thanks

Wendell Potter on Democracy Now today
http://www.democracynow.org/20…..ter_blasts

I’ve been contacted by a lot of members of Congress, senators and members of the House, and I’ve had a chance to sit down and talk with them about some of the things that I know as a former insider, someone who’s worked twenty years in the industry. Not once have I heard from anyone on Senator Baucus’s team.

—————————Hope you make it to the Mad as Hell Doctors today in D.C. at their website…can you get a word to Rachel

Thanks, Jane! Busy day for you. I just emailed the AFL-CIO (couldn’t get through on the phone). Am glad to know that Rich Trumka stood firm.

Fuckin’ A !

and thank f’ing god

Go Trumka ! Would love to have sat in on this meeting. Tiny Dancer probably is in a snit over being told a resounding NO.

oh and,

“Trumka doesn’t want to disclose what others said since it was a private meeting,”

= Yes

how’s ’bout showing some immediate progressive love ?!?!?

Mr Trumka’s twitter page

his facebook page

Trumka is sticking to what he said on triggers all along – which is that we haven’t seen any plans that would be as effective as the public option, and he told that to Rahm Emanuel today.

Would have preferred something more definitive than that, but I guess it’s better than ‘there are many ways to reach meaningful reform…’

Anyway, nice work. Thanks!

Awesome news, Jane! Thanks for identifying, publicizing, and tracking this story. The way to win is to stop the White House’s pro-PhRMA, anti-public option momentum by digging in our heels at every chance, and this is a big one. It’s like fishing: if we can stop them, then we can turn them and start reeling them back in the right direction. Good work! -Scott

You should’ve asked the last question, like so: What views did you discuss about triggers?

Outstanding work once again, Jane!

McCaskill is not too happy with the work auditors for defense contracts did during the Bush years.

Wouldn’t want her mad at me!

But it’s all Acorn all the time…

My question is: Does Trumka still stand by his position that the AFL-CIO would withhold support from Democrats that oppose (and sink) the robust public option? I wouldn’t have doubted that Trumka would tell Rahm that the AFL-CIO supports the public option. But did he also warn him that there would be a price to be paid for Democrats who might sink it? I think that’s the key issue here. When he left, was Rahm happy or worried? Because I need Rahm to be worried for me to be happy.

If people are wondering why this is important, notice that Trumka’s current stance is stronger than that of SEIU, which apparently doesn’t consider the public option essential (h/t mcjoan):

Burger acknowledged that both she and the SEIU remained open to the possibility that another mechanism could arise which met the health care reform principles demanded by the union. “We have been studying these bills looking at every single one that comes out to figure out what works and doesn’t work and what can make them stronger. And that’s what we are going to do all the way through this,” said Burger.

So SEIU is not taking the AFL-CIO position that the public option is the deal-breaker, but at the same time saying that there could be another mechanism that could do the trick of providing competition for private insurers. To date, the only mechanism forwarded has been the wholly inadequate co-ops.

This is what we’re trying to head off.

I’m taking the liberty of posting this twice in this blog because I believe it could be important.

Schumer voting no?

I just called up Schumer’s office asking whether he had decided whether or not to vote the Baucus bill out of committee. I was pretty sure I would simply be told that Schumer wouldn’t decide until the amendment process was over.

Instead, I was told that “he can’t vote for it as it is now!”

If this guy was correct, I think this is very encouraging news. It means that we are one vote away from preventing the Baucus outrage from ever being reported out. If we can get one more no vote from the Democratic side, this would mean that all Harry Reid has to take to the Senate floor next month is the Kennedy/Dodd bill from HELP, with its rich and juicy public option!

Which means that the financing for the bill would have to be offered as an amendment on the floor from — whoever (hopefully not Baucus!).

I figured this news was important enough that I should share it with the community. Obviously this is not confirmed.

This is great news! I’ll write and thank him for sticking to his guns!

You know the MaxTax bill is bad when Hatch is making sense. God…

I’ve been calling Kerry’s office since yesterday and get totally non-committal responses. He should be turnable though if he gets enough calls.

Hey Rahm: Does the word “Putz” mean anything to you?

Thanks to Mr. Trumka. And (as always) to Jane.

did rahm call trumka “fucking stupid”? also.

I guess Rahm can scream and yell and curse all he wants at politicians and they roll over for him. Not so easy with a union man, eh, Rahm?

I’m proud to be a union man
I make those meetings when I can, yeah
I pay my dues ahead of time
When the benefits come I’m last in line, yeah
I’m proud to be a union man

Neil Young

In my closet at home I have four or five T-Shirts that say

“I voted for Change on November, 4, 2008″

There’s just enough room to write at the bottom…

“…And all I got was this damn T-Shirt.”

“working families shouldn’t be taxed on their health care benefits, which often have been gotten by foregoing wage increases and other benefits.”

This argument really is pure bunk. If the laborers had gotten wage increases in lieu of health care benefits, those wages would have been taxable. There really is no principled reason for why health benefits, as opposed to all other significant forms of employer compensation, are not taxable.

I hope unions will take the long-term view and recognize that sham health care reform is not good for working people or for Democrats. No doubt Rahm is trying to buy unions off with exceptions for collective barganing agreements, but those agreements expire, and more importantly the non-union workforce is going to get really hurt if Baucuscare passes.

I thought the libertarian mantra was “a deal’s a deal.” Better go back and re-read your manual dude.

This morning’s post also included a link for us to send an email to Trumka and the AFL-CIO. I haven’t had a chance to write it yet (or to look back at that thread for suggestions about what to write).

How does this news change what I should write?

Should the letter have two parts:

One thanking Mr. Trumka for standing firm on the need for a public option and one strongly stating my hope that the entire AFL-CIO will stand with him?

This and his racism speech have turned me into a Richard Trumka fan.

Stand firm!

THANK YOU, MIKE!

With heroes like you standing firm on this, we might just carry the day.

Errr… Richard, not Mike. Where’d I get Mike from?

Why is all of the pressure from the White House being directed at public option allies like Trumka and Rockefeller?

Mayhap the SEIU is feeling GOP heat. Last night on Maddow, she stated that since their victory over ACORN/DINO’s, the next target is SEIU, because of their ties to ACORN. Since Sweeny departed mayBE SEIU should rejoin AFL/CIO.

I’m a Catholic and am not suppose to wish bad things upon people, but I really, really want these Senators Get Very Sick and Disabled for The Rest of Their Life – to the point that all the money in the world won’t save them.

They are more married to Money vs People’s Health. I want them to learn the priorities of Health vs Money.

You can have all the money in the world but without your health, you have nothing! Remember that phrase.

I say all of this because I have been disabled since my breach birth, have gone through 16 operations and wear 15 pound leg braces while getting around in my wheelchair. “A Real Joy”!!

A person in this video carries a sign – “Jesus did not refuse to heal the blind because of pre-existing conditions”.

16 Arrested at Aetna for Demanding Healthcare

mayBE SEIU should rejoin AFL/CIO???

TRUMKA FOR PRESIDENT!

I’m kinda serious.

maybe another reason WH hoped to neutralize him with the goody bag:D

we are afterall, talking about Master of the Electoral Universe Emanuel

The Baucus bill looks like it was written by the Health Insurance CEO’s. 30 million more customers made to buy their product, no choice of insurance, 30 to 40% of all private insurance claims rejected (factual numbers from California) everyone without medicare or federal employee insurance forced to buy insurance from them,higher taxes to pay them off, etc.,etc. The taxpayers have subsidized Wall Street so that they can continue to have exorbitant salaries, in spite of being commercial failures that have essentially destroyed our economy, and so that they can continue to pay off the lobbyists and Congress in order not to have to change their greed culture. Now the Senate is doing the same for the Health Care Industry. The bottom line is that the HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY is going to end up with $400-500 billion in taxpayer subsidies, have no competition, continue to be the biggest cause of bankruptcies in this country, provide no proper health care, and only seek profit so that can pay off the $1.6 million/day lobbying costs they’ve been using to defeat the PUBLIC OPTION and SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE. President Obama’s words that the latter is only “a sliver” are obviously false–if it were only a sliver, would the HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY be spending $1.6M/day do defeat PUBLIC OPTION? The people of this country, an estimated 8 million of them, have had to resort to the Free Medical Clinics. And the Baucus-blue dog concern is about a non-existent “bipartisanship”, not the people. It’s pathetic.

I have debated long about changing my party affiliation to Independent, but have decided that instead I will remain a democrat so that I and all those that it’s in my power to influence, will vote in the primary elections to get people who have sold out to corporate money out of office. My resources will not be used for the Democratic Party, but given to those individuals and organizations who support a true Jeffersonian Democracy, and are anti big money, anti big corporations, and anti privatization of that which is for the public good; i.e., to those who truly believe in a government “of the people, by the people and for the people”.

Baucus and those who voted against the Public Option have clearly sold out. They will not get my support now or in any future elections if that’s the case, and a strong public option is not included in the Senate Bill. I contributed to the recent anti-Baucus TV ad that pointed out the nearly $4 million that he received from the HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY and his lack of support for the PUBLIC OPTION. I will give my full support to the primary election opponents of all those who, like Baucus, are Corporate Shills, including:

Senator Max Baucus of Montana

Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota

Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas

Senator Thomas R. Carper of Delaware

Senator Bill Nelson of Florida

along with any other Democrats who are willing to filibuster and block the public option.

A Health Care Reform Bill without an up front Public Option, equivalent to the Congressional Health Care Plan, is no bill. The co-op, trigger
coverups aren’t worth the paper they’re written on–don’t think about it. They have the same value as Republican bipartisanship in my book—less than ZERO.

Passing the Baucus bill may cost the government less, but it’s going to fill the pockets of the Health Care Industry and bankrupt the people of this country. GET THEM OFF OUR BACK!!!!!

Please write that in and wear it. Can I buy one?

Thanks for exposing rahmbama’s games Jane. They think that the more layers of deceit that they can lay on, the harder will be for people to understand it and the more cover they’ll have hiding behind obama’s meaningless oratoricals.

Thanks for pulling back those curtains and showing that the pope of hope is nothing but a bunch of empty words.

Z

I’m hitting up Sen. Cantwell to vote against the Finance Committee bill now that it doesn’t have a public option. Anyone else who lives in WA ought to do the same. She voted the right way on the two PO amendments yesterday.

Thanks for this, Jane. I needed some good news.

Well, individual medical insurance premiums are tax-deductible, aren’t they?

On the other hand, neither is it particularly sensible that a passable standard of health care is tied to employment anyway. I frankly don’t see why the union doesn’t or couldn’t take the loss or reduction of employer-based health benefits and demand to share in the employer’s new-found profit.

Hey Jane — what happened to your “Trumka Scheduled to Meet with Rahm Today to Cut Deal on Public Option”? Your pre-emptive carping came up empty yet again. Maybe one day you’ll stop assuring us all how hopeless everything is. But probably you won’t.

Like it
Trumka for President

The labor party…since the Dems are not the labor party even though the labor unions generally support Dems.

Way overdue…the third party/

Tree huggers, bloggers and labor. It’s a go.

That article is still there. As for Jane’s pessimism, I find that the more pessimistic I’ve been about how things will go, the more accurate I am.

Thank you so much for your extremely thoughtful, not to mention helpful, contribution to the discussion.

What a GREAT idea for a fund-raiser for FDL.

Jane?

In the meantime, I’m stealing your idea and heading down to the local make-your-own-t-shirt store.

Will do.
And Cantwell knows a lot about health care; would love to hear what she **really** thinks of the Baucus bill.

Meanwhile, I can definitely say that I didn’t expect two of the toughest leaders on health care reform to be Jay Rockefeller and the head of the AFL-CIO.
Stranger than fiction.

Trumka did some good work trying to make a case against union members voting againt President Obama because of his race. I hope President Obama still remembers who worked to help him when he needed it, because they need him now.

Extract your head from your anal cavity, please.
Before Jane and her network got completely fed up with the health care kabuki, we were all being told that ‘public option was dead’.

She’s kind of like Miracle Max in the Chocolate Covered Health Care Miracles Dept: she can take something that’s ‘mostly dead’ and figure out how to breathe new life into it.

Rahm Emmanuel is Iago to Obama’s Othello.

Remember how well that turned out?

It’s interesting how the Dems seem determined to commit political suicide. How do they think they can benefit the country & their own chances in 2010 or 2012 or beyond if they enact a healthcare program that causes insurance prices to shoot up (assuming no public option), balloons the national debt, doesn’t bring down healthcare delivery costs, & possibly does harm medicare &/or medicaid?