Grassley: Obama Has ‘Said To Me Privately’ That He Is Willing To Drop A Robust Public Option
Grassley: Obama Has ‘Said To Me Privately’ That He Is Willing To Drop A Robust Public Option
On Bloomberg’s Political Capital this weekend, host Al Hunt asked Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) what he thought of the “tone and substance” of President Obama’s press conference this week. Like he has said before, Grassley underscored his opposition to a public health insurance option.
In a call with progressive bloggers a day before the press conference, Obama said he continues to “believe that a robust public option would be the best way to go.” In the press conference itself, Obama said a public option is necessary “to keep the insurance companies honest” and his view that by taking “some of the profit motive out,” you can get a “better deal” for consumers.
But in his interview with Hunt, Grassley claimed that Obama has told him privately that he is willing to consider “reasonable alternatives” to a robust public option:
GRASSLEY: One of the most controversial things we are facing — and one that the House does and Senator Kennedy’s committee does — is bring a government health insurance program into existence. He still spoke highly about that. And that’s not going to get bipartisan support.
And it would have been good if he had said to the entire country what he said to me privately — that he would look to alternatives for that. And we have a very good alternative by going with cooperatives because we’ve known them for 150 years in America. And allowing them to sell health insurance for more competition.
HUNT: Do you think the President could support that?
GRASSLEY: All I can tell you is — but he didn’t say this that night and he should have said it — that he’s looking for reasonable alternatives. And I think we have a reasonable bipartisan alternative in co-ops.
Watch it:
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has previously indicated a willingness to support a co-op proposal. But as former Gov. Howard Dean has said, the co-ops would be “too small to compete with the big, private insurance companies.” As Dean notes, co-ops are a solution “for the Senate problem,” but not a fix for “the American problem” of getting affordable coverage for all. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has said that “this co-op idea doesn’t come close to satisfying anyone who wants a public plan.”
Carl McDonald and James Naklicki at Oppenheimer’s Equity Research department write, “As the co-ops are currently described, we think they would be a big positive for the managed care group, but it seems to us that they would be destined to fail from the moment of creation.” Co-ops would also take decades to set up, according to experts.
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No “co-op” is big enough to bring down healthcare costs.
A “co-op” that IS that big would be a full-time operation, with hired executives, advertising budgets, and executive bonuses to pay.
We have these already. They’re called INSURANCE COMPANIES!
July 25th, 2009 at 2:35 pmThis comment is off topic, so I do apologize, but I am so infuriated with what I just saw, I have to blog about it.
Mika Brzezinski yesterday made on the most ignorant and racist statements I have heard in quite some time.
Here is the clip.
http://progressnotcongress.org/?p=2288
July 25th, 2009 at 2:38 pmWOW!! K, Grassley is either lying or trying to force Obama’s position on the public option.
These people are scum….truly scum
July 25th, 2009 at 2:38 pmrelax, it’s all parsing and nuance.
July 25th, 2009 at 2:51 pmObama HAS to say he’s willing to consider reasonable alternatives to a public option. That’s because there’s always a possibility (unlikely as it seems) that someone or some group will come up with a great idea to reform insurance and put effective pressure on insurance companies to rein in costs/bonuses & keep them honest, AND do this all without a public option. But until that magic man with a plan has that answer AND the data/numbers to back it up, Obama’s gonna push public option. I could be wrong, and Obama could be giving a wink and a nod and a “relax, I’ll smooth this out & we’ll get rich” to Grassley & his ilk but I sincerely doubt it. Just playing games with words so Obama can later say “I was willing to listen to reasonable alternatives, but there weren’t any. Just the usual give-tax-cuts to-the-wealthy-and-everything-works-out myth.” Then we do things Obama’s way.
Grassley: Obama Has ‘Said To Me Privately’ That He Is Willing To Drop A Robust Public Option
– - Privately. Whadda snark. Say Chuckie, why didn’t you just Tweet it, ya twit?
July 25th, 2009 at 2:53 pmGrassley is definetly lying. Hey, that’s what they do. If he can cause more discord by spouting bullshi*, then he will. It’s just part of their stall and delay strategy.
As for Mika, she has shown herself to be thoroughly culturally isolated and with this clip, she was clearly playing to her viewers without any knowledge whatsoever of any “statistics.”
Did her dad get as bad a rep. as she’s getting (I honestly don’t recall) because whatever brains he had didn’t filter down to his daughter.
July 25th, 2009 at 2:53 pmI’d like someone to press Obama and/or Gibbs for a direct answer. On the record. NOW. This is too important for us to go around debate rumors.
If it’s true, I am pi**ed big time.
July 25th, 2009 at 2:53 pmAnd each co-op will have it’s own CEO, COO, CFO, CIO, information system, facility, and myriad other duplications. And what will they do? Why, they’ll outsource operations to BigHealth, who then outsource lower-level jobs to China and India. All the while, each takes it’s share of “profits”.
This is just another opportunity to line the pockets of the insurance execs at the expense of the American people.
Tell me again why Howard Dean is being ignored in so obvious a fashion? Fcuk Senate confirmation, I want We the People to decide who heads up HHS!
PEACE
July 25th, 2009 at 2:56 pmThe right thing to do, before I start knocking President Obama, is to assume that Grassley is parsing words so as to attack meaningful reform from another direction. He cited the poll back home in Iowa that only 4% of Americans would blame the president if reform fails and would like to see the president’s share of the blame rise.
July 25th, 2009 at 2:59 pmCoops don’t work, simple as that.
July 25th, 2009 at 3:01 pmI find it difficult to understand why Obama is letting Grassley draw the line in the sand about the public option. Even if Grassley gets the bill watered down, Obama can expect only 2 or 3 Republicans to support the bill. Obama needs to push the Blue Dogs rather than the Republicans who won’t vote for the bill anyway. When FDR proposed Social Security during the Great Depression, the Republicans acted the same way but most of the Democrats took the bold step of voting for it. It is time for Obama and the Dems to take the same bold step on health care. There are many Senators and Representatives that strongly favor a public option and it is up to the Blue Dogs to get on board with it. Obama and the Dems need to look at a bill to come out of reconciliation rather than give the candy store away to the Republicans and Blue Dogs.
July 25th, 2009 at 3:02 pmGRASSLEY: All I can tell you is…. that he’s looking for reasonable alternatives.
How about Single Payer??? That sounds like a reasonable alternative.
July 25th, 2009 at 3:04 pmWhile the president has knocked bloviators and power-hungry folks who want to kill off reform, and I’ve said this before, I will be through with his presidency if he lets go of the public option. It would be sad so early in the game, but I’m not going to be a willing foot soldier in a crazed experiment to win the love of a vicious, bummed-out failure of a permanent minority. The deal-brokering mentality needs to stop. Bad ideas weaken good ones — let’s stop masking that as ‘bipartisanship.’
July 25th, 2009 at 3:08 pmGrassley is a minority who wants to defeat healthcare reform. Single payer is the way to go. Screw bi-partisanship. Screw healthcare for profit because it has failed.
July 25th, 2009 at 3:08 pmMcWars, of course you’re correct. When a GNOP tool claims Obama said something shared with him, and only him, the benefit of the doubt goes to the President.
It’s tough to keep remembering that when the public option appears weaker every time it’s mentioned.
PEACE
July 25th, 2009 at 3:09 pmLIAR.
July 25th, 2009 at 3:12 pmExcuse the following caps-lock rant:
THE PUBLIC PLAN IS THE COMPROMISE YOU TWITS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now back to our regularly scheduled postings…
July 25th, 2009 at 3:14 pmI am not going to be happy until the United States of America has socialized medicine.
I want socialized medicine NOW!
July 25th, 2009 at 3:25 pmThat really puts a damper on the day.
July 25th, 2009 at 3:30 pmLiberal Kelly,
What Obama and the Democrats are proposing is not socialized medicine. Socialized medicine is a wingnut talking point.
July 25th, 2009 at 3:32 pmI’m not sure what Obama might have said to Grassley in private, but I do know that Rahm Emanuel said that he would compromise the Public Option.
July 25th, 2009 at 3:33 pmIf Obama drops his support for the public option, if the HELP committee plan is bludgeoned by the finance committee, if the final bill has no government option…Obama’s lost my vote in 2012.*
Granted, he’s not the one crafting legislation and can’t be expected to reign in the Blue Dogs or the GOP. But this is shameful.
*(and, no. I wouldn’t vote GOP. Realistically, someone will challenge Obama in the primary. And, the way the administration is shaping up, it will be someone to the left. If not, all hail Jello Biafra!)
July 25th, 2009 at 3:34 pmRahm Emanuel said that he
Sorry; he being Rahm himself.
July 25th, 2009 at 3:37 pmI never second-guessed my support of Obama over Hillary, but I believe it’s safe to say that she would have been unwilling to compromise on real, tangible healthcare reform.
PEACE
July 25th, 2009 at 3:39 pmDear Mr. President, A lot of us spent many hours AND dollars to see that you would help bring about a brighter future for America and Americans. Now it seems the Republicans will do anything to destroy the promise of economic reform and betterment through nationalized health care. WILL YOU PLEASE show us the grit and courage to get it done, and show THEM they will not be permitted to stand in the way. F**k bipartisanship and F**k the republican party. We have the power, USE IT!
July 25th, 2009 at 3:42 pmEnnuiDivine says
Realistically, someone will challenge Obama in the primary.
Hillary might just get a wild hair, but she wouldn’t be any real change from Obama.
July 25th, 2009 at 3:42 pmspencers mom says:
…..but I believe it’s safe to say that she would have been unwilling to compromise on real, tangible healthcare reform.
Maybe not, but the Blue Dogs would still be a stumbling block.
July 25th, 2009 at 3:47 pmCoops are for chickens. And Republicans. And Blue dogs. And insurance companies. IF the President said this to Grassass, I would hope he was fully aware that this sort of CS (as in chickenshit) compromise will never fly.
July 25th, 2009 at 3:50 pmI oppose Obama’s health care package for the same reason Obama opposes it for his own family, and for the same reason Congress refuses to join the public health care plan.
When President Obama was asked if he would go on the new health care plan, President Obama refused to make such a pledge and confessed that if “it’s my family member, if it’s my wife, if it’s my children, if it’s my grandmother, I always want them to get the very best care.”
Gee, Mr. President, that’s why most Americans are opposed to your health care plan, too. If you don’t want it, why would we?
Then there’s the pesky issue identified by the CBO that warned us Obama’s health care plan “will run up the national debt will kill any chance of an economic recovery.”
July 25th, 2009 at 3:59 pmI think we shouldn’t make to much about what Grassley has to say. All of this is like a chess game, I make a move in one direction so you don’t see the queen attacking from the other. I’m sure Obama has said “everything is on the table”, thats the way the game is played. Obama knows that his base will settle for nothing less then a public option, its all how you play the game.
July 25th, 2009 at 3:59 pmYou should shouldn’t be so surprised. You voted for this crap. Lucy? Football?
July 25th, 2009 at 4:02 pmmarwick, What are you reading? Over 70% of the public wants a public option in the health care plan. You want to see the shit hit the fan, try passing one without a public option.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:02 pmrodeored, whats your point?
July 25th, 2009 at 4:04 pmI oppose Obama’s health care package for the same reason Obama opposes it for his own family, and for the same reason Congress refuses to join the public health care plan.
Hey idiot, Obama “health care package” is called the public insurance option.
Where did he say he wouldn’t subject his own family to the same plan? I’m not concerned – the president said he has an attending doctor in his shadow and, therefore, it would be impossible for him and his family to be subjected to the same rules. Second, while the congressional insurance system is generous, it wouldn’t have the same effect of wringing out unnecessary costs.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:07 pmmarwick, you need to get your facts right. Its not Obamas plan that the CBO was talking about, it was the House plan. Obama has not submitted a plan.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:08 pm“it’s my family member, if it’s my wife, if it’s my children, if it’s my grandmother, I always want them to get the very best care.”
This statement illuminates the OPTION in public option. Put your money in if you are confident such a system would bring you relief from unnecessary premiums that fund advertising, executive pay, PACs, etc. Pay for what pools money directly into CARE.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:12 pmTo Grassley, Bachman, Coburne…
All the repugs and the blue dogs…..
Why do you think the survival of corporate insurance companies is more important than MY financial survival!
I can’t believe this relentless solicitation for sympathy of a wealth driven industry that’s turned into the cash cow of American government. With MY money!
Do you really think socialized healthcare sounds less American than corporate government?
What percentage of my premium is spent on solciting political favor?
And paper and postage for rejection and exclusion notices?
Advertising, think tanks, lobbyist….
No wonder my premiums, with a much higher deductible, are three times what they were ten years ago. Nothing “conservative” about that!
July 25th, 2009 at 4:20 pmmarwick says:
I oppose Obama’s health care package for the same reason Obama opposes it for his own family, and for the same reason Congress refuses to join the public health care plan.
When you have no insurance, a poor health plan is better than no health plan.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:20 pmIf I were looking to find a brand name for a new product, right now, I’d make sure it didn’t start with the letter R.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:20 pm#2
kevsters says:
This comment is off topic, so I do apologize, but I am so infuriated with what I just saw, I have to blog about it.
I am still outraged over this story and it is going to be a long on.
In 2005 I was a juror for what I thought was one of the most ridiculous trials and waste of tax dollar money.
the defendant a black man, government worker,a family man with children, black belt in Karate, appeared well spoken and mild mannered and with no prier record was being charged with assult.
the witness and complaining party to the assult:
an unshaven unkempt white man who worked as a janitor. This janitor under oath and grinning to me and the other 5 jurors said he did flip off the defendant and tried to run him off the road twice.
the defendant’s story: he was given the bird twice and run off the road. He then stopped, got out of his car and approached the janitor. As the janitor appeared he was going to get out of the car and become physical, the defendant held him in place, in the drivers seat with a lock hold he knew from his black belt training. No injuries, no physical or verbal abuse just a hand inside the car holding this freak in place so he would not do something stupid.
It still blows me away thinking about the conversation in the jury room. It took 2 days to decide this case. When I expressed my opinion that black folks in general do not trust fair police action – the reason the police were not called immediately that created such a heated argument. And no one was taking my side until the very end when the chosen spokesman said “You are right. I used to pastor the black community and remember the many stories.”
Why did the spokesman wait so long to agree?
Why did the janitor grin up in my and the other jurors faces, an all white jury talking about his actions against a black man?
Why was this even a case and how much $ did the defendant have to pay to clear his name?
Four of us voted against the assault and the other 2 jurors voted for it.
Racism is alive and well folks!
July 25th, 2009 at 4:26 pmmarwick’s link – a rambling OP ED. Wingnut paradise.
Then there’s the pesky issue identified by the CBO that warned us Obama’s health care plan “will run up the national debt will kill any chance of an economic recovery.”
Can that quote be directly attributed to the CBO or is straight from the mouth of the bloviating op-ed writer. Right now, it’s looking to be the latter. He’s hiding behind small businesses small business CRUSHED by health premiums that doubled in the last decade to get us to sob for the rich.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:26 pmThe co-op plan works on a small scale — it is doomed to failure on a national level — that is the point of the repugniscum and the blue dogs — support only something that is bound to fail, then say “I told you so.”
July 25th, 2009 at 4:27 pmkevsters says: @ #2
I heard only parts of that segment yesterday and I couldn’t believe what I thought I heard, so I appreciate your linking it — I didn’t hear wrong! Bigotry is everywhere, and when anchors say things like that, it legitimizes racism.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:29 pmpags2 says:
pags2, I’m going to respectfully disagree. When one pays hundreds of dollars each month, believing that all family members will be covered in the event that medical is needed, only to find out that the specific care needed isn’t covered or carries a huge deductible, it is a crime!
At least those without health insurance know that they will be charged for any and all services. In fact, no coverage allows a patient to shop around for the best rate and even discuss discounts prior to treatment. I discovered that by calling my local hospital, I could get 60% off their standard billing charge for a mammogram if I paid at the time of service.
60% off! That should be all anyone needs to know about the inflated cost of care, and the amount a provider will discount just to avoid having to bill a 3rd party for treatment, then wait for payment.
PEACE
July 25th, 2009 at 4:31 pmThe problem is that it would over time, force everyone into the public option and run up the deficit. Per the CBO analysis. I’m not even bringing up rationing due to more people visiting the same amount of doctors and nurses It will come down to “legalized euthanasia for senior citizens” when they reach a certain age and the government system dictates that they be sent home to die rather than use rationed health care dollars.
Obama said it best, why he wouldn’t want the public option, “it’s my family member, if it’s my wife, if it’s my children, if it’s my grandmother, I always want them to get the very best care.”
Well said, Mr. President.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:35 pmYeah, sure, Obama would secretly tell this loser something he hasn’t told anyone else.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:39 pmA blogger at OpEdNews pointed out that Obama’s favorite political strategy seems to be “preemptive capitulation.” :(
Holes in History
July 25th, 2009 at 4:42 pmmarwick says:
You dont WANT in on the national system then stay out. Unfortunatly no one is offering single payer so you will still have that option. Then there is that pesky thing that WE pay the MOST for our healthcare RIGHT NOW and are 37th on the quality list so I see no reason why a national healthcare system would cost MORE. I mean it doesnt anywhere else. Then again you dont really care much about facts and reality do you?
July 25th, 2009 at 4:43 pmGrassly is a lying old fool. This looks like a blatant attempt to confuse everyone and contradict what the President said.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:44 pmmarwick says:
Yeah you shouldnt bring those things up since they are stupid rightwing wetdreams that only a complete moron would take seriously.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:44 pmmarwick, are you telling us that the health insurance company’s are so weak that they can’t compete? If that is so, they should find another line of work. Also please give a link were Obama said he wouldn’t want a public option if it was his family.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:45 pmspencers mom says:
pags2 says:
When you have no insurance, a poor health plan is better than no health plan.
pags2, I’m going to respectfully disagree. When one pays hundreds of dollars each month, believing that all family members will be covered in the event that medical is needed, only to find out that the specific care needed isn’t covered or carries a huge deductible, it is a crime!
The new law will affect the deductibles and coverage. If you have insurance there will be fewer reasons to not pay the claim. But if you have no insurance and your family does not qualify for Medicaid, then a poor health plan is better than none. With the medical credit that low and middle class families will get with the new law, it will help to purchase insurance if you don’t have any or your employer does not have one. Depending on how big the credit is, the average middle class family may benefit so that they will pay less money for insurance.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:49 pmUnited Healthcare sure isn’t weak – earning 87 billion dollars in ONE FRACKING QUARTER!
July 25th, 2009 at 4:52 pmmarwick says:
The CBO report is a working estimate. It’s just you and your wingnut op-ed, nothing else.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:52 pmhad enough says:
I hear you. When I was in high school I was chosen to be judge for a day. A black man was found with very small amounts of marijuana, about a joint worth, and cocaine well less than a gram. Also with a bit over a thousand dollars cash. He was being charged with trafficing. His parents owned a store and he said he was going to make a purchase the next day for their little convienience store. No evidence was produced he was in a place where drugs were sold or that there had been any previous suspicion he trafficed. The police called his parents at three in the morning and asked if they gave him 800 dollars to buy for their store and his mother said yes she had. That was the only part of their conversation with the parents entered into evidence. They claimed since he had several hundred dollars more than that he was going to buy weight. THAT CLAIM was the only evidence they offered this was so. He WAS back only a couple of months from Vietnam since this was 1975 and had a drug problem offered to plead guilty to possession and wanted a drug treatment program. This guy had not so much as a parking ticket on his record. I got to go into the conference with the judge, attorney and DA. The racism was unreal. They gave the guy two years. The discussion was basically that there was no way in the WORLD they could believe the defendant. No rational reason why, no evidence from the DA other than his speculation and the guy got two years.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:55 pmMarwick,
You are too stupid to use the internet. You should not reproduce.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:55 pmSen grAssly,
Are you cutting one-on-one, back room deals with the President of the United States of America behind the backs of the American people? Are you accusing the President of doing the same?
Isn’t that illegal?
July 25th, 2009 at 4:56 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
merwick, doesn’t come here to debate the issues. He comes here to throw out right wing talking points that he is unwilling to give facts or back up threw debate. Just another right wing troll spewing shit.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:59 pmYou’re trying to wrap your typical wingnut rigid reaction around the CBO report, which is, again, a working estimate. Go fetch yourself some reading comprehension.
July 25th, 2009 at 5:02 pmHey marwicky, where was your CBO whining when Bush rammed his Medicare Part D corporate giveaway through congress?
Face it, the Senate HELP bill costs $600B over a ten-year period. You wingnuts pay that much for the bloated military industrial complex in one freakin’ year.
July 25th, 2009 at 5:05 pmThe reality, which the President delicately started to address, is that as a nation we need to come to grips with end-of-life issues.
More than 70% of all Medicare dollars are spent within the last 30 days of life. Just half that could cover all of the 50+ million who currently have no coverage, and begin an incentive program for providers who improve patient health rather than just treat illness.
I’m not trying to kill anyone’s parents or grandparents, but there comes a time when medical ethics needs to address the problem of “just because we can doesn’t mean we should.” I’ve heard people liken it to the high costs of caring for severely premature babies, but I don’t find that a parallel at all. Very few babies are born at 6 months gestation, but everyone dies.
It isn’t going to be easy, but there comes a time when alleviating pain and allowing a patient to die with peace and dignity at home trumps risky surgery with less than a certain percent chance of survival.
PEACE
July 25th, 2009 at 5:05 pmmarwick says
No it doesnt you are a liar and a fool who regurgitates what you were TOLD to believe. They say INDIVIDUALS will have to enter the public system after a certain date. If you get a job with a group coverage you can enter it NOWHERE does it say private insurance will be illegal. I know the radio screechmonkeys were saying this. I just didnt think ANYONE would be stupid enough to believe it. You are a moron. Dont even try to sell this low level brainwashing to us. It is like a jedi mind trick it only works on weak minded morons like YOU
July 25th, 2009 at 5:07 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Grassley IS A LIAR.
July 25th, 2009 at 5:12 pmA thought-out, logical response, mom, that’s a good for people who disdain soundbyte talking points. The troll, however, is consulting the RNC for more soundbyte talking points. It’s Saturday and Steele is off, trying to figure out what health insurance he has.
July 25th, 2009 at 5:12 pm#62: It isn’t going to be easy, but there comes a time when alleviating pain and allowing a patient to die with peace and dignity at home trumps risky surgery with less than a certain percent chance of survival.
My neighbor was 81 and told she had 6 months to live. After talking with her doctor and her family, she had surgery to attempt to prolong her life.
That was 15 years ago, and she’s been healthy ever since. She takes daily walks around the neighborhood and has a beautiful garden. She has kids, grandkids and great-grandkids. Too many to keep track of. Very nice people. She makes the best oatmeal cookies I’ve ever had.
Would you or would Obama’s health care plan sent her home to die 15 years ago?
July 25th, 2009 at 5:19 pmSince when is the CBO a right-wing think tank spewing right-wing talking points? Nancy Pelosi appointed Elmendorf to the CBO. He’s the one who gave out the “working estimate.”
I said two things: (1) the original link you posted was an op-ed. I then asked you if this quote, “will run up the national debt will kill any chance of an economic recovery,” was attributed directly to the CBO or the op-ed writer. Page 2 of your link is unavailable, so I couldn’t read more into it. By the looks of the 1st page, however, it’s clearly a spewing opinion peace.
As to your mockery of the “working estimate” term, the CBO has released estimates before. The HELP bill was given a thumbs up. So your thinking that any estimate can be rendered final is in itself an insult to CBO’s duties. They’re aware there’s a debate going on, and if it’s not in the bill (i.e., recommendations from panel are waitining to be incorporated), they will update the outlook as they see it.
July 25th, 2009 at 5:23 pmMarwick
I read it MORON. It doesnt say what the rightwing screechmonkeys that do your thinking for you SAID it says. Go through some deprogramming or something. Even a mind as weak as yours is a terrible thing to waste by turning it over to the Limborg hivemind
July 25th, 2009 at 5:24 pmmarwick says:
No you ignorant propagandistic moron. You really are nothing but a walking talking point. If she needs surgery she gets it. No matter how old she gets. The extra month on an iron lung to GET one more month where you cant even regain conciousness we need to talk about that is what Spencers mom was talking about my GOD you are stupid
July 25th, 2009 at 5:28 pmspencers mom says:
The reality, which the President delicately started to address, is that as a nation we need to come to grips with end-of-life issues.
This issue is going to bring out the right-to-lifers who will muddy the waters, e.g. Terry Schiavo.
July 25th, 2009 at 5:29 pmMarwick,
That’s an inspirational Story. Obviously, those Medical “Experts” that gave this womas 6 months to live weren’t very good Experts.
For every tale like this one, there is a story of the UNINSURED and Poor that have lost their lives, or the lives of their loved ones, because HEALTHCARE is ALREADY Rationed in this Country.
America is the RICHEST Country in the World…it Spends the MOST on Healthcare of any country.
If we didn’t have to Pay for PROFITS, made off the suffering of the sick and Injured…we could afford to insure everyone, and give this Lady her surgery.
The more of us that ARE sick, and STAY sick….the Greater the Profits of the Healthcare Industry.
July 25th, 2009 at 5:29 pmIn addition to my question about the obvious complacency the GOP had with Medicare Part D’s price tag, what outcome does the GOP hope for out of touting CBO analysis? By looking at their lack of tangible ideas and recyled talking points, the apparent motivation is to see reform killed, not work at this thing until the CBO finds it acceptable. There’s no indication they’re going to be dissapointed if health reform fails.
July 25th, 2009 at 5:29 pm#69 but did you comprehend it? Doesn’t sound like it.
#70, but that’s not what you said in your intial comment. Wow, if you’re in the government commission that gets to decide which treatments get allowed or disallowed, it’ll be a complete mess!
#74 the Progressives (aka “liberal fascists”) are closer to fascism/socialism/communism or any other totalitarianism compared to the Republicans or Blue Dog Democrats. The Republicans and Blue Dogs are fiscal conservatives and believe in smaller government, lower taxes, and individual freedom. The Progressives/Fascists/Socislists/Communists believe in bigger government, central planning, higher taxes and a “collective” mentality.
Look it up.
#72 America is the RICHEST Country in the World.
Have you seen the deficit?
#73 The CBO came up with the estimates. My guess is that they’re underestimating costs, but then I’ve been around for awhile and have seen many government estimates come and go. Maybe someday, I’ll see a government estimate that comes in under budget or at least somewhere near the “working estimate.” Still waiting, though.
July 25th, 2009 at 6:32 pm#62: It isn’t going to be easy, but there comes a time when alleviating pain and allowing a patient to die with peace and dignity at home trumps risky surgery with less than a certain percent chance of survival.
My neighbor was 81 and told she had 6 months to live. After talking with her doctor and her family, she had surgery to attempt to prolong her life.
That was 15 years ago, and she’s been healthy ever since. She takes daily walks around the neighborhood and has a beautiful garden. She has kids, grandkids and great-grandkids. Too many to keep track of. Very nice people. She makes the best oatmeal cookies I’ve ever had.
Would you or would Obama’s health care plan sent her home to die 15 years ago?
I appreciate the fact that you are using this touching story as an example of how we shouldn’t trust decisions to health insurance bureaucrats who make a living by saying NO…oh wait…
July 25th, 2009 at 7:05 pmHe had better be lying his ass off as usual.
July 25th, 2009 at 7:10 pmOne of two things then…
A. He’s lying, like all conservatives do just for attention.
or
B. Obama is a lying sleaze who is betraying his base.
One way or another, I’m sick of the politics of it all. We’re not talking about money here, people. We’re talking about lives, and last time I checked, humans were worth more than any amount of money. Apparently I’m wrong about that then. Healthcare isn’t a privilege for the wealthy and wicked, it’s a right for ALL people, rich, poor, homeless alike.
“…certain inalienable rights, that among these are LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
How can people reach happiness or liberty when they can’t even cling to life itself because they’re in poor health?
It’s our people who are dying because politicians sit in their mansions doing NOTHING about healthcare, then get together in their castle (capitol building), and continue to do nothing.
I think it’s time to take away their tax-sponsored healthcare.
July 25th, 2009 at 7:13 pmWhen I read the posts that are concerned about what a new system may cost them instead of what it may save the country as a whole tells me the propaganda spin machine is working. Those same people do not think it is wrong for the less than 10% of the people who control over 90% of the wealth in this country to pay the same tax rate as they do and they do not think it is okay for healthcare for profit companies to deny coverage to those who need it most so they can make profits to pay huge bonuses to their executive. I think we have some ignorance and some hateful individuals on the right.
July 25th, 2009 at 7:16 pmMarwick says:
The Republicans and Blue Dogs are fiscal conservatives and believe in smaller government, lower taxes, and individual freedom.
except when it comes to TEH GAY MARRIAGE, a woman’s right to choose, what you do in your own bedrooms, marijuana, etc. the list goes on and on…
July 25th, 2009 at 7:38 pmangels81,
http://www.joshreads.com/images/0410/i041010peanuts.jpg
The democratic party is Lucy. You are Charlie Brown. The football is the truth, or any important issue.
The only way to save this country, this economy is to stand up against the corporate dictatorship that writes the laws. Every now and then the Democrats make some noise about standing up to lobbyists, but then they always give up at the last moment, “to try to get more votes” So what happens is real reform never even comes to a vote. That’s the way the game is played, the way the lobbyists designed it soon after the civil war.
The only way out is to really make a populist stand, even if its a minority stand. For example, Obama should be openly saying that is the insurance companies can’t do the job, maybe its better that they go out of business. That will eventually get more votes than a lot of double talk, because its the truth. Instead, he’s being diplomatic, he’s being political, he’s selling what little anti-greed anti-corporate stance he has. He’s being Lucy.
To a lot of us, it was obvious from the beginning, simply because he won’t come out and say it like its is. He did a couple times in the primary, talking about lobbyists why wrote the laws, but he sure aint talking that way now.
July 25th, 2009 at 7:43 pmThe tone of the Obama adm. has shifted about 90 degrees to the right and I believe he will accept the deal where everyone will be required to buy insurance from the private sector. We all will pay 200.00 a month for pooled catastrophic coverage and anywhere from 150-400.00 for policies from a menu of options. There will be no reigning in of costs. The wealthy and corporations will teach us all a lesson we won’t soon forget. Obama will not risk being a one-termer for healthcare or military deescalation. We are becoming Mexico faster than anyone imagined except Bush& Dicky.
July 25th, 2009 at 8:41 pm______
spencers mom says:
McWars, of course you’re correct. When a GNOP tool claims Obama said something shared with him, and only him, the benefit of the doubt goes to the President.
July 25th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
______
How about when President Obama said it publicly? TP reported a few days ago that Obama said he would consider other options but he hadn’t seen one that he thought would work.
OBAMA: I’m still working out the details of a co-op approach. I will tell you that there are some instances of co-ops being set up and just having a very difficult time getting off the ground because they don’t have the scale and the resources to be able to compete effectively. What I’ve asked my health care team to do is to look at what evidence we have that this could provide the kind of competition that drives or helps to promote insurance reform and helps to include quality and drive down cost. If I can see some some evidence that this could work, then I’d be happy to consider it. But I will tell you that, as I’ve been very clear about before, I continue to believe that a robust public option would be the best way to go.
July 25th, 2009 at 9:03 pmEugeneDebs says:
July 25th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
It is outrageous how some deny being racist and in many cases they really believe it as they do not give it much thought…. and to admit being racist would be admitting a flaw on their character. I know this kind – they are too perfect and a great example is Mika Brzezinski with her I’m sick of this attitude:
The link @
#2 by kevsters
Mika Brzezinski Needs To Clarify Her Ignorant And Racist Statement About African American Males
July 25th, 2009 at 9:36 pmTake away their insurance! NOW! Could they be any more hypocritical? Let these pigfckers get their own goddam insurance; I can’t afford any, why should I pay for them to go first-class through our health-care system?
July 25th, 2009 at 10:42 pmTo # 80…
UCSBKitty says:
Marwick says:
The Republicans and Blue Dogs are fiscal conservatives and believe in smaller government, lower taxes, and individual freedom.
except when it comes to TEH GAY MARRIAGE, a woman’s right to choose, what you do in your own bedrooms, marijuana, etc. the list goes on and on…
**************
Conservatives allow for maximum economic freedom, but minimum social freedom. Liberals are the opposite. With conservatives, it’s the freedom to open your own business and turn into Ray Kroc or Bill Gates if you succeed. It’s the self-made-millionaire thing. They have no problem with greed, corruption, and allowing money to control everything. They DO have a problem with squeamishness. No gay activity. No drugs. No abortions. No contraception. The only places these rules are allowed to be broken in our society is at the top. Politicians and famous religious leaders can have gay affairs, snort crack, get rid of unwanted progeny, etc, but they’ll yell at their constituents to, “Do as I say, not as I do.”
July 25th, 2009 at 11:51 pmYou have to wonder if Grassley is actually being honest here as I do not recall President Obama mentioning a public option one time in his speech last week.
July 25th, 2009 at 11:51 pmPresident Obama didn’t directly mention the public option but he did talk about co-ops in his press conference. Not a good sign.
July 26th, 2009 at 12:05 amMarwick at #67, what a complete and total bullshit story.
Reminds me of the pro-lifers, years ago, trotting out a little girl from rally to rally to rally all across this country. They claimed that she was the product of a partial-birth abortion, but was born alive. The doctors handed her to the nurse and told the nurse to dispose of her. The nurse, a good Christian pro-lifer, just couldn’t do it so she cleaned the baby up and, after the doctors were gone, returned to the woman and handed her her child. The mother, overcome by the Holy Spirit, realized that she’d almost killed her baby, was overcome with love and vowed to dedicate her life to her miracle child. They even showed a scar on the child’s forehead as some proof that she’d been ripped from her mother’s womb.
Only the story proved to be false. Totally made up as fodder for the anti-choice crowds.
And to answer your question, I can’t say whether or not I would have demanded that your fake 81-year-old neighbor go home to her fake house to fake die instead of allowing her to have fake surgery to save her fake life so she could fake garden, go for fake walks and enjoy her fake grandchilren. Unlike your Dr. Frist, I’m unable diagnose patients based on a one-paragraph made up story on a blog.
PEACE
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Trusting insurance companies to be the gatekeepers for our nation’s health care is BEYOND IRRESPONSIBLE; it’s NATIONAL SUICIDAL!
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the KEY question WHO should Americans TRUST to be the DECIDER for approving and or disapproving health insurance claims, for deciding WHO is and isn’t eligible to receive health care coverage and for WHO determines the quality of health care patients receive?
Should we place our personal health and or the lives of our children in the hands of Insurance Company CEOs and Boards of Directors who receive millions/billions of dollars to make as humongous a financial profit as possible……or should we rely on our federal government to manage our nation’s health care in a similar manner to how it has managed Medicare, Medicaid and the Veteran’s Administration? And before anyone starts trashing the VA, let me remind you that quality of care has always been rated high at the VA. The problem has always been a lack of funds to provide timely care in quantity, not bad doctors and nurses.
Would we prefer that insurance companies CONTINUE to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions? What are they supposed to do…just suffer and die because they’ve had the misfortune of getting sick and don’t have the money to pay $100+ for an aspirin or $10,000+ for a diagnostic test or $100,000+ for surgery or radiation/chemotherapy treatment?
Would we prefer that insurance companies CONTINUE to deny claims based on the fine print in contracts designed to deceive people into believing they’re paying for coverage they will never actually receive? Caveat emptor!
Would we prefer that insurance companies CONTINUE to increase insurance premiums at rates that are driving millions of families to drop insurance coverage because they can’t afford it, to file for bankruptcy, to force small businesses to close, to force companies and jobs out of the country and to inevitably force our nation’s economy to collapse into a recession much worse than the one we experienced in the 1930s?
Or do we trust the same federal government that we trust to have the expertise to run our military and national defense institutions, to run NASA and our top secret national defense programs? Keep in mind that Bush and Cheney are no longer the deciders.
Or do we CONTINUE to trust the elite millionaires club of big business mercenaries who have run our real-estate, banking, and stock market industries into the toilet?
July 26th, 2009 at 1:44 pmNo public option = no reform. A weak public option means continued exploitation by the health industries. Hopefully this is a Grassley ploy. I think Obama is smarter than that.
July 26th, 2009 at 7:03 pmmarwick says:
My GOD you are stupid.
#69 but did you comprehend it? Doesn’t sound like it.
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Of course I did. I am not as stupid as you. You just arent bright enough to understand…well anything.
#70, but that’s not what you said in your intial comment. Wow, if you’re in the government commission that gets to decide which treatments get allowed or disallowed, it’ll be a complete mess!
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So you are stupid, a liar, and have the reading comprehension of a gerbil. The conservative trifecta. Yes that is what SHE, not me, said in her post as I clearly explained. Sad you are too stupid to understand the clear explanation I made. Then you go back to being a walking talking point. There is no reason there would be ANY government commission for allowing and disallowing anything. In other countries with national healthcare systems Doctors dont call in to ask what they can do. Doctors make the decisions and they get paid. Those commissions exist only in that sump of stupidity you have in place of a brain. Put there by the screechmonkeys that do your thinking for you.
#74 the Progressives (aka “liberal fascists”)
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There is no such thing as a liberal fascist. A fact well known to any but the stupidest most brainwashed morons on the planet like YOU.
are closer to fascism/socialism/communism or any other totalitarianism compared to the Republicans or Blue Dog Democrats. The Republicans and Blue Dogs are fiscal conservatives and believe in smaller government, lower taxes, and individual freedom. The rogressives/Fascists/Socislists/Communists believe in bigger government, central planning, higher taxes and a “collective” mentality.
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I dont HAVE to look anything up. I am not as stupid as you. I KNOW my history and politics. YOU only know what Rush tells you to think.
#72 America is the RICHEST Country in the World.
Have you seen the deficit?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Yeah. We have debt. So does Donald Trump does that mean he isnt rich? We are still the richest country in the world. Its pretty simple.
#73 The CBO came up with the estimates. My guess is that they’re underestimating costs, but then I’ve been around for awhile and have seen many government estimates come and go. Maybe someday, I’ll see a government estimate that comes in under budget or at least somewhere near the “working estimate.” Still waiting, though.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
They came up with working estimates that they have since adjusted to new information and if we went to a single payer system it would be even MORE cost efficient.
You are stupid Marwick. A moron that spews the idiocy you were told to belive. Far too stupid to think for yourself and that isnt going to change. You were born a moron and you will die a moron and your already substandard brain isnt being done any good by Rush. Just give up even TRYING to make sense. You are too stupid to pull it off and all we get is ruruns of the Rush Limbaugh show
July 27th, 2009 at 10:54 am