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Sen. Kent Conrad has come up with a new argument against the public option. When asked by Ezra Klein, why he opposes a public option he said, he doesn’t “think a government-run plan best fits this culture.”
I would be very curious to know how Sen. Conrad came to his conclusion. Just today a new NYT/CBS News poll was released showing that 65% of Americans favor creating a Medicare-like public option open to everyone.
Government administered health insurance programs are not a foreign concept in this country. There are currently tens of millions of Americans who are currently very satisfied with the coverage they get from our country’s existing government-run plans (Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, VA system).
If Sen. Conrad meant to say that a government-run plan doesn’t best fit the Washington, DC, culture of high-paid corporate lobbyists, I would be inclined to agree with him. Out in the rest of America, where people are struggling with the crushing cost of health care, most Americans think the idea would fit our culture just fine.
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By “our” culture he must mean the culture on Capitol Hill, ’cause, as you say, it fits the culture of 65% of Americans.
I loved your approach to the Lincoln/Ross ad. By all means, Dems that represent states or districts which oppose the public option should be left alone. But representatives and senators from states and districts which support it, like Lincoln and Ross, should be shown no mercy.
In general, is it the case that those states which supported Obama are more likely to support the public option than McCain states?
I ask because right at this moment there are two Dem senators sitting on the Finance Committee who come from Obama states and who oppose the public option, Carper DE and Bill Nelson FL. If DE and FL support the public option, then it seems to me this week would be an appropriate time for a follow-up ad buy in their states similar to your Lincoln/Ross ad. What do you think?
More generally, in this regard, according to the People For the American Way, there are ten Dem senators who oppose or haven’t committed on the public option who come from Obama states. Here’s that list:
Colorado: Sens. Bennet and Udall
Connecticut: Sen. Lieberman
Delaware: Sen. Carper
Florida: Sen. Nelson
Indiana: Sen. Bayh
Minnesota: Sen. Klobuchar
New Mexico: Sen. Bingaman
Virginia: Sen. Warner
Wisconsin: Sen. Kohl
It strikes me that this would be an appropriate time to launch ad buys against them as well.
One hundred dollars from me stand ready as seed money for such an effort if there is interest in this. Thank you.
So, roads, bridges, airports, police, fire, emergency services,etc…do not fit our culture?
Klobuchar is protecting her donations from the Medical Services Industry, she won’t commit on camera or in print media but is likely to vote for it when comes down.
Bennet and Udall are apart of that “Blue Dog” front, but really as was said by Jane, where are this fiscal responsibility hawks when a “Robust” PO or better yet “Single Payer” would save HUGE sums of cash for them to spend on other “Wars” and nonsense that does nothing for the general population.
The others, to protect their fiscal street cred will likely not vote for it, but be more than HAPPY to campaign on it.
Could this be the same “corporate culture” that demands conformity and quiet acquiscence, condemning anything that might even remotely speak of liberty, creativity, and independent thought?
Slightly less than half of all healthcare expenses in this country are already paid for by the government. The American taxpayer covers 45.8 percent of all healthcare expenses of Americans, according to the latest World Health Organization statistics. Yet compared to, say, France, which pays for 79.7 percent of all healthcare expenditures of French residents, the U.S. pays 19.3 of its budget covering less than half of us, while the French government pays only 16.7 of its budget covering everyone (minus minor co-payments and those who opt for additional privately paid care). The difference, of course, is costs, which are not controlled in the U.S. and are controlled in every other rational, humane country.
http://www.who.int/whosis/whos…..Table7.pdf
I guess Conrad is stating his intention to do away with Medicare and Medicaid, the entire VA system, and his own cushy publicly funded healthcare insurance. They too, are obviously incompatible with our “culture.” If he is a man of conscience, he will retroactively refund all benefits that he has already received from that publicly funded insurance. That was also obviously incompatible with our “culture.” I am sure glad he saw the light and repented.
ohhhhhhh SO it has nothing to do with, data or facts or need or the will of the voting public… kent conrad chatted with ken burns, or dorris goodwin, or queer eye for the straight guy, and decided that the PO clashes with the nations tie, oh interesting.