2008 Presidential Forum To Feature Questions From ThinkProgress Readers
2008 Presidential Forum To Feature Questions From ThinkProgress Readers
We’ve got some big news to announce. This Saturday, several 2008 presidential candidates — Hillary Clinton, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama, and Bill Richardson — will be attending the New Leadership on Health Care presidential forum in Las Vegas.
ThinkProgress will be covering the event live with exclusive streaming video of all the candidates.
Even better, we’ll be hosting what we think is the first-ever interactive candidate response round. As each candidate speaks, ThinkProgress readers will be able to react to their remarks and send in real-time follow-up questions. Did one candidate spark your interest? Did they say something controversial or just get their facts wrong? You’ll be able to ask the candidates follow-up questions as you watch them live. Every candidate will be asked a question from ThinkProgress readers.
So, here’s the deal: when you visit the site on Saturday morning, you’ll see two new features displayed prominently on the main page:
– A live streaming webcast of the presidential forum
– A form that allows you to submit a question to any/all of the candidates
We’ll have more details tomorrow, but we’re really excited about this event. Our health care system is in crisis. It’s the most critical domestic problem facing our country. We hope you’ll join us, and the 2008 presidential candidates, to talk about it on Saturday morning.
UPDATE: In order to watch the web stream on Saturday, you’ll need to download RealPlayer. If you don’t already have it, you can get it for free HERE.
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Nothing like putting Hillary first in the picture list and your 2 minority canidates last. Very telling on TP’s part.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:20 pmawsome
Too bad I will be playing a gig saturday, but I will check in on the results later =)
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:20 pmKnock them Repubs dead! Leave ‘em in your wakes!
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:20 pmBravo TP. This is truly thinking progress.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:21 pmGreat, does that also mean insipid questions from the Trolls?
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:21 pmLook again dumb fu*k. Hillary IS the minority in that line up.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:25 pmhey roger, you ignorant putz. didn’t they teach you anything about ‘alphabetical order’ in that madrassa you attended?
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:28 pmITMFA (but impeach Cheney first)
I think the order is alphabetical…
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:28 pmCan’t make it – can someone ask my questions for me:
1) Senator Obama — have you ever attended a madrasah?
2) Senator Clinton — are you aware if your husband ever fired U.S. Attorneys for political reasons and, if you are elected, will you make your White House Counsel and senior aide available for Congressional testimony on any advice they give you?
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:32 pmHere is a good question to all candidates…Are you an AIPAC poodle, yes or no?
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:32 pmSo there is something like what you suggested r2. It’s called alphabetical order. But you go ahead and point to nothing. It’s something you’ve gotten to be very good at.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:36 pmHey,
The moment I see TP stop supporting a Pro Iraq war canidate like Hillary, I will stop messing with them about it. It just looks horrible to me that they are trying to be anti war and pro Hillary.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:41 pm1) Senator Obama — have you ever attended a madrasah?
2) Senator Clinton — are you aware if your husband ever fired U.S. Attorneys for political reasons and, if you are elected, will you make your White House Counsel and senior aide available for Congressional testimony on any advice they give you?
Comment by Jake — March 22, 2007 @ 5:32 pm
It’s a healthcare forum.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:47 pmYAY !!!
ooooooh… think think think…
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:49 pmHere is a good question to all candidates
Do you think that PSAs in Oil are a good Idea to help rebuild Iraq and will it not tie Iraq Oil up for 25 year long term contracts where Oil companies are set to take 75% of the profits and only 25% of the profits to the Iraqi people-
DO YOU THINK THIS IS FAIR AND WOULD YOU SIGN THESE DEALS
If you consider only 12% of the worlds Oil Contracts are drilled this way and only where the Oil wells are small would it be fair to Iraq when they have very large oil fields
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:50 pmI missed that, Nat. Thanks, but some things are more important than healthcare.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:51 pmHere’s a question for them: “How easy will it be to sustain a popularity rating over 30% after following the current incompetent, corrupt administration?”
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:52 pmLook again dumb fu*k. Hillary IS the minority in that line up. Comment by Spudge_Boy
Hahahahaha! B-U-R-N !
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:52 pmHealth care has to be crisis all the time its the best vote winner
Vote us in and well fix the health care – same speach by the same parties for the last 50 years and nothing changes
Germany and France have zero waiting lists in Hospitals – demand zero waiting lists
why should Americans pay health care all their life just to be let down later on in life – demand zero waiting lists like germany and france
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:56 pmThe moment I see TP stop supporting a Pro Iraq war canidate like Hillary, I will stop messing with them about it. It just looks horrible to me that they are trying to be anti war and pro Hillary. Comment by Roger_Roger — March 22, 2007 @ 5:41 pm
You sound like a *date-rapist* – or did you already know that?
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:57 pmAnd we thought Jake was stupid!
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:58 pmAnd it turns out RR outdumbs Jakers!
I missed that, Nat. Thanks, but some things are more important than healthcare. Comment by Jake — March 22, 2007 @ 5:51 pm
Says the callous *sshole that has healthcare.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:58 pmQuestion:
“What will you do, as a Democratic President with a Democratic Congress to remove Corporate Personhood from our political system?”
The person who has a valid plan to unshackle themselves, all other elected officials and the American people from the negative consequences of bought and sold representation that favors Big Business over We The People will get my vote.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:59 pmJake already demonstrated what a vile excuse for a human being he is on the “Prayers for Mrs. Edwards” thread. I, for one, will not respond to such a despicable person as Jake.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:00 pmQuestion they can’t answer. How would you fight Islamo Fascism?
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:02 pmI’ll put you on my “Ignore List” too, Bluedog49.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:02 pmThanks, but some things are more important than healthcare.
Comment by Jake
Careful Jake – that “True God” that you pray to is watching.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:02 pmIn my opinion, the best question is “why not Medicare for everyone?” It’s got the lowest overhead of the three models we have in this country. At 3% overhead, it’s less expensive than the V.A. It provides citizens with the maximum amount of choice. Everybody wins with a single-payer system except two industries: insurance and pharmaceutical. They are currently two of the three most profitable industries in the country, so they can afford to take a few hits.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:03 pmyour missing one
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:06 pmOur trolls better get used to this Democratic line-up; they will be leading this country for a long time. Bush and the neocons had their chance and chose to leave a lasting legacy of war, death, corruption, and debt that will take the Democrats years to fix. You have to ask yourself if you think the Republicans are the right people to lead the change effort needed to fix this mess that they made.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:08 pmQuestion they can’t answer. How would you fight Islamo Fascism?
Comment by Patrick1 — March 22, 2007 @ 6:02 pm
Actually, not only CAN they answer it – but they routinely do.
You just refuse to hear their answers because they don’t contain bloody mass murders of dark-skinned people as a solution.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:09 pmFine material from Tobey Tall.
Here’s my opening shot:
The United States democratic experiment is in serious trouble. Despite the warning of Thomas Jefferson, government is now ‘of the corporations, by the corporations, for the corporations’, where ‘one person, one vote’ is now ‘one dollar, one vote’.
Would each candidate please tell us who’s pocket(s) they are in?
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:14 pmOh and please state any promises you have made to AIPAC regarding US Middle East foreign policy.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:19 pmTerry? Healthcare?
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:33 pm“What will you do, as a Democratic President with a Democratic Congress to remove Corporate Personhood from our political system?â€
Comment by unbelievable
You got it, UnB. Thats THE question. We all know the answer of that, of course: NOTHING. They represent corporations.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:35 pmOur politicians being owned by Corporate America (this includes Big Pharma and Big Insurance Premiums and Big HMOs) impacts our inability to get national healthcare in teh first place.
Until we remove this gate, all other healthcare questions are speculation and ideological theory…
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:37 pmThey represent corporations.
Comment by Juan C — March 22, 2007 @ 6:35 pm
Why I’m still hopeful that that appearance before Congress yesterday will spark Gore’s interest in running. As an independently wealthy man, he could be our best shot at addressing this.
Sad how these people have changed so much… And there’s still 10 months for them to de-evolve before the California (and/or Florida) primaries… Ugh…
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:40 pmUgh…
Comment by unbelievable
I understand.
I am foreseeing great, deep and insightful discussions about the color of the tie of the candidates or if he/she looked tired or radiant. Everything but the important stuff, which no one will talk about.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:42 pmHow would you fight Islamo Fascism?
with an encyclopedia… and a dictionary… a history book…
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:44 pmthe google…
I’m assuming that some mechanism is in place to block out any trolling so that people don’t have to spend all their time reminding the trolls what the subject is, or that that particular question has been asked and answered about 600 times, or that this isn’t the place to condemn other people to Hell.
Please?
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:50 pmI would ask them if they consider an absurd provocation to Russia install missile shield facilities in the polish border.
It would be nice that Russia reopens Bahia de Cochinos as a response to that move.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:54 pmI am foreseeing great, deep and insightful discussions about the color of the tie of the candidates or if he/she looked tired or radiant.
LOL…
Everything but the important stuff, which no one will talk about.
Comment by Juan C — March 22, 2007 @ 6:42 pm
As someone who lives an unconventional life on many levels, it’s ‘interesting’ to me how this is the norm in our culture across the board. We’re expected to be complicit and silent on the real issues, or be subjected to the mob mentality’s harrassment… Think of how long the Left was crucified by the sheeple majority for opposing the occupation of Iraq. Even though we were right, we were fodder for their anti-patriotic insults and O’Reilly driven demogoguery…
You’re right… It’ll probably be no different in the run for 2008… Just a different issue this time around.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:54 pmnotice that all of those candidates are really empty suits compared to the one that is missing?
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:56 pmActually, I believe there are at least two Senators concerned with corporate personhood, Bernie Sanders and Russ Feingold, maybe more. There are at least 20 to 30 Democratic congresspeople concerned with the issue. All someone has to do is propose a law which says corporations can’t own other corporations. That was the law of the land until the late 1880’s. When someone objects, someone else can point out that it’s illegal for persons to own other persons. Somehow I don’t think it would be as simple as that, but it’s a good place to start.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:57 pmYou talking about Russ Fiengold?
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:01 pmAnother good place to start would be to simply expand Medicare’s coverage to all Americans. For every large corporation in the Pharma or Insurance industry that will scream, there will be two corporations from other sectors which will breath a big sigh of relief. And, you can automatically take over $1,000 off the price of every car made in America.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:02 pmI’m glad to hear a couple Senators oppose Corporate Personhood… though I’d like to see all the Presidential Candidates (or at least one – the one who gets the nod). Even though I know the problem is that in order to get there, they need the money of Big Business in the first place … And so the cycle continues…
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:04 pmPersonally, I’d like to see a guy like Bernie Sanders calling the shots, but that’s not going to happen. I’ll settle for candidates who honestly listen to an approve of many of the things Sanders says.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:04 pmOne great way to break the cycle would be to publically fund all federal elections.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:05 pmHillary on healthcare? LOL!
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:07 pmLook again dumb fu*k. Hillary IS the minority in that line up.
Comment by Spudge_Boy
Bravo, Spudge. :D
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:08 pmBlue – the Turtle is a foreigner. As such I prefer to focus on issues that radicalized the Turtle to begin with. American domestic politics were ‘mostly harmless’ – like watching clowns get out of a car at the circus. Them a chimp got out, a sociopathic, ignorant dry drunk, with the attitude of a spoilt bully on a born-again Crusade ( Crusade meaning heavily armed religious fanatics showing up by surprise and knifing your kids, raping your wife and burning your granny). Turtle sees health care as domestic American politics – I get wound up about different stuff.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:08 pmI’m all for publically funding the elections. In the long run, it would cost We The People less – both financially and emotionally…
I still think it will take an independently wealthy person who doesn’t have to make deals with the devil to be able to confront it… I just don’t know if that kind of person could survive the candidacy process…
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:11 pmBlue – the Turtle is a foreigner.
Comment by TerrytheTurtle — March 22, 2007 @ 7:08 pm
Oddly, I’ve always pictured you as this skinny white guy with a bowl cut and Andy Warhol spectacles (there’s a turtle character somewhere that fits that description, sans the white skin :)
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:15 pmOh christ – the cat alarm is going off… incessantly now…
Have to go open a can of California Chicken Supreme and hope it’s not on the next recall list as well…
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:17 pmNat:
Aren’t you supposed to tell everyone “Healthcare Questions ONLY!!”?
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:19 pmTerry, I hear you. Consider though that ours is a culture overcome by fear. We’re a fear-based society. Part of the fear we live with as Americans is the fear of being bankrupted by a medical emergency and the fear of not being able to afford medical care we need. A single-payer healthcare plan would go a long way towards making our society less fear-based.
And, Bill Miller, I’m sorry, but I don’t recognize “LOL” as a cogent argument. And, I do know this: if Hillary Clinton had had her way back in 1994, every American would be covered right now.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:19 pmUB – my eyesight is 20-20, no other comments lest I spoil your picture of me. The Turtle checks out shortly to get the last flight home from Houston.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:21 pmSure Blue I see the point – I was lucky to grow up in a state education/ health care system – it just doesn’t scratch my shell as we say.
Jake – your a fascist bastard – please add me to your list.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:25 pm#1
They’re in alphabetical order, man.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:28 pmsomething tells me that campaigns won’t REALLY be needing all the millions of dollars they claim much longer…
i’m 110% for PUBLIC CAMPAIGN FINACING, but this guy made a very important point recently:
I Made the “Vote Different” Ad
Hi. I’m Phil. I did it. And I’m proud of it.
I made the “Vote Different” ad because I wanted to express my feelings about the Democratic primary, and because I wanted to show that an individual citizen can affect the process. There are thousands of other people who could have made this ad, and I guarantee that more ads like it–by people of all political persuasions–will follow.
This shows that the future of American politics rests in the hands of ordinary citizens.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:30 pm[...]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phil-de-vellis-aka-parkridge/i-made-the-vote-differen_b_43989.html
Heres a question.If you cut and run from a FNC debate how can america expect you won’t cut and run from terrorist??
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:47 pmPhil – Fox news isn’t a debate – its a GOP propaganda channel…why have you ‘cut and run’ from being honest?
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:52 pmPhil, if you watch FOX, you probably don’t know this, but Rupert Murdoch admitted to a British interviewer just a few months ago that he started FOX news to “push the republican agenda.” This statement not only confirms our suspicions about FOX but makes any discussion of having a fair forum for Democratic debates on FOX a moot point. How about this: Air America could host a debate of Republican candidates. Do you think any of them will show up?
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:58 pmWell phil Here’s a question for you. If you say something as absurd as you just did, why would you not think everybody on this site thinks you are a completely retarded fu*kwad that needs to be drowned in a scum filled toilet?
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:32 pmHeres a question.If you cut and run from a FNC debate how can america expect you won’t cut and run from terrorist??
Comment by phil
Well considering we all have waited for 6 years for the republicans to stop going after the Iraqis and go after the terrorists we either got to give the Democrats a chance or else no one is going to do it.
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:55 pmEXCELLENT IDEA!!!!! MORE POWER TO YA ALL!!!!!
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:28 pmRemember, England taxes their middle class at just under 50%.
C’mon, Democrats! We’ve got some catching up to do! Promise to double the tax rate on the middle class!
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:58 amRemember, England taxes their middle class at just under 50%.
C’mon, Democrats! We’ve got some catching up to do! Promise to double the tax rate on the middle class! Comment by muckdog — March 23, 2007 @ 12:58 am
Yet Britain has higher GDP growth, universal health care, and Kyoto Global warming protocols. That pretty much destroys every Anti-Tax Rhetoric Spewing Rightwing talking point you *ssholes throw out.
Thanks for proving you idiots don’t know sh*t about economics, or the impact of taxes. Moron!
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:05 amRemember, England taxes their middle class at just under 50%.
Comment by muckdog
And one in three brits derive their income from the government. A vicious cycle, indeed.
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:09 amSorry. It had to be done.
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:17 amI love the idea of having a debate on this issue. And I would love to watch it live. But the problem is you say Saturday morning, but you never say what time Saturday morning. Please send out some kind of update letting us know what time to tune in and not just an added comment here. I can’t check this area as often as I would like.
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:23 amIt’s imperative that the discussion include their stance on supporting professional nursing, which is facing an ever rising critical shortage and is insufficiently funded via the Nurse Reinvestment Act.
How will each of the candidates address providing nursing with legislated professional autonomy to guarantee safe and appropriate patient care so that another “Walter Reed” situation does not occur?
What plans does each have to reduce the nationwide nursing shortage?
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:25 amPlease be sure to ask candidates how they are going to create some accountability on the part of the consumers. Quit Smoking, weight loss,
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:33 am(advertising i.e. counteracting “super size me”) and other ways individuals can support their health rather than asking for surgeries and pills alone.
Some kind of accountability must accompany any universal health care plan.
How do they plan to incorporate that into their plan.
Here is a question to ask.
While I am all for Universal Heathcare and agree that allowing everyone to buy into Medicare is a viable option I have one problem that I need to know the candidate has a solution to before I can see it being implimented successfully here in the US. Many countries that have Universal Healthcare also have a shortage of doctors because of that fact that they don’t make as much money as those that can compete in the market system here in the US. Right now I can get a doctors appointment within 48 hours of when I call the office if I have an emergency. In many countries getting in to see your primary physician could take weeks if not months. How do they aim to prevent shortages in healthcare providers should we move to a universal system?
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:40 amRemember, England taxes their middle class at just under 50%.
C’mon, Democrats! We’ve got some catching up to do! Promise to double the tax rate on the middle class! Comment by muckdog — March 23, 2007 @ 12:58 am
That statement is just a tiny bit misleading because the 47.5% UK tax rate is the average tax paid per their GDP. Individually, the rate for their income tax starts around 22%, much like our “single” rate of 20%.
They also pay a national insurance tax that is charged in accordance to category or “class” but averages out to about 12%. Those two taxes total thirty-four percent. Their last major tax is called “council tax” and it translates into our “property tax”. I don’t know where any of you live, but the tax assesor here thinks I live in a mansion.
If an average American purchased a normal 80-20 Major Medical insurance policy, and if they make $50,000 per year, they would pay nearly 20% of their annual income on premiums alone (never mind the co-pays) and that policy wouldn’t cover nearly as much as the Universal Health Care the UK enjoys. So who is taxed more and getting less?
It is time that this nation, meaning we the people, invest in reality and invest in this nation’s health . I will not support any pharmaceutical/HMO pay-off that further burderns employers, unbalanced toward the rich, or just tries to put bandaids on what is clearly not working.
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:06 pmSince TP doesn’t have the first candidate even listed as a participant (in alphabetical order) I’ll direct anyone who is openminded to his website: Unite Our States.org. Not only does Senator Biden have detailed specific plans for everything from Health care to Iraq reconstruction, he is committed to integrity in his public work.
I’d like to ask the candidates, and everyone who reads this: WHY has Senator Biden been marginalized from the start? Just why is the American Media so quick to dismiss and ridicule him? What ideas does he have that threaten their status quo? Could it be that he is one of the only candidates who will truly be his own man (and therefore is not for sale?) ???
I live in NY and Senator Biden has not only been MORE responsive to my needs (than my supposed Senators Clinton and Schumer – HAH) but he has helped me to navigate the federal buracracy as I am differently abled due to RA. Of course Senator Clinton’s office could not be bothered with a silly middle class voter like me. Why should i trust that as an American I will count, as a disabled person i will not be marginalized when I do not exist as a constituent in a meaningful way right now???
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:16 pmPlease use the Government Accounting Office: GAO analysis to evaluate these proposals at
http://www.gao.gov/cghome/hccrisis/img0.html
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:30 pmI get so aggrevated when I hear this type of thing. Afterall, isn’t it the health outcomes that matter? If systems that have longer than 48 hr waiting for a doc get better health outcomes for people, then I ask DOES IT MATTER?
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:33 pm#19
I agree with your quest for zero wait in emergency rooms–that requires the corporate raiders to get out of the way of preventive and alternative care, and get off the almighty dollar kick they’re on. Quit worrying about whether you can patent one gene and thereby own a person, plant, animal, drug, bacteria, virus or whatever, and get on with actually treating the people–PREVENTIVE CARE FIRST!
I have always liked something I read once about early Chinese medicine–the doctor only gets paid while the patient is well!
Question to the candidates: “What will YOU do to promote preventive care?
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:35 pmWill you support and work for a single payer health care program for all Americans?
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:03 pmIt always amazes me that when people talk about an energy policy solution, or a solution to the Middle East’s basket of crisises, they talk about a comprehensive solution, but when it comes to health care, it’s always about how to pay for medical care – as if sickness and disease were inevitable facts of life, and we just had to decide how to cover it.
They are not, and deciding who should pay is not the main issue either.
Before you say human nature is too intractable to change, consider: in two generations, the number of Americans who smoke has declined by roughly 2/3 while the number of overweight Americans has increased by about the same amount. Leaving aside the speculation the first change somehow caused the second, it does show that mass changes in behavior are possible – in the first case for the better and in the second case for the worse, but both grand scale changes nonetheless. Furthermore, it’s no secret that the fastest rising diseases are caused by lifestyle choices (if choice is really the right word when you live in a neighborhood with nothing but fast food joints and bodegas that sell food by the sugar load, or go to a school where lunch comes from a vending machine and gym has been eliminated due to budget cutbacks).
Get rid of smoking, overweight, and get more people to exercise and wear seatbelts and you could pretty much eliminate the health care crisis. Don’t, and there’s no amount of financial finagling that will fix it. If people are too uncomfortable with cutting people off from health care when their misbehavior lands them in the hospital, then how about the reverse: pay people who get and stay healthy. How much would the average person require annually to go the gym regularly, stop smoking (or never start), and keep a healthy BMI? $1,000/year? $5,000/year? The point is we really don’t know. Maybe it would pay to pay for health. The cost of paying for diadetes, in contrast, can run into the hundreds of thousands, take years or decades to play out, and ultimately end in misery. It’s as thinkless to treat as it is awful to have, yet their is a fairly simple solution to type II diabetes at least – watch your diet and don’t be overweight. We could also pay neighborhood gyms to set up exercise classes for the overweight who might not pay to join otherwise. Yes, I know, it smacks of the dreaded S word – Socialism – but in practical terms it costs less to keep someone healthy than to treat them after they’ve become sick. And let’s not fool ourselves into thinking they will not be treated – eventually – and then at great cost in health and wealth.
I also believe the fourth R – Recreational Fitness – needs to be stressed in school as much as the other three Rs. Too many kids are waddling between classes, slugish and inattentive, with no experience with the positive body and mind building routine of exercise and sport. Again, pay a little now or pay much more later.
All of these changes in behavior would have to be verifiable of course, and we have to resist turning America into the Nanny state, but the fact is we can’t carry people who don’t act in their own self-interests. Like everything else, people become motivated when it hits them in the pocketbook. Most experts agree we will simply be unable to pay our healthcare – e.g. Medicare – in 20 years as well as our other budget requirements, like say, National Defense, unless we act now to curb the problem. Plus we need a healthier, more vigorous population to compete in today’s global marketplace.
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:44 pmHealth care insurance is a separate issue from health care. Insurance as a business, by definition, must have a large risk pool to be successful. As many health care administration professionals have suggested, mandating everyone purchase health care insurance would solve the problem of high premiums. Premiums would go down in cost -with a larger pool of younger, healthier members. Employers should not have to shoulder the burden of providing insurance for employees; and if they choose to, I agree with the concept such compensation should be considered an employment benefit and taxed as such. Taxing these employer bought health insurance benefits and allowing health care to follow an employee regardless of employer would remove the yoke of “having to remain” with a certain employer because time-limited COBRA is too expensive. People who have worked for a set number of years believing they would have their employer (government employees also) purchased benefits forever; should face a gradual fade-out – similar to those of us facing the unfamiliar territory of medicare access pushed farther to the future. Technology has offered the average person a longer lifespan. As a whole, we must use diplomacy, giving and taking pre-conceptions of the future sponsorship and payor of health insurance. Doctors should be given fair compensation and treated fairly, they will by nature give more than they receive. Perhaps legislation could ascribe the variables of insurance to be offered. Health plans wouldn’t then have to spend so much premium money fine tuning their product’s difference. Though advancements have been made, people still get ill and expire to the same diseases. Quality of care is more important than quantity of lifespan. We all need to be responsible consumers and understanding good health choices in life and accepting the inevitability of death would let resources be allocated effectively.
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:55 pmI would like to ask the candidates, “What will you do to help provide health care coverage for mental health and addiction patients?”
Thank you.
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:07 pmTypical Democrats, always wanting to know what the government can do for them. I’m not a Republican either as they are both evil. Our government is out of control and they don’t care about you. Do you sheeple believe everything spewed your way from these candidates? There has been corruptuion in government every since the two party system took control. Until people wake up and see the bull**** things will only get worse. THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT YOU. They’ll tell you how to live and they can’t even balance a budget. LOLOLOL!!!
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:29 pmThe names are alphabetical.
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:34 pmIt would be wise for the canidates to look beyond the US for a solution to the crisis in health care. While less than perfect, the Canadian health care system, for example, is less costly and universal in coverage. Similar systems are working well in many other countries without excluding major segments of the population. Governments are dramatically superior to private corporations in distributing society’s “benefits and burdens,” fairly and equitably, including universal health care programs.
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:04 pmThe only candidates who should have credibility in this will cut out the private insurer middleman who is the major consumer of dollars in the system. The model of Medicare is the generally right one. The private insurance business is very profitable and drives the cost of medical care over the top. These conclusions are supported daily by the news. Please ignore those who want to insure that the insurers will not place their money against their candidacies by keeping them in the blood letting circle.
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:09 pmMy question for the candidates:
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:10 pmWhat do you see as the pros and cons of the US establishing a single-payer health care system (similar to Canada) as a means of controlling costs, insuring everyone, and promoting good health? Follow-up: Is this something for which you are willing to fight?
I would like to have the same health insurance plan/program that all of my elected and appointed representatives have what ever it is.
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:35 pmUm…im pretty sure Hillary IS the minority in this array of photos. But then again, if you’re having trouble discerning whether a candidate is male or female I guess you would make a comment like that.
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:58 pmda3324: “They’ll tell you how to live and they can’t even balance a budget. LOLOLOL!!!”
Wow, this guy really cracks himself up!
March 23rd, 2007 at 5:03 pmTal about universal health care.
March 23rd, 2007 at 5:04 pmJust as a random sidenote, using realplayer for something like this is not a good choice. You need to find a format and a application to play it that are Free as in Speech *and* beer. Asking people to download the extras (read: software you don’t want) laden realplayer is not cool.
Yes, they can get media player classic of VLC, both of which would handle the stream, but surely you can do better than real media?
March 23rd, 2007 at 5:24 pmBluedog,
March 23rd, 2007 at 5:44 pmThis government and the blind loyalty to it is what cracks me up. The masses do not use critical thinking; they just follow along with no understanding of anything outside of American Idol! There’s a reason our leaders don’t close the borders and stop the massive flood of ILLEGAL immigration; it allows them to control more illiterate people while the middle class gets wiped out. Why do you think all of the third world countries are in the shape they are in? It’s because there are some smart people and a whole bunch of illiterate ones. We are a young country headed in the same direction, just wait and see!
da324, to some of us, patriotism means never giving up the goal of making this a better country. Our civil government still enjoys the basic framework our Founders had in mind. The fact that it’s not working properly doesn’t mean it’s a bad system. Thomas Jefferson predicted the real problem:
“I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country. â€
March 23rd, 2007 at 6:14 pmWho, if anyone will speak up and enforce justice in the world if not the United States? Pulling out of Iraq to soon will not make the world a safer place! There is no Honor in turn and run! On the suject of terrorism, how do you reason with unreasonable people?
March 23rd, 2007 at 6:34 pmThere is no quick fix fellow Americans! The task of keeping peace in this world will never end as long as man walks on planet earth! Solve these things and there will be peace:Lust,Gluttony,Greed,
Sloth,Wrath,Envy,and Pride! All of these things are alive and well in all the world today, especially in Washington, DC!
I’d like to hear the candidates address this question: Why not Medicare for All or a similar Single Payer Health Care System that removes private insurance companies completely from the process?
March 23rd, 2007 at 8:34 pmQuestion they can’t answer. How would you fight Islamo Fascism?
Comment by Patrick1 — March 22, 2007 @ 6:02 pm
Huey Long said: “When fascism comes here, we will call it anti-fascism.”
Oh, the health care. This debate is for the birds. You either put people first, or you put corporate profits first. That’s all there is to it, and I don’t think anyone in the lineup there, except Kucinich and maybe Obama, I don’t know about him, have it in them to be honest about it. As Kucinich said before: “We’re already paying for universal health care. We just not getting it!”
March 23rd, 2007 at 9:36 pmWHERE’S RON PAUL?
March 23rd, 2007 at 10:03 pmI can’t make it, but I’d like to see an answer to this question(s):
In the past, Republicans have fought against health care reform on strictly political grounds: to politically weaken a Democratic President.
How has your experience, in government or elsewhere, prepared you to handle a similar effort to prevent broadly supported, well written health care proposals? If political opponents aim to weaken your presidency to prevent reform, what specific actions will you take to get your policies passed?
March 23rd, 2007 at 10:11 pmIt is a fact that the number of people with all types of illnesses, some quite serious, who seek alternative remedies instead of big pharma drugs and treatments, either out of choice or necessity, is constantly increasing. These people have to pay out of their own pockets whereas in places such as Europe, China and Japan, alternative medicine is incorporated into the mainstream. Isn’t it about time that such people in this country got included in any national scheme or in any other type of insurance coverage?
If a person has been diagnosed with an ailment and seeks remedies that are usually cheaper than the conventional, they should be rewarded, not penalized as they now are.
March 24th, 2007 at 12:54 amI can only say as Ind. The Dems have one hell of a field.
March 24th, 2007 at 2:27 amQuestions to candidates: Besides making affordable healthcare a centerpiece for your executive office bid, how do you intend to pay for it, implement it, and sell it to the public? Also, some of us can remember what happened to the suggestion of universal healthcare in days gone by. So, how do you suggest to break through the political obstacles and roadblocks to achieve needed healthcare reform this time around? Thank-you.
March 24th, 2007 at 3:11 amAs President, will you actively seek prosecution of any and all confederates who illegally placed George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in the White House? Would prosecution be sought for any of these people and others connected to the multitude of crimes committed against the American people, the environment and the World during the eight years previous to your inauguration? If no active prosecution is sought, do you promise not to use your office to intervene on behalf of anyone connected with these crimes, be they arrested for contempt of Congress or sentenced in a court of law and in fact, deploy US Marshalls to bring the indicted to justice?
March 24th, 2007 at 8:22 amTalk, talk, talk, we would like to see something get done for real. We are tired and bored of the same old retoric coming from Washington D. C. Why is it that the backbone(small business) of this great country of America are being left to the wolves(lobbyists, special interest groups, politicians, and ,the record profit making, large corporations)? How and when will you address(this means actually getting something accomplished) the issue of healthcare for the thousands of small businesses in this country?
March 24th, 2007 at 8:34 amBluedog,
I agree 100%, but if we don’t put people in office that uphold the principles this country was founded on, then it might as well be broken. A system is only as good as the people running it. So, check out this link and see the how the candidate you plan on voting for votes when it comes to important issues for this countries security.
http://www.betterimmigration.com/candidates/2006/prez08_gop1.html
March 24th, 2007 at 11:02 amBob Ulmer,
March 24th, 2007 at 11:11 amIf the United States was interested in the security of this nation; they would close the borders now. The only reason we are in Iraq is because of the lies this administration has told the American public. What ever happened to Osama Bin Laden? You know, that guy our government funded years ago with weapons and money. Oh, that’s right, he was the escuse to invade a country who didn’t do anything to our country. The war is for profit by corporations like the Carlyle Group that’s headed by George Bush’s pappy. You’re right about not letting terrorist run amuck, but you can’t attack countries because you suspect they house them.
What steps would you take to ensure the appropriate education of our youth with neurobiological illnesses?
March 24th, 2007 at 12:44 pmQuestion for Senator Clinton – Your husband commented in the past that he support welfare reform in order to build the road for congress to vote for national health care reform. Do you hope to follow through with your husband’s agenda? And, do you think congress will respond in the way your husband hoped?
March 24th, 2007 at 1:41 pmI do not believe it is my job to work, so that my money pays for someone elses health care. i have a family to think about. not your family, MY family. My bills are hard enough to deal with now, before hitting me up to pay for health care for someone else. If you cannot afford healthcare for your family, dont start a family! The job of the government is to protect the country. Not play in abortion, (which should be a state issue anyways), not to rebuild cities, (again state level). PROTECT the COUNTRY. Quit playing around with what should be state issues. If some state wants to institute statewide healthcare, let em. see if people leave, stay, or move to the state. The care for someone else should not be foisted upon me.
March 24th, 2007 at 2:00 pmCalifornia Senate Bill 840 was designed to provide universal health care for everybody in the state, but it was torpedoed by Governor Schwarzenegger when he accepted a considerable amount of money from the health insurance lobby for his reelection campaign (no big secret). That is a very powerful lobby. How would you prevent them from doing to the entire country what they did to California?
March 24th, 2007 at 2:05 pmI would really like to see a tremendous effort by the next administration to focus on wellness and preventative health care in this country. People in this country are bombarded by ads on TV and elsewhere for prescription drugs for all their problems (which incidently are only prescribed by doctors, not lay people, so why are the drug companies spending huge amounts of money on ads and driving up the cost of those drugs? But that’s another question.)
March 24th, 2007 at 3:38 pmI would like the creation of a program for wellness and for there to be ads out there for the American people educating them on how to stay well instead or at least the bombardment should be similar to the contrary messages
that saturate us presently. What do you think about a “Wellness Program for America” ?
Douglas G.
March 24th, 2007 at 11:03 pmWell said and very true! It’s called the 10th Amnedment to the Constitution and it starts out by saying “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved for the States respectively, or to the people”.