Ben Nelson opposes Obama’s health care plan.
Ben Nelson opposes Obama’s health care plan.
President Obama has said that he would reform the health care system by establishing a “public insurance program to compete with private insurers” that would help reduce costs and guarantee coverage. But Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), whose biggest campaign donor is the insurance industry, said he’s not interested in a public option. HuffPost reports why:
Nelson’s problem, he told CQ, is that the public plan would be too attractive and would hurt the private insurance plans. “At the end of the day, the public plan wins the game,” Nelson said. Including a public option in a health plan, he said, was a “deal breaker.”
As the Wonk Room’s Igor Volsky has written, “When considering health reform, policy makers have a choice to make: restructure the health insurance market so that it provides affordable and comprehensive health benefits to all Americans, or protect the monopoly of private insurers and continue redistributing as much income as possible to the private insurance industry.” Unfortunately, it appears Ben Nelson values the profits of insurers over affordable coverage for all.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
These idiots make me sick.
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:40 pm“These idiots make me sick.”
Well, RC, Nelson, Bayh, and Baucus don’t care if you get well or not.
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:47 pm“Nelson’s problem, he told CQ, is that the public plan would be too attractive and would hurt the private insurance plans.”
So basically we, the voters, can’t have what we want because it would work too well?
Is there a way to read this at CQ? Or is it subscriber only?
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:53 pmHi Jane! Snappy comment! :D
Anyone ever notice the geographic distribution of the majority of “Blue Dogs”?
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:54 pmI’ll have to look up which among them is up for re-election in 2010.
Hi, 5th, thanks!
When are these guys, along with the Republican senators, going to realize that they’re all receiving government-provided healthcare?
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:59 pmBen Nelson is focking idiot. Take away his toupee and send him packing…! Frigging Nebraska. A bunch of backward bigoted neo-Nazi cornponefederate scum. They wouldn’t last two seconds out there without big bad Federal Government farm subsidies. Unbelievable bunch of hayseeds and rubes. They should be ashamed of themselves!
===
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:02 amWe need more Bernie Sanders types in the Senate. Ben Nelson and ilk are pathetic Fartland throwbacks!
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:03 amSorry for the OT but, is anyone else being asked to log in repeatedly and then having problems logging in? I sure hope our pet trolls haven’t graduated to sabotaging the site.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:04 amBut maybe Obama can bring him to heel. If that jackoff wants to go GOPer let him. Traitorous Blue Dog…
====
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:05 amThese so call Democratics are no better than the far right Republicans. These Democratics SHOULD work for the people and not for the special interest who are lining there pockets so they can continue ripping off the public.
None of these Senators have to worry about Health Care. If the shoe was on the other foot, then maybe a different attitude would come to surface.
I hope and prey those Senators will be voted out during the next midterm.
The people elected them to help and not to hinder!
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:07 ampete Says:
Yeah, pete, a lot of us are having the same problems. Don’t bother trying to ‘recommend’ anyone that already has 1 ‘recommend’, you’ll get an error message. Some of us have emailed TP, but I for one haven’t heard back.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:07 ampete, Jane, I had no problem logging-in in the past half hour(?). I haven’t done any recommends yet.
PS pete–if you are here doesn’t that mean trolls are bound to follow? :D
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:11 amJane E. Schneider Says:
Some of us have emailed TP, but I for one haven’t heard back.
The TP gang needs their weekends too. I just hope it’s a glitch rather than sabotage. I really dislike vandals.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:12 amOn Behalf of Nebraskans let me apologize for this fool. A big part of the problem is this is Nebraska. You think I just won’t vote for him and then his opponent is complete waste of a zygote like Pete Ricketts and you get scared into voting for him.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:15 am5th Estate Says:
PS pete–if you are here doesn’t that mean trolls are bound to follow?
They only appear, reliably, when I say the magic words. I had a lovely day where everyone I ran across seemed to have a joke or, at least, a smile. I could easily pass the evening without the company of trolls.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:18 amCount Istvan,
I sympathize with your plight.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:19 amWhen the ‘choice’ in how much $hit do you want in your sandwich, no substitutions, the answer is; “as little as possible”.
I’ve had problems logging in too.
Trolls are jumping on the furniture. I would like an ignore feature added. Anyone else? Some threads are just pitiful. Opposing opinions is one thing, the anti-social rants and ad nauseum tautological arguments are quite another.
Brothawhatever is starting to use similes for other posters.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:20 amI feel your pain, Count Istvan. Living in Minnesota I have a pretty long list of politicians who are wacky. And some of them are wacky in a bad way.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:21 amExpel Nelson from the party. And persuade Olympia Snowe to flip. Who the hell needs that smelly old corn-fed SOB? ! Then seat Franken (as the Senate has the right to even without that GOPer Gov. of Minnesota’s okay or the courts weighing in) and move to expand the SCOTUS to 15 justices! Quit pussyfooting around with all the rightwingnutjob reactionaries and wholly owned corporate whores no matter what political party they infest. They have to be crushed and crushed utterly. Flattened! Stepped upon. Squished…squashed. Lower the boom on them, my President! They’re just a bunch of perfidious worms and vicious insects anyway !
====
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:21 ampete,
I’m relieved you have control of your mystical powers, and prefer to use them for good rather than evil. :D
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:23 amwiley,
Yes, an ignore function would be useful.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:26 amI seem to remember we had one on the Al Franken blog on AAR way back when it started.
5th Estate Says:
I’m relieved you have control of your mystical powers, and prefer to use them for good rather than evil. :D
Unfortunately, my ability to dispel doesn’t match my propensity to summon. And one can’t predict such irrational beasts as trolls at the best of times.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:28 amgreenpagan,
I’m appalled at your sentiments! (But dammit, I also appreciate them!)
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:29 amNelson’s problem, he told CQ, is that the public plan would be too attractive and would hurt the private insurance plans.
————————————————————–
Either we hurt the private insurance plans, or they will bankrupt the country. Nelson doesn’t give a dam about public opinion. Who is he representing anyhow?
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:30 ampete “Unfortunately, my ability to dispel doesn’t match my propensity to summon. ”
So what you are telling me is that you are a bit of a liability in World of Warcraft? :D
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:32 amSo Ben Nelson has just spelled it out plain as day. He does NOT WORK for the people, he works for his biggest corporate donors. Without the money he can’t get the funds to get elected and with the money he becomes a puppet.
Damn, there has to be some kind of reform in Washington to even the playing fields during elections.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:40 amThe same Corporacrats that voted against homeowner mortgage cram down in bankruptcy are suspect for health care reform.
Read the position options put out by Max Baucus and Chuck Grassley and the Healthy Americans Act by Wyden-Bennett. Reform will likely be a combination of the two.
Democrats plan on creating a complex private insurance system where individuals pay for coverage. It’s a cluster$uck.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:49 amThis is the kind of stuff that, when one is having a good day, is grounds for guarded optimism. A foundational change like we’ve experienced in the last two national elections is serving to highlight the loyalties, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses of all our legislators.
A lot of sleazy political creatures are being exposed. The most hopeful change we’ve already seen is the huge numbers of first term legislators, regardless of party, though the shift away from the radical right is encouraging too.
And, not to beat a dead horse, the implications of Specter’s switch and the imminent seating of Franken are full of potential. The best hope is that 60 votes on cloture will allow important bills to make it to a vote. I would hope that Specter, and other Democrats of longer standing, will vote to allow votes on bills they may not like while retaining the right to vote “No”.
I’m willing to accept the result of a vote and move on. However, this BS that allows legislators to block a vote is anathema to our whole system.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:49 amThis is Mutual of Omaha money talking.
It is just one more reason why we need public financing of federal elections.
End of story.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:52 amHere’s sh*tbreath Nelson’s email login page. I emailed him yesterday that I hope his face rots off after I first read he was going to obstruct healthcare reform.
http://bennelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
Scumbags like Nelson have the best medical care available on our dime and he’s gonna make sure a lot of us won’t have healthcare. Too bad his healthcare coverage doesn’t depend on what he does in these votes. I live in NC and have no problem emailing this scumbag in Nebraska in regards to my feelings. I encourage everybody to vent.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:57 amFrom the NOW!Blog article:
“Open Secrets says Nelson received $608,709 from the insurance industry in 2007-2008, making the insurance industry his biggest donor group, more than lawyers and even lobbyists.”
He last ran in 2006, and runs again in 2012. Why so much money in the “off-season”? Why indeed?
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:01 amLike I’ve been saying…better Nelson the Dem than another Mike Johanns or, worse yet, Adrian Smith (NE-3).
A sampling of Smith’s work in Congress:
Supported Right to Life act, granting fetuses 14th amendment protection. Opposed Federal Price Gouging Prevention act. Opposed Whistleblower protection. Opposes gun registration in DC. Opposes SCHIP. Opposes Mental Health Parity. Supports warrantless wiretapping. Opposes minimum wage law.
Say what you will about Nelson and the blue dogs…many of them come from states where the alternative are reactionaries like Adrian Smith
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:04 amCan Uncle Ben say Mutual of Omaha three times w/out blinking when talking about insurance. What a phony piece of self serving shit. Just another Senator from a state of no consequence to future Democratic plans, electorally speaking. Let this sob go down the drain with the other crotch hairs Baucus and Bayh.
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:10 am“These idiots make me sick.”
Well, RC, Nelson, Bayh, and Baucus don’t care if you get well or not.
Hehehe. True enough! The sad thing is she’s tells naught but the truth. I often wish FDR and LBJ had gone much further in their social programs. It seems like the repubs were much less vicious in the pre-Nixon days, but they were still as lame as ever.
On a slightly OT note… I often hear people say that Pres. Clinton had good domestic policy and poor foreign policy. I disagree. LBJ fits that description imo. Clinton was strong on both fronts.
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:43 amHi, 5th, thanks!
When are these guys, along with the Republican senators, going to realize that they’re all receiving government-provided healthcare?
I’d say they probably realize it but care too much about all the campaign donations they get from insurance companies. Like oh say…. Mutual Of Omaha? It’s based in Nelson’s state isn’t it?
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:46 amNelson’s problem, he told CQ, is that the public plan would be too attractive and would hurt the private insurance plans.
OK…. so we continue to see 18,000 to 40,000 Americans die each year, more medical bankruptcies and continued hardship on business so insurance co can make their profits.
What kind of lame crap is this?
What the hell!!!
At least Nelson admits it.
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:46 ampete Says:
Sorry for the OT but, is anyone else being asked to log in repeatedly and then having problems logging in? I sure hope our pet trolls haven’t graduated to sabotaging the site.
Same here. I have also noticed if I recommend a post it will not register if someone else has recommended the post… notice all the 1 recommended posts and none higher?
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:55 amThe sad thing is she’s telling naught but the truth about too many of them.
~fixed~
I have a bad habit of posting w/o proofreading. =(
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:57 amI’ve had problems having to log in repeatedly, losing my log-in status when going to another thread, and not being able to log in at all on some threads. Seems there are a few kinks to iron out.
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:57 amI have this serious fear that someday I’m going to screw up a post so badly that everyone’s going to think I’m suddenly flaming my fellow libs. EEP!
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:58 amRe. Login stuff.
I just hope it’s not the “ghost in the machine” the conspiracy nuts keep blathering about.
May 3rd, 2009 at 2:07 amHmm…this is a great opportunity for Specter to prove himself! I hope he votes for health care reform.
May 3rd, 2009 at 2:27 amYou know, I never understood how people got the idea into their head’s that the free market should apply to health care but the government is supposed to take care of fires and crime. I guess I just never quite saw the difference between the cars with the lights on their roofs…
May 3rd, 2009 at 2:45 amEvan Bayh 2010
Ben Nelson 2012
Max Baucus 2014
Here’s the Senate site that lists each Senator and their class.
May 3rd, 2009 at 2:48 amthe insurance folks control congress.
time to drain the swamp even the demos put money over the sick and needy.
we are a selfish society years of capitalism has warped our minds.
profits over the sick and needy and wars for profits.
very sick society and we want to take our brand of capitalism around the world.
heaven help them.
700 hundred military based around the world and we americans dont even know we are imperialists.
half the bankrupts in this country due to medical costs and we look out for the insurance company profits. selfish beyond belief.
and we call ourselves a christian country.
folks christianty died on the cross.
recent polls showing more christians favored torture than the general population. go figure.
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:31 amSesli Sohbet
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:55 amSesli Chat
Nelson’s arguement just doesn’t hold water. Here in Australia
we have universal coverage, but people still have the option of purchasing private insurance. They can then claim this payment as a tax deduction.
Does he really want to be rembered for impeding affordable health care for americans when they need it the most ?
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:59 amDallasNE Says @ 29
This is Mutual of Omaha money talking.
It is just one more reason why we need public financing of federal elections.
End of story.
This post says it all Thanks, DallasNE. It’s the “beginning” of the story though :)
I’m reading a book about public funding of the elections. Here’s the link to the book:
Moneyed Politicians
I think every TP user should read this book because it explains our angst to a “TEE.” I not promoting the book and, in fact, I got it free from my library.
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:24 amThere may be reasons for trying to preserve a “private” option to some degree in the health care system, but to keep the world’s most expensive health care system which nonetheless results in almost 30 nations being ahead of us in overall longevity makes little sense. It makes even less sense to say the government should not do this because the private system can’t do it as cheaply. Those reasons are used over and over in conservative land. During the Thatcher/Major years in the UK, they turned the rail system over to private industry. What happened? The private owner closed all the small stations that did not make enough money and postponed maintenance on lines that didn’t provide sufficient revenue. As a result, the government has taken over the rail system again, and it is costing huge amounts of money to make it work well again. Here is the focus: we need a system of health care that ensures that the swine flu does not hit us worse than other countries because of all the people in our country who can’t afford to go to a doctor. That’s the bottom line. What will help our citizens? It is not what will help the insurance companies and the doctors? Most countries don’t pay doctors the way we do so that many are millionaires.
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:29 amHere’s where Nelson get his cash from:
Greedy Nelson Link
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:31 amresearcher @ 45, I like your post.- spot on! Thanks :)
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:46 amI THANK
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:46 amSesli Sohbet
Sesli Chat
SesliSohbet
SesliChat
sesli ve görüntülü chat
sesli ve görüntülü sohbet
Chat
sohbet MaviSakaL
Let’s imagine what would happen if health care was provided to ALL Americans. The lines to get health care would be so long because many have done without for so long (deprived). I’m sure, eventually; the lines would decrease over time. But, the deniers (Rush and FAUX) would have a talking point and try to reverse the decision.
OT, did anyone watch Glenda “The Winey Mormon” becky this weekend? He was justifying the tea-bagging parties. What a laugh. The corporate whores runith amok on FAUX Noise.
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:55 amSo Nelson will deny the public a “better” health plan because it would hurt the insurance industry. Ususally being such a “tool” is the role of Republicans.
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:40 amIt’s time for the DNC and the DSCC to lay down the law: support the President’s agenda, or lose your financing. Where the hell is the Party whip? Sipping Piña Coladas?
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:52 amThese DINOs prove that Specter is not the right choice for Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary. I’ve written to Sestak, and Murphy, too, and asked them to ignore the annointing of Specter as “our” candidate by Rendell, Biden and even Obama. I only hope a genuine Dem runs next year.
PEACE
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:54 amWait a minute. Nelson is opposed to Obama’s public health plan because he thinks it will be better than the private industry insurance plans and that wouldn’t be fair to them.
Perhaps that means that the private industry plans need to be more competitive and actually provide adequate service, as opposed to finding reasons to deny claims and refuse provide services.
Of course, the fact that Nelson receives a lot of political contributions from private health industries would have nothing to do with that, would it?
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:22 amThe private health care industry has had its chance and the public is suffering because of their greed and ineptitude. If fighting crime and fires falls under the needed public services, so does health care.
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:29 amIf we really want to gain more control in the Senate, how about making the District of Columbia a state? That’s two seats right there. But we don’t need to stop there.
Wyoming had 256,000 voters in the 2008 general election. California has 14+ million. I doubt our Founding Fathers had such a population disparity in mind when the rules of the Senate were established. In this era of telecommuting, how hard would it be to establish residency in Wyoming long enough to take over their two senate seats?
After watching Tom Delay gerrymander Texas to pick up 6 house seats, I’m just saying…
PEACE
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:37 amThe health insurance industry has been unregulated for decades and it needs to be fixed big time. I remember back in the 1980’s when I was working for a life/health insurance company and the AIDS/HIV claims started coming in. I was 19 years old and I remember the Manager saying out loud, (paraphrasing) “Well, here’s another AIDS claim where we will spike the person’s monthly payment to the point they’ll have to cancel our insurance because they won’t be able to afford it!”. I was bullsh*t. When I confronted her about her lack of compassion for these patients she said, (exact words), “We’re not regulated. We can do what we want”.
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:38 amIn other words, Nelson is telling us that Obama’s plan will do as intended, but he really likes those healthcare lobbyist bribes, and he doesn’t have to worry about health insurance himself, since we give it to him as charity.
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:44 amrightwing-leftwing, thank you for the book tip I’ll be sure to check that out.
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:48 amWell, If we all do what I did, it would start to send a message to him.
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:51 amWrite! Tell him HIS healthcare plan is PUBLIC HEALTHCARE. We pay for it with our tax dollars.
http://bennelson.senate.gov/contact/
Hey moron.You were elected to represent the PEOPLE NOT the health care industry.
May 3rd, 2009 at 9:11 amI just sent him this email
You were elected to represent the welfare of the people not the health care industry.
May 3rd, 2009 at 9:19 amHealth care costs are crippling families and small business. We need a National health plan, the opinion polls clearly show the vast majority of Americans favor this approach. It is past time for our Government to return to doing what is right for the People and not the special interest groups.
It’s not a question of Nelson being a DINO– it’s the idea that he is one of the chief opponents of Obama’s policies….he is a corporate hack, much like Evan Bayh and as such is not only out of sync with the Democratic party but with the times…the corporate sector has had representation, at the expense of the middle and lower classes, for long enough. I don’t think there’s any question but that there needs to be a primary challenge to Nelson. And Evan Bayh. These guys are nothing but corporate marionettes and it’s time they went.
May 3rd, 2009 at 9:20 amThis is why healthcare reform needs to have 51 votes in the Senate to pass. It’s the only way to get it through thanks to the conservadems & republiCONS who will vote against it!
May 3rd, 2009 at 9:23 amNelson was that blatant?
May 3rd, 2009 at 9:45 am“People would like it better, and that would hurt the private insurance companies, who currently put out an awful product?”
The only way these corporations can treat people the way they do and make the obscene amounts of money they make is by coercion and collusion.
(Andrew Tobias once pointed out that is you want to see the wealth of the insurance companies, just look at the skylines of any American city: Why are the skyscrapers called the John Hancock, the Prudential, the Transamerica, the Alllstate (Sears)?)
So even if the public option isn’t free, even if you have to opt into it, we can’t have the private firms get, how you say, competition.
Even if the public option were not cheap, millions wouldd flock to it, and you know why, Mr. Nelson?
Because it would actually be insurance.
It would pay for your medical bills, and not decide after the fact that it would not.
It would cover you for conditions that you’re actually in danger of having, and not deny coverage for pre-existing conditions.
And because the bureaucrats would work for the government, there’d be a chance that ordinary people would have some power in determining policy–as opposed to the bureaucrats of private companies who are under strict orders to screw patients (and doctors, and hospitals) as much as possible.
The health insurance industry is not only killing people, it’s killing corporations. It’s preventing people from starting businesses, from switching jobs, from providing the innovation that makes an economy work. Build a better mousetrap? The world may beat a path to your door, but if your kid gets sick, you’ll lose your house and go bankrupt anyway.
Ben, if these companies are ‘hurt’, a few numbers change on a few boards. These guys will find other finanacial instruments to sell.
If, on the other hand, the clients get ‘hurt’, the clutch their chests and hemorrhage from their bowels, lose their sight and have their legs rot on their bodies.
That’s the same thing. Right.
You do realize, don’t you, that this is the exact opposite of the Republican talking point; that the public plan would be so much worse than what private industry provides it would be a disaster.
Here, Nelson is saying that the public plan is so good, it would eliminate the health insurance industry. But isn’t that exactly what we want to do: Eliminate the health insurance industry and thereby removing their profits from the cost of our health care?
From the sound of Nelson’s criticizm, it looks like President Obama has crafted the right plan for we, the people.
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:09 amNelson’s problem, he told CQ, is that the public plan would be too attractive and would hurt the private insurance plans
Forgive me if this has already been mentioned, but… isn’t this a vivid description of corporate welfare?
What ever happened to the principle of a competitive marketplace?
If the free market can do everything more efficiently than the government (as these folks claim), why the fear that the public plan will be more attractive than the private?
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:11 amladybastet @ 64
You’re welcome for the book! Funny, this guy is a business man and votes GOP but hates what has happened to the GOP and politics in general due to the private money and special interests groups’ effect on “our” elected officials. I’m almost done with it.
I became very interested in politics since the 2008 elections. This has driven me to a “crash course” in the subject. Back in 2000, my heart sunk when Dumbya won (not really a win because of Bush V Gore!) More of the same in 2004! Bushie senior screwed up the economy in the 90’s and had the Kwiat war and I saw nothing to cheer about when Bushie Jr. won. Same-o-same-o. The crime family the neocons!
TP users UNITE – Here’s a better link to the book:
Politicians – Owned and Operated by Corporate America
Here’s a link to where these political crooks get their money from. It’s NOT from us!
Link to moneyed politicians’ site – opensecrets.org
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:16 amIf the free market can do everything more efficiently than the government (as these folks claim), why the fear that the public plan will be more attractive than the private?
I think they are fighting a rearguard action. They know the only way they can compete is to lessen their profit margins, which is an apostasy that corporatists can’t countenance.
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:35 amPete, I also had to log in again yesterday, which was strange. Also, if you look at the “thmbs up” recommends – no post is getting any more than one. If you try to check one, you get a note that you are repeating yourself.
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:41 amNote to TP.
There seems to be a “bug” in the system. The “flu” maybe?
Back on topic – Ben Nelson needs to suffer a huge loss in the next election. He is more than a thorn in the side of Obama, he is hurting his constituents as well as all Americans.
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:44 amObama and his people have to find a way to show DINOs that they can’t stymie plans that will benefit all Americans because they want to please their donors.
Since there’s no Thinkfast this morning (sorry for the length, from Raw Story):
Iraq bloodshed rises as US allies defect
IRAQ is threatened by a new wave of sectarian violence as members of the “Sons of Iraq” – the Sunni Awakening militias that were paid by the US to fight Al-Qaeda – begin to rejoin the insurgency.
If the spike in violence continues, it could affect President Barack Obama’s pledge to withdraw all combat troops from Iraqi cities by the end of June. All US troops are due to leave the country by 2012.
A leading member of the Political Council of Iraqi Resistance, which represents six Sunni militant groups, said: “The resistance has now returned to the field and is intensifying its attacks against the enemy. The number of coalition forces killed is on the rise.”
The increase in attacks by such groups, combined with a spate of bombings blamed on Al-Qaeda, has had a chilling effect on the streets of Iraq. More than 370 Iraqi civilians and military – and 80 Iranian pilgrims – lost their lives in April, making it the bloodiest month since last September. On Wednesday, five car bombs exploded in a crowded market in Sadr City, Baghdad, killing 51 people and injuring 76. Three US soldiers were killed on Thursday and two more yesterday when a gunman in Iraqi army uniform opened fire near Mosul.
Richard Haass, president of the US Council on Foreign Relations, who returned from a visit to Iraq last week, said: “It is obvious there are still multiple faultlines in society. In my view, Iraq and the United States are going to have to adjust the timelines and leave a residual force of tens of thousands beyond 2011.”
The resistance council recently issued a call to disaffected Sons of Iraq to take up arms against US and Iraqi troops after the government of Nouri al-Maliki failed to integrate them into the national security forces.
Many fighters have abandoned their security posts, allowing militant groups to fill the gap. Abu Omar, the leader of an Awakening militia in northern Baghdad, said more than 50 out of 175 fighters had quit.
The Iraqi resistance representative claimed some militias had lost even more. “Up to half their members have resigned from the Awakening and rejoined the resistance,” he said.
The US had been paying nearly 100,000 Sons of Iraq to participate in its security “surge”, but handed over responsibility for their welfare to the Iraqi government last month. Their pay has since dried up. Only 5,000 members of the Awakening have been employed by the Iraqi security forces.
Ginger Cruz, America’s deputy inspector-general for Iraq reconstruction, warned that disillusioned Sunnis could join forces with Al-Qaeda as well as resistance groups.
“The Sons of Iraq provided a critical turning point for Iraq, so the question now becomes: what will the Iraqi government do with them?” Cruz said. “In fragile states, you need to take unemployed young men with access to weapons and give them something to do to ensure they don’t turn to Al-Qaeda or other groups.”
The gradual emergence of the Shi’ite Maliki as an Iraqi strongman has alienated some Sunnis and corruption is worse than ever, according to Cruz.
There is also growing Sunni anger about arrests of Awakening leaders, including Adil al-Mashhadani, from Baghdad, who warned recently: “There’s a 50-50 chance that Awakening guys who are not very loyal to Iraq or who need to support their families will join Al-Qaeda again.”
Local Sunni leaders have been quitting their posts, disillusioned with the government. Khalaf Ibrahim recently resigned as leader of Huwaija council near Kirkuk in northern Iraq.
“Our members have become targets for Al-Qaeda and the government security forces at the same time,” he said.
Haass, a critic of the Iraq war who served in the administrations of George Bush Sr and George Bush Jr, said: “Some people are hedging their bets and moving in the direction of ‘alternative loyalties’.”
Obama may now become a hostage to events, Haass fears. “This administration has so much on its plate in terms of foreign policy that the last thing it needs is an Iraq that unravels. If it has to do a bit more than it wanted, that could be a pretty good investment.”
The heavy toll of the bomb attack in Sadr City last week shocked inhabitants who had witnessed improvements in security in recent months. Aqeel Ali, a 19-year-old labourer, said: “My brother was killed in that bomb.
“I left school and started work to pay for his education. He was 10 years old and I wanted him to be an engineer. I will never forget the sight of my brother’s corpse, covered in blood and mud.”
Um Batool, a young mother whose husband died, called for the return of the Mahdi Army, a Shi’ite militia, to protect the community. “Who will feed my five daughters?” she cried.
Many Iraqis believe deteriorating security may provide a pretext for the US to prolong its stay in Iraq.
Colonel Andrew Bacevich, a military historian who lost his son in Iraq, said the rise in casualties threatened Obama’s withdrawal plans. The US military, including General Jim Jones, Obama’s national security adviser, wanted troops to leave the country “in a condition in which they can plausibly claim to have achieved success”, he said. [. . .]
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:47 amJane E. Schneider Says:
——————————————————————————–
pete Says:
Yeah, pete, a lot of us are having the same problems. Don’t bother trying to ‘recommend’ anyone that already has 1 ‘recommend’, you’ll get an error message. Some of us have emailed TP, but I for one haven’t heard back.
____________
That’s the problem I’ve been having too, and I wanted to recommend many of these as well as the Tom Ridge comments.
As far as the blue dogs, I hope we can get them out of the senate in 2010, but need to check their election status. Ben Nelson is absolutely the worst among them on this issue. And GD, if we can’t have our healthcare mimick the ‘fabulous taxpayer provided’ healthcare they receive, then we need to raise hell by calling their offices and b*tching.
As a retired Fed, I still carry my fed health insurance, but I can tell you it’s nothing even comparable to those on the Hill and quite expensive with far less coverage annually. I thought that was what Obama wanted for us all as stated during his campaign.
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:59 amBen Nelson sponsors:
“No Private Insurer Left Behind”
May 3rd, 2009 at 11:02 amWe shouldn’t and don’t expect any more from the likes of Senators Nelson and Baucus based on their track records and statements on this issue. The question seems to be: Where is the White House and Harry Reid? Where’s the party discipline? Where’s the leadership?
May 3rd, 2009 at 11:51 amBen Nelsen needs to go.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:38 pmYeah, gee, private insurance plans are so wonderful, aren’t they? I just got offered a wonderful (snark) new health benefit plan with a THREE THOUSAND DOLLAR DEDUCTIBLE PER YEAR — for which my employer would have to pay Blue Shield more than $400 per MONTH.
Ain’t that grand??
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:40 pmtko – Thank you for the link to this completely useless Senator’s email. I’ve just let him know what I think of him and the fact that he is being provided healthcare by us!!! We the people!!
I’m so ticked off at theses people who aren’t listening to us…do they think we’re really stupid? I know the answer to that from the repug side of things, but the rest of us… we can read and think for ourselves…
What maroons! Vote his A$$ out of office! There has to be a viable progressive in Nebraska…there has to be!
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:01 pmI think one potentially effective thing we can do from around the nation is to contact House Majority Whip Clyburn and Senatea Majority Whip Durbin and tell them that we want DINOs like Nelson to get the message.
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:52 pmWhat none of you seem to understand is that Obama will TEMPORARILY make the government plan cheaper and better in order to WIPE OUT the private sector. Once he’s done that then watch out. Since the government is playing with monopoly money they can do whatever they want to until their huge ponzi scheme finally comes to an end.
It will end too,…..this borrowing they’re doing under both Bush and 20 times more under Obama is going to wipe us out financially.
How many of you are even paying for your insurance? If you get it from your employer and we go to single payer everyone will pay higher taxes, there won’t be any employer funded healthcare.
Let’s not even get started on the rationing that will eventually have to take place. If you think Canada’s system is so wonderful go to http://www.freemarketcure.com and check it out.
May 3rd, 2009 at 2:58 pmIn reading your posts, I get the total impression you all pretty much want something for nothing as if you somehow think through financial magic the government can give you all “free” health care. You’re going to be paying as much if not more under the government and your coverage will be worse, not better.
This guy complaining about having a $3000 deductible, does your auto insurance pay for every oil change and new tires and every other repair and maintenance issue for your car? Does your homeowner’s insurance pay for maintenance and repair to your house? For instance, you need a new roof after 15 years, do you expect the insurance company to pay for that for you?
The entitlement mentality here is amazing.
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:03 pmWaaaa! I want free health care, and I don’t want to pay anything for it. I want free housing, I want free gas for my car too, waaaa! I want a better job Mr. Obama, this job at Mcdonald’s isn’t good enough for me, please give me a better job, waaaa!
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:09 pmThis is exactly why we must get private money out of lobbying the government. Until we start lobbying with the best idea, instead of the best interest of whoever is paying the most money, we’re going to keep running into walls on reforming anything.
May 3rd, 2009 at 4:11 pmHere is the problem Gov’t health plans would run
May 3rd, 2009 at 4:22 pmothers out of business because they have a revenue source
that does not depend on providing a service to cover costs – your tax dollars. Which provides better service a business with competition that needs your business to survive or a bureaucrat that has a job unless he kills somebody (ever try to fire a classified government employee – the paperwork alone endangers a small rainforest. Next – government healthcare will be rationed healthcare regardless of how it is packaged – Currently there are treatments that you can get if you are on private insurance , but not eligible for on Medicare/Medicaid. Why aren’t they just as entitled to the best care available as the next person. Also look at universal healthcare countries in a pinch they go to other countries for healthcare if they can swing it. If you get universal healthcare in the country – Are you going to be able to afford paying on the side for your equal healthcare for all? If you can – why don’t you donate more money to charity until you get to the point you would have to depend just on government healthcare? Scared?
Here are some suggestions –
1. People in this country would riot if mortgage interest could only be deducted if it exceeded 7 1/2% of your income.
Why should that apply to healthcare? Let it be deducted at 100%
2. Let the government define a basic healthcare package – i.e. coverage, deductable, etc. Then place a box on the standard 1040 so that people could deduct that cost without having to itemize.
3. Mandate the use of electronic medical records by a certian date.
These items would go a long way to improving the situation without the government providing direct healthcare.
I didn’t know there were three Democratic Senators left that could speak for themselves and not just parrot what Obama and the Democratic party wants. Good for them. It’s good to see a Democrat stand up for what this country is about, and not try to turn us into Europe.
May 3rd, 2009 at 4:43 pmrepublicans hate facts-Interesting when you have nothing useful to say you resort to the typical left wing name calling. You make the typical left wing arguments for nationalizing health care, but you fail to recognize that the federal government is not supposed to become involved in private industry.
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:58 pmHealth care should be driven by altruism, not by capitalism.
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:16 pmEveryone should oppose Obama’s health care plan. It is the right thing to do. I pay for my own health care. Why can’t other people? Health care is a personal responsibility, not your birth right. People need to stop being so lazy and worthless and quit expecting the government to provide all of their needs.
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:30 pmDon’t Be A Jackass Says:
Sure. Of course you must be right, everyone’s lazy and worthless, we’re all just sitting on our arses and holding our hands out, yep.
(eyes rolling)
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:41 pmDon’t Be A Jackass Says:
Everyone should oppose Obama’s health care plan. It is the right thing to do. I pay for my own health care. Why can’t other people? Health care is a personal responsibility, not your birth right. People need to stop being so lazy and worthless and quit expecting the government to provide all of their needs.
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:30 pm
With all due respect, I disagree. You are fortunate in that you are able to afford the coast of your own health care plan. I’m sure it isn’t cheap. You know, someone much wealthier than you, someone who already has billions of dollars, is probably pocketing some of the cost of that health care you pay for. Someone who probably has nothing to do with the actual health care your plan pays for, just someone who is making money every time you have to have medical treatment.
I do not believe that health care should be a for-profit industry. I’m not saying that everyone should have “free health care”, but that the cost of that care to the patient not exceed its actual costs – in other words, that no one makes a buck off someone else’s illness or injury.
I realize that jobs would be lost in the insurance industry, but I do believe that a single-payer system (the government) would lower costs, even with a for-profit health care system. I believe it imperative that the law be changed to allow the government to negotiate with drug manufacturers for lower prices. Former Rep Billy Tauzin wrote it into the law that they government specifically could not do that, right before he “retired” and became head of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Lobby (PharMa). Who’s needs was the government providing for there, yours and mine or Big PharMa’s?
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:46 pmrepublicans hate facts Says:
So is your PERSONAL SECURITY, SANITATION and TRANSPORTATION. Perhaps we should DO AWAY with the POLICE the GARBAGE the SEWAGE the WATER and the ROADS since those aren’t your BIRTH RIGHT either…
Most of those are taken care of by local and State governments. Must you type in all capitals and unnecessary punctuation? Very very obnoxious.
May 4th, 2009 at 12:50 amWhy all the name calling on this site? Someone disagrees with the general opinion here and they are made out as a moron or a Con. I work in the field and believe me the clear answer is in the middle, no sense in breaking it down here no one wants to listen anyway. “Republicans hate facts”, please share with me the breakdown of how California the launching ground of Democratic ideas is funding red states? Save your breath people the Christian right(puked a bit just typing it) disgusted me more that any liberal could do on his or her best day. No I did not vote for Bush in any of the elections so please don’t name call me I am just a 51 year old man sick of both piles of dung in Washington.
May 4th, 2009 at 5:18 amIsn’t the “Oracle of Omaha” situated in Nebraska?
Berkshire Hathaway is likewise headquartered in Nebraska?
Oh, that company does not provide health insurance?
It’s still insurance, maybe there is strength in numbers, an affinity effect. The insurance industry members protect each other even when it’s not their line of business.
That said, why does anyone really need health insurance? Should the occasional health problem really be covered, or should one insure only for really big needs, like injury or infection?
Regarding the Federal Government providing health insurance, they could do so without alarming this “Senator who gets his health coverage from the taxpayer forever and ever” by limiting enrollment to people who have been denied regular health insurance coverage five or more years ago, and limit coverage to injury and infections. Not disease, not cancer, just infections. That’s the only way to keep premiums low.
May 4th, 2009 at 7:33 amStart to ask in court if it is legal for Congress to have fancy health insurance at government expense! Especially if they deny it for everyone else. Is the Federal Government a ‘business’ that insures its employees? If not, then their health care should be deemed illegal. Fight for their health care on the ‘open market’ — many of them elderly and ill — would they ‘qualify’ for non-taxpayers supported health care?? Or wouldn’t they all have pre-existing conditions that would bar them from getting new insurance? Put it to them, please!!!
May 4th, 2009 at 10:57 ammanster647
What YOU dont understand is…well that list is endless. We already pay MORE per capita than any nation in the WORLD for healthcare and are only 37th of the list of quality healthcare. I DO pay for my healthcare first it is taken out of my check and second our contracts were negotiated for lower wage increases to PAY for the healthcare. Your predictions about what WILL happen are worthelss. Where did you get them? A magic 8ball? Your Ouiji board? Perhaps you threw the I Ching. You cant see the future. You dont know what you are talking about so you dropped by to let us all know what Rush TOLD you to think. Ya got nothin.
May 4th, 2009 at 11:30 amjust the facts
Great libraries could be filled EXCLUSIVELY with things you didnt know and even larger ones with things you DID know that just arent true. What a moron you are. YOU from the party of dittobots talking about Democrats parroting. It is hilarious.
May 4th, 2009 at 11:31 amjust the facts Says:
Typical LEFTIST namecalling? When did Rush tell you to think THAT? YOURS is the party of Rush, Annie Gangleskank, Beck, O’Reilly and you want to talk about typical lefty namecalling what a punk you are. Look up the word hypocrite in the dictionary. You will find a perfect description of YOU there
May 4th, 2009 at 11:34 amtbado
IF what you say is true why do we pay more per capita AND more as a percentage of GDP than any other country in the world and show up 37th on the comparative healthcare list. The healthcare delivery systems are interested in maximizing profits just like all businesses are and the best way for a healthcare delivery system to maximize profits is to become a healthcare denial system. There is a place of the profit motive and delivering healthcare is NOT that place.
May 4th, 2009 at 11:37 ammanster647
In reading YOUR post I see that not only are you a moron but also an Ebenezer Scrooge worshipper. I HAVE healthcare. GOOD healthcare. What I want is to assure my NEIGHBOR has healthcare. 18,000 people a year DIE in the US from lack of access to healthcare. Ebenezer Scrooge worshippers think that is all well and good as long as people are getting rich off of healthcare if that means people have to die they die for what YOU consider a good cause. MONEY.
May 4th, 2009 at 11:39 amDon’t Be A Jackass Says:
Dont be a MORON and such a selfish punk. Try for once in your life to care about someone other than yourself. Everyone should make sure that ignorant selfish self centered morons like YOU are never taken seriously again.
May 4th, 2009 at 11:42 amRP2012 Says:
——————————————————————————–
republicans hate facts Says:
So is your PERSONAL SECURITY, SANITATION and TRANSPORTATION. Perhaps we should DO AWAY with the POLICE the GARBAGE the SEWAGE the WATER and the ROADS since those aren’t your BIRTH RIGHT either…
Most of those are taken care of by local and State governments. Must you type in all capitals and unnecessary punctuation? Very very obnoxious.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
That is BUNK and its stupid. Roads are usually built with Federal money as are sewage projects they are MAINTAINED with local funds. Police get all KINDS of federal subsidies including specialized training and information from the Feds.
May 4th, 2009 at 11:46 amEven with the system “as-is”:
If I was asked to contribute 5% more from my check and that would provide EVERY American quality heath care, I’d say, “If I gave 7% what would that get us?” You see, I’m willing to do what it takes to help others aside from money.
This is why the corporation of health care should be snatched out of the greedy hands of those who put profits before customer service.
May 4th, 2009 at 12:56 pmEugeneDebs Says:
Typical LEFTIST namecalling? When did Rush tell you to think THAT? YOURS is the party of Rush, Annie Gangleskank, Beck, O’Reilly and you want to talk about typical lefty namecalling what a punk you are. Look up the word hypocrite in the dictionary. You will find a perfect description of YOU there
While you have your dictionary out, look up “Bigot”. Then look up “hypocrite”.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:02 amRead and sign these legislative petitions please and get hundreds of people to sign them and they will automatically go to Republican minority leaders Sen. McConnell and Rep. Boehner right away once you sign the petiton. One of these involves a demand for single payer health care, another for EFCA, $10 an hour minimum wage, etc.
http://tinyurl.change.org/EzKoE
http://tinyurl.change.org/upFFg
http://tinyurl.change.org/SmldU
http://tinyurl.change.org/zcCYl
http://tinyurl.change.org/DppEP
May 5th, 2009 at 4:24 pmThe political debate in modern times is not about the right-wing vs. the left-wing. Its is about right vs. wrong. You dumb ass liberals are always wrong. Do the RIGHT thing for once and VOTE REPUBLICAN!!!
May 5th, 2009 at 7:29 pmBayh and Nelson are opposing this because they come from Republican states, guys! (Even though Indiana went for Obama last year, it’s still a conservative state- I live here, so I know) Their constituents want no part of this. Bayh is up for election next year…don’t expect him to be a rubber stamp for Obama’s fight against individual freedom and innovation. Get used to it.
May 6th, 2009 at 10:47 pmNelson and Lamar Alexander (TN) should answer this:
Lamar Alexander should monitor his constituent HCA in Nashville, Tennessee.
2009-The Wall Street Journal reported that Richard Scott, “the former chief executive of HCA Inc,” had formed the non-profit organization Conservatives for Patients’ Rights as part of a “lobbying campaign to derail or modify” …
NEW COMMERCIAL! Rick Scott is at it again-
–Featuring Rick Scott & doctor in England. Guess who is in England? HCA International- HCA International
2008- Welcome to London’s leading private hospitals
Why we are London’s No. 1 private hospital group
More than 3,000 top London and UK specialists in private practice
In the USA, the story below is about the LARGEST HEALTH CARE Company in our country and the mantra of ‘private’ market driven healthcare. No shame for them.
http://WWW.USDOJ.GOV
HCA Inc. (formerly known as Columbia/HCA and HCA – The Healthcare Company)
LARGEST HEALTH CARE FRAUD CASE IN U.S. HISTORY SETTLED
Note: Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) was acquired by Columbia in 1994.
Columbia/HCA is a partnership of financier Richard Rainwater of Ft. Worth and lawyer Richard Scott. Scott was recently terminated by Darla Moore, the wife of Richard Rainwater and according to Fortune Magazine, the “Toughest Babe in the Business”.
1997 – Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. – the nation’s largest for-profit health care company
1997 Columbia just decided to sell its home health-care business.
In 1997, as part of Richard Scott’s severance package from Columbia he was paid $5.13 million and given a five year consulting contract at $950,000 per year
1997 + 5 = 2002
Lamar Alexander should concern himself with the fraud in the Bankruptcy Court in Memphis Tennessee.
In 1997, Fortune magazine ran a cover story on successful business executive Darla Moore, titled “The Toughest Babe in Business.”….She created the corporate bankruptcy finance tool, DIP, debtor in possession while at a Wall Street bank.
In 1999, the largest bankruptcy filing in Tennessee occurred with the help of DIP Finance.
The fraud in this court contributed to the largest private financial fraud case in our country’s history which began to unfold November 2002 in Columbus Ohio.
In 2002 FBI raided the offices of National Century Financial Enterprises in Dublin, Ohio. (Healthcare finance)
“This case is one of the largest corporate fraud investigations involving a privately held company headquartered in small town America,” said Assistant Director Kenneth W. Kaiser of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division.
Why the need for ‘healthcare financial service’ i.e. (NCFE) National Century Financial Enterprises?
Home health – which was struggling under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997; about 1,400 agencies closed nationwide in 1998.
Guess where Columbia Homecare was? NCFE- the largest ‘private’ financial fraud case in our country’s history.
But first, to hide it deep, in 1999 all of Columbia Homecare was placed into that bankruptcy court in Memphis in 1999 from a sale that transpired in secret six months earlier.(No one could explain the sale or the purchase)
The following was stated and confirmed in a Professional Board of Ethics Report filed against one of the lawyers in the court.
“The court room was filled with lawyers crying fraud- the judge scolded the court and forbad the ‘F’ word in her courtroom.”
Then- low and behold- guess where those companies in the Tennessee bankruptcy were found-
Yes- “…largest corporate fraud investigations involving a privately held company headquartered in small town America,” National Century Financial Enterprises.
October 2008- Former National Century Financial Enterprises CEO Convicted of Conspiracy, Fraud and Money Laundering
November 2008 – Only executive James Happ still await trial. Guess who James K Happ is?
Prior to arriving at NCFE- National Century Financial Enterprises- he was the ex-CFO of Columbia Homecare Group.
December 18, 2008 – The ONE AND ONLY acquittal; James K Hap, the ex-CFO of Columbia Homecare Group.
By Jodi Andes THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Prosecutors’ case fell short; juror says National Century fraud case produces 1st acquittal
The “not guilty” verdicts that came in federal court yesterday were not so much a vindication of the last National Century Financial Enterprises executive to stand trial, a juror said.
Instead, they were more a belief that ‘‘federal prosecutors had not done their job ‘
Mr. Alexander- you might pay attention to the fraud that is rampant in your state.
May 7th, 2009 at 3:01 pmforris Says:
These so call Democratics are no better than the far right Republicans. These Democratics SHOULD work for the people and not for the special interest who are lining there pockets so they can continue ripping off the public.
None of these Senators have to worry about Health Care. If the shoe was on the other foot, then maybe a different attitude would come to surface.
I hope and prey those Senators will be voted out during the next midterm.
The people elected them to help and not to hinder!
What about all the people who voted (and would continue to vote) against nationalized health care. What about those who don’t want to pay for that sort of thing? How do we deal with those people – do we just force them to go along? Knowing that the electorate is fairly evenly divided and swings in any given election, can we force a permanent change on millions who are strongly opposed? I mention this because I think we may need to refine the solution so that more people can accept it, and not simply say that a politician is evil because he is not on board right now. This is a VERY expensive proposition, so it needs to be done right. Forcing a quick “solution” on those otherwise unconvinced will only galvanize their resistance.
May 8th, 2009 at 8:43 pmHarleyrydyr Says:
Why all the name calling on this site? Someone disagrees with the general opinion here and they are made out as a moron or a Con. I work in the field and believe me the clear answer is in the middle, no sense in breaking it down here no one wants to listen anyway. “Republicans hate facts”, please share with me the breakdown of how California the launching ground of Democratic ideas is funding red states? Save your breath people the Christian right(puked a bit just typing it) disgusted me more that any liberal could do on his or her best day. No I did not vote for Bush in any of the elections so please don’t name call me I am just a 51 year old man sick of both piles of dung in Washington.
Well said, Harlyrydyr. Plenty of blame to go around on both sides, plenty of “intolerance” on both sides, and plenty of spouting the “party line” on both sides. Truly productive debate contains none of it. Folks, if we are going to “Think Progress”, we need to engage in productive dialogue with those with whom we disagree, not simply label them neanderthals or whatever else we come up with. While there are some classy comments on this and other sights, there is a lot more unproductive ranting. Time to really get to work.
May 8th, 2009 at 8:57 pm