Comments on: While Jim DeMint Vows to “Break” Obama on Health Care, South Carolinians are Going Broke Under Our System

By: MarkH

MarkH — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 05:20:03 +0000

I thought Pelosi made a good point on the surtax. I would have liked a compromise on imported drugs, enabling them from friendly countries where we could feel certain their manufacture, packaging and shipping were controlled properly. I can easily see reducing the subsidies to make the bill more deficit-neutral. Mostly, we need to be sure the bill isn’t so out there that we’re not certain of passing it. We can’t afford to fail. People’s lives depend on this.

By: stratonike

stratonike — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:05:57 +0000

When Sanford and Graham are talking about “people” they don’t actually mean “humans” or even “constituents”. They mean those individuals that attend their garden parties and 4th of July BBQ’s.

But not the ones who are there to clean or serve food. Or cut the grass.

By: Erasmus

Erasmus — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:39:00 +0000

the important pp from the TPM article:
Obama has less than three weeks before August recess. Chances are dimming that he can get some form of universal health care passed in both Houses before the clock runs out. The Democratic National Committee is running ads favoring passage in Blue Dog states and districts, but that won’t be enough. Now is the time for the President to begin twisting arms and knocking heads. To control long-term costs, he’ll also have to take away some of the goodies that have been promised to the health-industrial complex, and maybe even cross Big Labor. He also needs to come out clearly and forcefully in favor of a way to pay for the whole thing — ideally, in my view, a surtax on the top.

By: Blub

Blub — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:34:57 +0000

I don’t know why one should expect Demint to be reasonable… C-Streeter who backed the right wing military coup in Honduras last month, ’cause it was a victory in the global struggle against the Soviet Union.. or something.

By: Erasmus

Erasmus — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:34:32 +0000

this from TPM:

Big Pharma, for example, is in line to get just what it wants. The Senate health panel’s bill protects biotech companies from generic competition for 12 years after their drugs go to market, which is guaranteed to keep prices sky high. Meanwhile, legislation expected from the Senate Finance committee won’t allow cheaper drugs to be imported from Canada and won’t give the federal government the right to negotiate Medicare drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies. Last month Big Pharma agreed to what the White House touted as $80 billion in givebacks to help pay for expanded health insurance, but so far there’s been no mechanism to force the industry to keep its promise. No wonder Big Pharma is now running “Harry and Louise” ads — the same couple who fifteen years ago scared Americans into thinking the Clinton plan would take away their choice of doctor — now supportive of Obamacare. Private insurers, for their part, have become convinced they’ll make more money with a universal mandate accompanied by generous subsidies for families with earnings up to 400 percent of poverty (in excess of $80,000 of income) than they might stand to lose. Although still strongly opposed to a public option, the insurance industry is lining up behind much of the legislation. The biggest surprise is the AMA, which has also now come out in favor — but only after being assurred that Medicare reimbursements won’t be cut nearly as much as doctors first feared.

By: Gitcheegumee

Gitcheegumee — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:11:36 +0000

Is it not the height of irony ,sadly,that Pete Stark,mentioned in prededing diary upthread,and Andy Stark share the same last name?

PLEASE don’t tell me they are related…..

By: ThingsComeUndone

ThingsComeUndone — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:01:03 +0000

Links for points a,b, and c would be good

By: ThingsComeUndone

ThingsComeUndone — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:58:30 +0000

Very good ideas get some links write a Diary or two:)

By: tejanarusa

tejanarusa — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:57:45 +0000

cbl2 – answer posted. If you need more, I’m at tejanarus55 at yahoo [etc.]

By: ThingsComeUndone

ThingsComeUndone — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:56:16 +0000

Demint you do know we own the banks thanks to the bank bailout right? Sooner or later Obama will be forced to cancel all the banking and insurance cash (AIG not sure who else) cash going to the lobbyists.
After all some reporter will say Bank X got government bank bailout cash that bank hired a lobbyist for x amount of cash and then gave Politician X more money.
Politician X then spent a weekend with his mistress.
This headline will happen sooner or later. Mark Sanford and Ensign are both GOP Senators and the Healthcare industry is paying them I’m sure they probably got bank money after the bank bailout.
We just need to get the MSM interested. The scandal of bank bailout money going to lobbyists who oppose Obama is one thing. Lobbyist cash going to support scandal will get headlines. And Lobbyist cash always has a funny way of moving from the campaign fund to personal use.