Open Letter to President Obama and All Democrats in Congress:

I am writing to express my urgent and passionate support of a Public Option for health insurance.

I personally need such a Public Option, as a fully employed worker without any benefits from my employer.

I’ve worked at a large film studio in Los Angeles for over five years, but despite working for them full-time I have no benefits. I have been laid off and laid off, then brought back to work as a “casual employee,” an independent contractor and now a temp. After the last layoff I couldn’t afford the COBRA payments, which sent my insurance premiums up by 500% the minute my income was gone. In this economy I’m happy to be working at all. But temp workers don’t get benefits.

That leaves private health insurance as my only option, and it’s a bad one. Do a little research. Go out there to the private health insurance market and try to get yourself an individual policy that matches the generous benefits you currently enjoy in your own publicly-funded health insurance plan, and see if you 1) can get anybody to cover you and 2) if you could afford decent coverage for yourself and your family on a typical temp worker’s $13/hr. I dare you.

I am here to tell you that the private for-profit health insurance companies are the problem, not the answer. Their core product is profit, not health. They profit by charging big premiums then denying their customers the coverage they’ve paid for. That’s their business plan. These corporations have had thirty years to be the solution, and instead they chose to perfect techniques like recision and denial of claims. Private health insurers chose to be the problem, to put profit above health. Nobody should be allowed to profiteer from someone else’s illness.

I expect you to remember that all those well-funded corporate lobbyists you invited to the debate are only looking out for their own profits, while I and the rest of the uninsured public are fighting for our actual lives.

I expect you to understand that health is not a commodity; it’s a human right. Market forces simply do not apply to necessary core community services (see fire and police departments) and health care is one of those.

I expect you to place the public good over the incessant demands of your corporate overlords in the health industry.

I expect a robust Public Option to be a part of any legislation you pass.

I expect it to be a non-profit operation with low overhead administrative costs, similar to Medicare.

I expect it to have a generous benefits package with fair compensation to my doctors, whom I will get to choose.

I expect to pay a fair premium for it, either directly or through taxes, with my money going to actual health care rather than to inflated executive salaries and corporate profits.

I expect there to be a price break for seniors, the disabled, the impoverished and veterans, partially subsidized by my own premiums.

I expect it to be an opt-in program available to any who want to participate, and I expect it should not displace anyone who wants to keep their existing coverage.

I expect it will not exclude pre-existing conditions, nor charge more or cancel coverage for anyone who gets sick.

We already have a working model for such a program. It’s called Medicare. Extend it to the rest of us and let us opt in if we wish.

I expect you to understand that simply forcing uninsured people to purchase a policy from a private insurer does not constitute reform. That’s just using public money to subsidize private profit, a habit Congress has indulged in to a ridiculous extreme (see Goldman Sachs and the auto industry bailouts) and which I simply will not stand for in health reform.

I expect there to be no fooling around with “health care cooperatives,” which are both unproven and uncertain. It’s not a good option for a national plan.

I expect there to be no pandering to imaginary bipartisanship. The Republicans will reject everything, so why bother including them? But Republican constituents need this Public Option just like I do.

You have the votes to pass this reform with a Public Option, and I expect you to get out there and use them. A majority will do it and you have the majority. So do it.

I expect you to respond far better than you have to the lies and misinformation put out by opponents and to clearly explain exactly what your plan contains.

I expect you, Democrats, to vigorously champion the needs of We The People in this debate, and to finally do the decent and moral thing, which private insurance corporations have abjectly failed to do: bring affordable, accessible health coverage to every single person in this country.

We’ve all seen the picture of the hundreds of lobbyists who have a seat at the table in this debate, and we all know they spend millions of dollars every day to convince you to let their profiteering continue unabated.

But I don’t have a million dollars to buy your attention and I can’t see anybody representing me. Who has my interests at heart?

That would be your job, Mr. Obama and Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Baucus. Will you do it? Please do it! I hope to God in Heaven that you are not so deep in bed with your own corporate health industry PAC money campaign donations that you cannot stand up straight and strong for the public good, which is your flippin’ J-O-B.

If this Public Option does not go through when there is a Democratic President, a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate, then I’ll know the answer and I’ll vote your butts out of office so fast your heads will spin.

http://open.salon.com/blog/mary-anndroid

The moral of the story is we have to keep fighting!

No Public Option = the death of the Democratic Party and the loss of many Dem seats in ‘10 & ‘12, including POTUS.

I might be one of the few who still think that there will be a robust PO in the final bill, albeit with a slim margin.

Keep the pressure on, folks !

If the president can re-rally the Dems during his speech, I’ll be confident like you.

I sent one last week too… but I think maybe the rot is too deep.

Dear Mr President,
As one who supported your presidential campaign from the very beginning, and contributed all the money and time I could afford towards putting you where you are today, I’m starting to wonder if I’ve been played for a fool. If you give away the public option in your speech on Wednesday then I’ll reluctantly conclude that this is in fact the case.

I’m certain that you’re aware, not least because I’ve heard you articulate the argument yourself, that health reform won’t work without a credible incentive for the insurance and healthcare delivery industries to provide high-quality, cost-effective care. The threat of losing market share to the public plan is that incentive, but not until it’s in place, and it’s working.

Nebulous notions of “triggers” or increased regulation won’t hurt the current healthcare business models any more than I could protect my property with a sign on the front door saying “If you keep robbing me, I might lock the door one day.” This is especially true in an environment where the legislative scales are firmly tipped in favor of corporate over individual citizen’s interests, and where an army of lobbyists is doubtless working tirelessly to insert regulatory loopholes large enough to drive a shipload of taxpayers cash through.

Although you created the movement which you rode to victory, it will only be yours to command for as long as you are demonstrably committed to it’s core imperative – Change. Allowing your signature issue to be turned into yet another saprophytic corporate feast on the financial carcasses of the US treasury and the American middle class, would be about as far from the kind of change we are looking for as one can get.

Yours Sincerely,
…etc

NPR (NPR! for fuck’s sake) had a softball industry fluff piece masquerading as news today touting the coops and the “triggers” as ‘real reform, right now’… all touted by an industry lobbyist / spokeperson…

NPR has fallen to stenographic “journalism” too…

I’m going to get out in front of this and say it’s time to dump Obama. He’s merely a corporatist posing as an “agent of change.” He makes Neville Chamberlain look like a paragon of strength and resolve. History handed Obama an opportunity for transformational change and he decided he’d rather play nice with enemies of the state. It’s time to send a strong message to the Democratic Party that the days of corporatists, sell outs and traitors to the American people are over.

http://www.actblue.com/page/changewecanbelievein

Over the last 15 years NPR has been neutered by right wing operatives and appointees. It’s more accurate to refer to it as National Propaganda Radio.

Insurance-Salesman-in-Chief…. not what I voted for, by God. This party is so over.

Now hold on one gosh darn minute.
Even communist agitator Steven Pearlstein at the ultraliberal Washington Post says that

Its [the PO] become a political manhood issue and a litmus test among the ideologues.

and his co-conspirator Shailagh Murray agrees that the PO has become a distraction,
which Obama, Reid and Pelosi should take to the back 40 to put out of its misery.

I wonder how much of the decision making process with politicians is effected by the up coming Supreme Court decision to take our voting rights away by giving corps the right to shovel money at the political process. Everything will be modified to suit the corps and not the citizen soon anyway. Rallying the dems is just an act. It is all just pretend and/or marching in place.

Sorry, I do feel rather depressed by this today. It is like understanding that global warming is a problem and knowing little will ever be done about it.

hey Jason Rosenbaum -

per TPM, Baucus is ceding a battle to WH:

Max Baucus will apparently in a few moments come out and basically put the kibosh on the Gang of Six. Not formally ruling out a bipartisan agreement but signaling that realizes it’s not in the cards and is going to move on with a Dem only bill.

I called Rep Pete Sessions office today and told the woman I spoke with that since over 70% of our citizens want a public option he should support it. She said “that’s not true based on our calls.” I told her a lot of her calls are from people who have been grossly misled by lies about it, and I told her my second point for Rep Sessions was that I think he has a responsibility to his constituents to tell them that many of those things they are hearing are untrue.

Perhaps I’m getting old, but I can’t for the life of me understand how the individual mandate is a political winner for the Dems. I’ve yet to hear a cogent argument as to how this is going to pay off at the voting booth.

I agree! There is no Dem including the President who will be safe if they put in a trigger! They need to know that we’re not going to be forced to buy garbage from the very people screwing everyone who owns one of their policies, whether they know it or not! During somethng as simple as Cash for Clunkers, the public was not told that they could only buy American cars. This was the right thing to do. It should be the same principal for healthcare. I’m not buying the shit being offered by Baucus. It’s a big prize for these criminals. The Blue Dogs need to be reminded which party it is that has a hugh majority. They joined the Democratic party. The Democratic party didn’t join them!

And many of the calls are from organizes who don’t want change. Haven’t they figured that out yet?

Ted Kennedy and I made a song about health care reform. Feel free to enjoy it in preparation for the likely disappointment following tonight’s speech:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSMKSDoQ99U

… And, regardless of what happens, recall Senator Kennedy’s words: We must not surrender!

Obama campaigned on a public option for 2 years and never once mentioned a trigger. The cash whoring Blue Dogs heard this just like we did. If they didn’t agree with it, that was the time to switch to the Republican party. They don’t get to come in and hand us this Red State garbage. They’re states went BLUE LAST YEAR! If they didn’t agree with the Democrat’s platform, why didn’t they run in their “Red States” as a Republican? I’ll tell you why! Because they knew that the Republicans were a party of losers! You’ve joind the winning team. Now, act like a team mate!

The climate bill is highest on my list of priorities (doesn’t hurt I have good health insurance, I’ll admit) but watching the president/Dems rolling over on health care when three-quarters of the country supports much more change than is left on the table, well, I too despair we’ll do any heavy lifting needed on climate. If the slime machine can confuse people on their immediate self-interest in good health care, what success they’ll enjoy in the more diffuse/wonky realm of climate change impacts.

Getting the best reform for health care now is vital. While Congress can always revisit this issue, we all know the momentum won’t likely be there like it is now. But at least it’s possible to have a do-over. One thing I’m sure of, Mother Nature is teeing up the climate consequences, political will or no.

All too often, confidence = inaction, so I hope that all Progressives will get very active and support the public option right up to signing of the Bill.

Democracy is not a spectator sport.

By the way, will the people of Connecticut finally get rid of deputy droop along? This man is an idiot! Just listening to him puts me to sleep. How the hell did this guy ever make it to the Senate? He’s as skillfull speaking in public as Sarah Palin. Both make my ears bleed. I can’t wait for the day this moron is thrown out of office. A tiny little man with a severe Napolian complex!

The narrative seems to follow this, “We should have triggers, so that we can give private insurance companies an opportunity to reform themselves.”

That narrative contains, as with many others, my primary annoyance with our politics. It’s a statement made in a vacuum. Taken to include even the slightest bit of surrounding observation; it completely falls apart.

The private insurance companies have known for 50 years that there was public pressure to reform them, and intensely so at roughly four distinct political junctions. If they had taken the opportunity to reform themselves at any time along that path, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion today. The whole genesis of this political action is the direct result of the fact that private insurance companies remain completely unreformed, and have maintained that position for decades.

Their “come to Jesus” moment has come and gone.

I think we need to take it beyond the signing of the bill. Challenge all oppo. – advertise our search in local newspapers for progressive candidates. Challenge them over everthing they do from now on.

Great post Mary! I’d love to sign it and send it to BO if that is ok?

Will BO, Pelosi and Reid be foolish enough to destroy the Dem party by voting in a faux health care reform bill?

Triggers will be the triggers of the circular firing squad that seems to be Democrats’ favorite formation.

If we don’t get real reform, with a real public option (at the very least) that goes into effect immediately, it will be the death knell of the Democratic Party. Sadly what we have to fill the void is a radicalized, bat-shit-crazy Republican Party who will continue to dismantle anything that’s good and decent about this country.

Health care won’t only be Obama’s Waterloo, but Democracy’s Waterloo.

On another note, if the Supreme Court overturns 100 years of precedent, we need demonstrations larger than anything this country has ever seen.

One shouldn’t be surprised to hear that Barack Obama is planning to throw the public option under the bus in his big speech to the joint houses of Congress this evening. Of course, we won’t know for sure until the speech is delivered, but from all indications Obama is planning to betray his most fervent supporters, Progressives and Liberals, yet again.

For Progressives and Liberals, Barack Obama has been quite a spectacular disappointment so far. The only campaign promise he seems to be truly honoring is his promise to send more troops to Afghanistan, which was the one promise that Progressives like me most deplored.

He and his right hand man, Rahm Emmanuel, are only thinking about the next election. They are going to the center in an effort to maintain popularity to protect themselves in the next election. That strategy is doomed to fail. They are cynics. We need leaders.

If not now, when? That is the question. If Obama and the Democratic party won’t fight for the citizen now, when will they? Solid majorities in both houses and the Presidency itself is certainly enough leverage to enable the Democrats to fulfill their promises now. They’ve got power LBJ would envy, and they are showing every sign of knuckling under to their opposition. The President is key. We need a tough leader like LBJ or FDR now, but what we seem to have is a Caspar Milquetoast, President Barack H. Obama, the guy who will certainly be rolled.

The only conclusion an informed observer can arrive at is that the Obama and his Democratic Party are, just like the Republican Party, wholly owned subsidiaries of Corporate America.

If Obama caves on the public option I am done with him and with the Democratic Party. This will be the test. If he continues his love affair with the corporations, and if he continues to kowtow to the right and the Republican Party I’m sure my support won’t be the only loss he’ll face.

Many Progressives and Liberals will repudiate Obama and the cowardly Democratic Party likewise because it’s becoming painfully obvious that the Democrats only use Progressives and Liberals when it’s convenient, and then ignore us after they get in power. That’s got to stop. The Democratic Party is morally dead if it doesn’t get universal health coverage in the United States now. Why support a party that is morally dead? This truly is the demarcation line.

President Obama, my eye, and the eye of all thinking, honest, honorable American citizens is upon you. I have supported you so far with my money and my vote, but this is where I draw my line in the sand.

If I’m going to believe that the private insurance companies are interested in self-reform, then they should make a good-faith gesture by reincorporating as 501(c)(3)’s. Then at least I’ll know that their fiduciary responsibilities aren’t in direct contradiction with their reform.

Jane, keep hammering these gutless bastards until they honor the pledge that they made to the American people.

They want to talk triggers? Well here’s my trigger; The insurance has 24 months to insure every American, without exception, and reduce costs by 30%, or we “trigger” Single Payer Universal Healthcare.

Keep kicking asses and keep taking names.

P.S. Can we nominate Representative Maxine Waters as House Majority Leader?

The President needs to bring single payer back!!!!!

Is it nice in La-la land?

Exactly ! I’ve said it before, Jane and friends have started something even greater than Health Care. She has started the unification of the Progressives in America and can be a force to reckon with for many years, on many issues.

Remember, scroll is the option to exercise in order to bring substantive dialogue to the post.

The stakes are high and the progressive movement has made great strides, but it’s not enough to counter the choke-hold the Reich has on our culture. We need to figure out a way to quickly take our efforts to the next level.

The corporate media ignores our demonstrations and protests, we need to find something that can’t be ignored – or find a media strategy that bypasses the corporate media (NON-VIOLENT of course). The web works well for preaching to the choir, but we need a strategy to reach the people who aren’t actively seeking out the truth.

Sadly we don’t have much time. I’m afraid the point of no return is coming upon us fast.

Well so far the progs are 0-1.
Quite a force.

As a left leaning progressive I’m sick to death of the Democratic party telling us on the left, to go sit in the corner and shut up. We are the one’s who brought them to power and yet, we are told to go away until the party needs us again around election time.

Once again we are being sold out to insurance companies and big money, just so these ass hats can keep their jobs. Obama ran on real health care reform that included a strong public option, and now that he’s in the white house it seems to be, progressives, go screw yourself until I need you in 2012.

Its really time that all on the left start thinking seriously about a real third party, and let the dems be the repug lite that they have always been.

Hey there!

Meant to thank you for a comment in an earlier thread. So, I’ll do it here.

confidence = inaction

Like that thought.

It looks like the progressives have taken the place of the Afro-americans.
Vote taken for granted cause there’s no where else to go.

Pass the bong over here.

Remember, scroll is the option to exercise in order to bring substantive dialogue to the post.

Repeat it.

K
E
E
P

S
C
R
O
L
L
I
N
G

Hey, it’s Old Fart!

Other than I know that we need to continue to keep fighting, I’m confused. And, I know that is what the insurance companies want me to think. I mean seriously, everyone is saying robust Public Option and Ed Schultz is screaming Public Option to the clouds and god bless him. But, I read Talabbi in Rolling Stone and everything sounds like such a craptasticular sh*t sandwich. What happened to the reduction in costs through eliminating paperwork? Or at least making all the paperwork the same??? If you have private insurance you are still stuck with the options your employer chooses to give you right? I’d still have the stupid dreaded out-of-network issue right? And then Max Baucus comes up when something written by the damn lobbyists! Time to get back on the phone with that immovable object on the other side of the river.

Jane,

I’m scheduled to be the M.C. for the local Jefferson Jackson Day Dinner with the keynote speaker, Blue Dog, Joe Donnelly.

I’m so angry right now I’m afraid I may excoriate Joe and Washington Democrats so harshly it will be counterproductive.

Any tips on how to apply appropriate pressure without getting too worked up?

So we’ll get mandates now and public option later (maybe)? Insane.

No public option now, no mandates now.

Jane,

EW’s post yesterday on William Ockham’s find was very telling in terms of this history on health care policy development. I hope more research is being done on this trail.

The evidence speaks loudly.

Blue Texan’s regularly scheduled post is up and ready: “Michael Barone: ‘No Prominent Republican Has Views as Fringe as Van Jones’”

TPAZ, I agree wholeheartly!

They want to talk triggers? Well here’s my trigger; The insurance has 24 months to insure every American, without exception, and reduce costs by 30%, or we “trigger” Single Payer Universal Healthcare.

I don’t even like the sound of a part of a gun “trigger” in a health care bill.
Here in Mi BC/BS is raising premiums 22% and wanted to raise them 45% so the 30% reduced cost would in effect be only a 8% cost reduction here in MI and I know they were raising rates in many other states as well. So maybe we need a “30% reduction by 2008 standards” or even earlier.

FWIW today is 09/09/09.

Amen!

appropriate to the situation

please do not forget how the obama administration killed the medicare trigger:

In a release accompanying the package, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the trigger is “an ideologically driven target based on a misleading measure of Medicare’s financial health.” Hoyer’s office said that eliminating the trigger “will allow Congress to consider all options for improving Medicare financing to provide a balanced and equitable solution”.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.co…..134729.php

Maybe its time we progressives change that. We have one big thing that wasn’t around the last time progressives talked about a third party, and that’s the inter-net. We have a large base of progressive blogs out there that can bring people and ideas together.

If the Democratic party is not going to do what its base wants, its time for the base to go somewhere else. At least then we would have a party who, win or lose would fight to end for whats right and just.

The insurance mandate is unconstitutional:
http://articles.latimes.com/20…..oe-court24

Or take them up on it. How about a trigger for mandates? When the insurance corporations have shown that they have reformed, we’ll trigger mandates to buy their stuff. Silly, but it would make as much sense as delaying a public option.

That is an interesting piece you linked to.

Not the death of the Democratic Party, but the death of the Blue Dog wing of the Democratic Party.

Primary every dog.

You are right, and if you look up who the author of Sen Baucus bill that the Senate will bring up was written by Liz Fowler, who was vice president for public policy and external affairs for Wellpoint, the second largest health insurance company, until she joined Baucus in Feb 2008.

We are being sold out by are own party for greed and power.

yeah, well, torture isn’t constitutional either.

Isn’t it just a little suspicious that it’s non-Democrats — including now Mr. Snake in the Grass — who are tipping the Democrats into imposing an Individual Mandate without a Day One Public Option? It’s as if they’re getting ready to strap bombs to their chests and fan out for a nationwide march into the thick of their God-given base.

If this goes down the Democrats will have found a way — after everyone but the psychotics in our midst rejected Republicanism — to commit Republican-assisted suicide. Palin’s death panelists will have run into the lovin’ arms of the Death Panel of Last Resort.

You can’t make this up, but how smart do you have to be to see it? Not very is my answer. This is more a lemming thing: they know where they’re headed but do it anyway because that’s the species they are.

Rahm Emanuel, their de facto tactician, is to political strategy what Enron was to corporate governance. The jury’s just barely out on his CEO. It looks like the reins are in the hands of Second City Machiavellians.

The only thing the health insurance companies are scared to death about, is a strong public option. Everything else they can tie up in the courts for years, and it will be windfall profits as usual.

I just thought of trigger for mandates too if they’re going for PO trigger. I’m not convinced it’s silly at all. If the priv insurers actually reform with the possib. of there being a mandate they’d have to go along with the PO as well. I think there’s something to this if PO won’t pass the troglodite Sen. That way you may not get the ins lobbies fighting against firing the trigger.

they fell years ago… sadly.

The message I just sent to Obama at Whitehouse.gov

TRIGGERS ARE INADEQUATE

I am an RN in Washington state. I see the failings of our current system of health care every day. The Emergency Room in the rural hospital I work at is constantly flooded with people that have no other options for care, and therefore use our facility as their primary care providers. Mandating them to buy a private product that has been proven to be a failure will prove to be a disaster, not only for the consumer, but for the Democrats politically.
The Insurance Companies do not deserve another chance to “get it right”on health care. Health care is a basic right, a human right. The California Nurses Association recently released a finding that the largest 5 insurance companies denial rates for the first part of 2009 are astounding:
•PacifiCare — 39.6 percent
•Cigna — 32.7 percent
•HealthNet — 30 percent
•Kaiser Permanente — 28.3 percent
•Blue Cross — 27.9 percent

A public option is the ONLY way to provide competition that will REALLY drive down costs and improve care. Triggers that the insurance industry favors, that likely will never be met, do nothing to solve the primary problem with the current industry model.

Please, do not accept a failure of a bill in an attempt to claim this administration “reformed” healthcare. We need a public option, not political maneuvering.

Uggh. We’ve been sold down the river again.

Third. Party. Now.

Seeing the names of Lieberman and Obama together just made me throw up.

But then reading they are together on the trigger, while Obama has also voiced support for the PO and the co-op plan right before his big speech warns me that we of the Left are all about be screwed.

The mandate was Newt Gingrich’s idea, introduced into the Massachusett’s plan with public option Mitt Romney hearted. The Democratic legislature gave him the noose to hang himself with. Damned clever, that.

Boy, that Baucus has an amazing grasp of the obvious, don’t he?

I love how Obama says … AT THIS FRIGGING POINT IN TIME…. ‘We are open to new ideas.’ As if he’s talking about how to build a deck on a house…

He’s supposed to be the friggin leader here. Jesus christ.

You know what I say to him…. I’ve got some new “ideas”…. let’s pull out some transcripts of your campaign speeches…. or even play the nifty TV ad you made decrying the audacity of Bernie Tauzin to formulate Medicare Part D and foist it on unsuspecting seniors and then go to work for the pharmaceuticals making $2M a year.

And then he could explain why the WH negotiated with Tauzin to sell american under the bus with respect to paying less fo drugs.

It’s a little late for “new” ideas. The progressives have given them plenty of ideas – they just ignored us. The result of all this back and forth and wishy-washy stuff is going to cost the Dems a lot.

I just noticed that the Baucus plan allows the health insurers to charge a 60 year old 5 times the premium of a 20 year old. Everyone with health insurance should check rates on their current plans. My plan is Kaiser Permanente in California. A 60-65 year old pays just under 2 1/2 times the premium of a 20 year old. It seems as if we are about to get massive premium increases for older Americans in exchange for eliminating the “pre-existing conditions.” Another real negative, along with the mandate.

Another take on the health reform issue,by a Vietnam Vet-just terrific,and easy to understand:

t r u t h o u t | Money and HealthSep 9, 2009 … We spend twice the money on health care as most other countries and we are supposed to just accept this as the cost of a free market, …
http://www.truthout.org/090909A – 4 hours ago – Similar

booyah good on you.I saw a liitle of Olberman last night & Lawerence O’Donnel was saying their is no intentions of having a bill with a public option.It may be in the first draft just so Pelosi can say she stood up for PO to progressives and thus not incur their fury,but it will not be in the final bill.
Already yesterday so called liberal Barbara Boxer was wishy-washy on a PO with some incomprehensible bull….t.So brace yourselves folks,the slam in the face is going to come a few weeks down the road.

So once again progressives are being played.

This has become black comedy. No one who was even marginally on our side would spend so much time trying to backstab us and sell us out as Obama has been and is doing. Single payer not even allowed on the table, the public option left with no content, reduced, delayed, the attempts to kill it outright, or substitute something else for it, first co-ops, now triggers. Obama and the Democrats always intended to sell out to the insurance, medical, and drug companies. I see the outreach to Republicans, then the Blue Dogs and conservative Senators, as just cover for this: “This was the best bill we could get, blah, blah, blah.” The idea has always been to use the Blue Dogs as stalking horses (too much animal imagery?), distract attention away from the central group of Democrats in Congress who outnumber the Blue Dogs and progressives combined and who will vote for this corporate wealthfare as well, and peel off progressives as needed to get the bill over the top in the House.

The question is are we going to play along with this farce or are we going to break with Obama and the Democrats. I would love to hear what people think it would take to make this happen. Because so far no matter how badly Obama and the Democrats act, our operative plan seems to be to come back for more abuse at their hands.

if the access fauxgressives want to win on this thing, they are going to need to tie a strong public option to individual “mandates” — in other words, if there is no strong public option, individual mandates have to be stripped from the bill. Pulling mandates from the bill will draw the opposition of the insurance industry (who only put up with the regulations that the proposals have because they will be getting millions of new customers thanks to mandates), and the bill will die.

The up coming Supreme Court news out today is a “push” for Obama from the wealthy corp leaders. They did it during a critical time during the Obama Clinton primaries using a gun law. I’d guess BO is fighting a brick wall here but even the Berlin Wall fell eventually. If BO can hold strong against the wealthy he’ll win. BYW, what’s happening with the cases against those who hid funds overseas to avoid taxes going? I thought names would be out by now.

The vacillation of Capuano & Farr (and J. McGovern, & Pascral — in RC) and their likely capitulation indicate the enormous pressure being put on members of the Progressive Bloc. The third-way, corporate DLC in and out of Congress & the White House (including good-cop Obama & bad cop Emmanuel) have long ago decided that they don’t want a strong PO. Rahm has been pushing “triggers” since early July. That’s their strategic goal.

They’ll be infinitely flexible tactically as to how to achieve this goal. What we’re going to see in the next few weeks is an intricate kabuki dance that’ll alternate between making Progressives seem like the White House supports the PO one day — only to change their position the next day. Or as Matt Taibbi accurately descibes — the possibility of a strong PO, in this case, will take place by ” showering a real problem with a blizzard of ineffectual decisions and verbose nonsense, then stepping aside at the last minute to reveal the true plan that all along was being forged in the furnace of monied interests and insider inertia.”

We’ve already seen a version of this procees at work in Geithner/ Summner/Bernanke’s obscene bailout of Wall Street — a bailout with very few strings attached, and real regulatory reform only a distant possibility.

It’s not that Obama, et al.don’t feel strongly about bringing affordable, quality health care to Americans. It’s just that they feel stronger about looking out for the interests of their corporate sponsors, and donors.

Let’s see whether Progressives in and out of Congress can hold together in a strong push-back to what the White House, the DLC, and their monied interest friends really want. I hope so. I think so — oh hell, I’ll go all the way and say I know so!

The question is are we going to play along with this farce or are we going to break with Obama and the Democrats.

Jane has already made it clear that going after Obama is not subject to discussion — FDL remains dependent upon its Oborg readership to keep its ad rates up, which is why Obama gets treated with kid gloves here (Obama may get criticized, but compared to the treatment of Hoyer, Rahm, Baucus, Lieberman, etc, well its really all one big sloppy wet kiss for Obama…)

Obama could bring back single payer, he needs the $350. billion saved to help pay for this. And he could open up Medicare to all. He is not in the box he thinks he’s in.

” I would love to hear what people think it would take to make this happen.” Hugh

A Second Declaration of Independence and a Second American Revolution?

“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
-The Declaration Of Independence

ar President Obama–

Promises made . . . promises kept? Our economy and our broken healthcare system make it incumbent that you keep your promise regarding REAL healthcare reform. A public option is the ONLY “stick” that can be used to encourage good behavior from healthcare insurers and the “carrot” that so many underinsured and uninsured Americans deserve as a reward for supporting your “Change we can believe in” slogan.

Here is a promise that I make, and I assure you that I am really good at keeping promises. If you do NOT lead, if you do not use every tool at your disposal to insist that Congress give the American people what they long for, what they have hoped for . . . I promise that I WILL NOT volunteer for you or any of the 2010 Legislative contenders who have denied Americans this change. I promise that I WILL NOT contribute a single cent to your re-election in 2012. I promise that I WILL NOT vote for you again if you cannot keep your promise.

In the infamous words of your predecessor, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me . . . ahem.”

Oborg readership? You’re on the wrong blog.

I’d go further. In districts where the race is close, buy TV time to explain that if you’re supporting this particular rep because you think he’ll watch out for your economic interests better than a Republican will, don’t kid yourself. Replacing some of these guys with Republicans is perfectly acceptable to me, as long as we have a hand in it.

Where did she do this? In back channel communication?

Hey, how’s about posing the following question in those TV ads:

“Is your representative doing a job FOR you, or is your representative doing a job ON you?”

Despite 47 million people without insurance, 22,000 preventable deaths per year due to lack of insurance, polls consistently showing more than 75% of the voters prefer choosing between a public option and private insurance, plus many recent announcements that private insurance companies will be raising their rates from 20% to 30%, a Democrat in the White House and Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress appear poised to settle for mandates and a trigger for . . . co-ops???????

Isn’t this absolutely convincing and irrefutable evidence that corporate greed and money controls all policy and our system of governance is fractured beyond repair?

Obama and the Democrats are defining themselves as irrelevant puppets and we watch in dismay and horror as they slit their fat throats and destroy the Democratic Party forever.

Way to go, Obama!

Triggers is a very good idea.

If we don’t real health care reform this year, I’m just going to plan on moving to Canada when I graduate.

!!! thats the spirit! this time, lets all keep it going in even numbered years and show the (D)’s that the days of taking their base for granted are over.

it’ll feel great for the authentic Left to get some pride back by refusing to further enable the abusive relationship with the Democratic Party.

Because so far no matter how badly Obama and the Democrats act, our operative plan seems to be to come back for more abuse at their hands.

unfortunately, that is the subtext. whenever Jane urges faxes, letters, calls to wavering (D)’s, the constituent has no credible ‘or else’ clause if the default expectation is that Democrats must be supported, no matter what.

many are declaring on their own initiative that they have had enough, and will not be voting (D) again, but leading netrootsian bloggers should begin to ponder if their loyalty is to progressive values, or to the Democratic Party.

Will BO, Pelosi and Reid be foolish enough to destroy the Dem party by voting in a faux health care reform bill?

You betcha!

It makes me sick.

Why don’t we also talk about a fact that Ms. Lieberman is an employee of the pharmaceutical industry? Lieberman has never been interested in health care reform. What a shame that Connecticut sent him back to the Senate!

Actually, I prefer my delusion to the wingnuts’ delusion. Care to join me?

Why, thank you, sunshine!

Say it ain’t so Joe. Your wife an employee of the industry. Ain’t that
something. Hopefully Barack Obama will go back to white house living quarters today and pick his balls up from Michelle and give a speech
with no wiggle room (LOL) expressing his unequivocal support of the public option and his steadfast committment to veto any bill without it. I won’t be holding my breath.

I understand your point. But I’m STILL against triggers. I wrote my poor excuse for a Congresswoman and told her that a real public option was the last, best offer as far as I was concerned. The other side negotiated in bad faith, so all concessions are off the table.

Now I want single-payer healthcare paid for by extremely heavy, ferociously progressive income taxes and confiscatory estate taxes.