the upcoming decade (2010-2019), the costs of the health care proposals approved by three committees in the U.S. House of Representatives are projected to be around $1 trillion and deficit neutral(that means they’re paid for). In 2010, when all the Bush tax cuts are finally phased in, a staggering 52.5 percent of the benefits will go to the richest 5 percent of taxpayers. The Bush tax cuts were deficit-financed, which increased the national debt and resulted in greater interest payments on that debt. They never even tried to pay for their tax-cuts. So, for the price of bush’s tax-cuts for the wealthiest 5%, we could have had Health Care for every American. Instead Americans got bupkus and cheney/bush’s republican buddies got filthy rich off of the Blood Money from No-Bid, Cost-Plus Federal Contracts.

12 Million Americans were denied Health Care Coverage by the Medical Industrial Complex because they had a Pre-Existing Medical Condition. 12K Americans lose Insurance Coverage everyday. Over 18K Americans die each day because they lack health insurance. (Source: WaPo Article 05′ by Harvard Prof. E. Warren)

Follow the Money: Link

Call Congress and demand, Single-Payer Health Care for All!

Sign Single-Payer Petition: Link

Don’t let the Medical Industrial Complex steal your Health Care from you and your family by donating huge sums of money to Crooked Politicians in order to maintain the Status Quo. Keep up the good fight.

SEMPER FI!

Thanks for this comment. I hope you will post this at other appropriate sites.

Letter to Speaker Pelosi & Leader Reid:
Dear Mr Reid, Speaker Pelosi,
I have read that you have decided to endorse the Mike Ross/Kent Conrad/WellPoint authored co-op plan thus opposing any sort of relevant public option in the Health Care Reform effort.
I must say I for one am deeply disapointed.
It would appear from your actions, your Allegiance as well as your representation lies with the money interests and not with the US citizenry. I have the understanding to grasp that the opinion as a US citizen holds very little if any sway with anyones decision process within government today, and only wish to express my disapointment as I come to this final resolution. God save the Queen!
We as a nation are truly lost.

Is this a great country or what?

Love it or leave it.