Deb Richter of Vermont Health Care for All has done an amazing job getting this legislation passed. She was on Democracy Now this morning talking about it. I’ll have it up as soon as the video is available.

This is really exciting, and we’re thrilled to be working with PNHP on this. It’s becoming clear in many states that the exchange system is going to be problematic, and as states are looking for solutions, we are going to make sure that single payer is not left out of the conversation again.

I’m confused about this.

A week or two ago I read that such waivers for Vermont would require Congressional action, not just HHS; hence, the McDonalds comparison would be offbase.

If that’s the case there may be a problem, no? What goes?

A petition? I guess it must be a good plan of action, since petitions have been so effectual in the past.

There are a lot of different waivers needed: waivers for Medicaid, Medicare and Medicare Part D are all at the discretion of HHS, just like MacDonalds was. That’s what the petition refers to.

A waiver from the ACA itself would need congressional action. That’s not what this petition is about, but it is something we want people to be aware of.

Yes, our petition to get Bradley Manning better treatment (which wound up with me and David House being threatened with arrest when David tried to deliver it at Quantico) was the start of an extremely successful campaign to get better treatment for Bradley Manning. That is how we begin a campaign, by identifying the people who care about the issue, and letting the people who have decision making power know how broad the support is.

If McDonald’s receives health care waivers from HHS, Vermont should too.

It is with the greatest of restraint that I don’t swear my head off over this. This is just crazy. Corporations get waivers to reduce the (dubious) value of health care reform for their employees while states cannot get waivers. Let alone get waivers to serve their citizens. That IS fascist.

That CANNOT stand.

Jane, thank you for everything, including the praise for Deb Richter, whom I have admired for years.

And a huge thanks to the people of Vermont, whom I trust to see this bill through its necessary stages in the years to come. For those of us outside Vermont (except maybe those of us who have lived there and regret leaving), the bill can be difficult to grasp because we have lost touch with practicing democracy. A bill that evolves in stages with constant democratic input confuses us out here in the rest of the US, where we think voting and democracy are synonyms.

And thank you, Governor Shumlin: I would love to be back in Windham County today so I could share the pride.

Well, it would be ironic (if that’s the word) if MacDonalds could get waivers to offer crappier health care than the ACA called for, but VT can’t get waivers to offer better.

No fucking kidding. That’s a brilliant message!

Go Jane!

Deb is incredible. It delivered a huge blow to a lot of people when CT Malloy blew up SustiNet. Her tenacity and commitment, and that of all the VT single payer people, in getting this passed is remarkable and worthy of high praise. Big props to the governor, too.

Politicians and political processes serving the people? Is that some kind of new radical form of social engineering?? Must be. No wonder no one thought of it before. I wish it had occurred to the founding fathers ~ it might have made for a grand American experiment. /s

Single Payer continues to be really important to our members. We sent out a poll yesterday and I don’t think I’m surprising anyone by saying “advancing single payer” is one of the very top priorities. We’ve been working on this for a while and are really excited to be announcing it today, on the day the governor signs the bill.

I wish we could be the United States of Vermont…waaay better than the current United States of McDonalds.
I’ve signed the petition and wish the people of Vermont the best of luck.

I can’t remember where I saw the graph, or who did the research behind it, but it showed how government legislation consistently reflects the thinking and interests of the top 3% of earners. (Why it wasn’t the top 2%, or 4%, I have no idea.)

Anyway, that sticks in my head any time I hear people on either side of the aisle talking about cutting Medicare or Social Security. Can they not read a frigging poll? How do they not understand that there is MASSIVE opposition to that, irrespective of political identification. Who are they talking to, that this keeps obsessing them?

Best answer I can come up with is that they only hear that top 3%, and everything else is window dressing for the masses.

“Kafkaesque,” comes to mind.

What this exposes is who the new health care bill really helps. If Vt does not get a waiver well it says it all. Corporations such as MacDonalds not only get waivers, but in effect it also means that smaller businesses competing in the same business as MacD’s that do not get waivers are now at a great competitor disadvantage. As waivers seems to be going to big businesses it means that smaller businesses will be driven out of business. Remember these big businesses unlike the smaller ones already get huge TAX SUBSIDIES, to open in new locations etc. We do not have free markets and capitalism in this country, what we have is a rigged corrupt system where the big corporations can use all kinds of loopholes etc to stifle competition.

Yup. The 3% have all the lobbyists who walk the halls of congress and control the campaign cash.

I hear you about petitions, but signing this one feels empowering, and, if nothing else, it serves as a thank you to the people of Vermont and encouragement for other states to follow the same path. I forwarded to fifty people already.

I actually heard through the grapevine that one of MacDonald’s competitors was flooding astroturf groups with “repeal” money because it put them at a competitive disadvantage. So the fact that HHS gave MacDonald’s the waiver in the first place just created more chaos all around.

You rock!

David Coombs suggests that the move to Leavenworth was motivated by a desire to avoid a writ of Habeus Corpus that he was preparing. [shrug]

http://goo.gl/fsao1
http://goo.gl/BXB53

Yep, the lobbyists definitely are the key factor in that. But there’s also a lot of stuff they do that the lobbyists aren’t really that active on, but which reflect the interests and perspective of the well-to-do while pretending to advocate for the poor.

Maybe that’s just because everyone in Congress is rich themselves. Nobody can stay there without resigning themselves to becoming part of the bribery machine, even if their role is passive (playing their part in the “rotating villains” game, and rolling over at the rare moments they could actually make a difference).

And there is the main problem with petitions for redress directed towards a government that has made it clear that the concerns of the citizenry hold little or no weight for them: It makes people feel like they’ve taken some positive action, when they haven’t, really. It’s a psychological-salve only.

LOL! Ya know, as Corps have done so well in the past you’d think that they would all be yelling about unfair practices. Sheesh!

BTW, I didn’t get my survey. Is it because you already know what I favor and dislike? (Grins)

On the teevee machine yesterday, I saw a clip where a journalist was questioning Paul Ryan about poll results indicating the popularity of Medicare. His response (not verbatim) was that he didn’t pay attention to polls . . . he came to Washington to lead, and you don’t LEAD by allowing polls to influence your direction. Do we–the electorate–choose leaders? I thought I was actually voting for representation–representatives that actually represent ME. Kind of like the pre-election Republican mantras–It’s the Economy, stupid . . . and . . . jobs, jobs, jobs. And what did we get? Spending cuts, debt ceiling, abortion issues, etc.

Waaaah . . . I want representation!

(BTW, married to a native Vermonter–GO VERMONT!)

The Declaration of Independence clearly states that WE have the right to amend or change the government and its processes.

A petition by the people to redress issues will forever be a powerful exercise in a citizen right!

You’re in here arguing that a campaign that got network journalists asking the President about Bradley Manning’s conditions at his press events, or PJ Crowley speaking out against the DoD, or activists confronting the President at a San Francisco fundraiser had no impact on Manning’s transfer. Instead, you give a mean spirited “shrug,” point to something David Coombs said about a writ of habeus corpus, imply that he meant something he clearly didn’t (he has written repeatedly about the support Manning received from the outside being critical to moving the DoD on Manning’s case), and you expect anyone to take you seriously either as a thinker or an activist.

THAT is a fantasy.

amazing that the republican governors can dissolve towns and duly elected officials;wreck the unions and the school systems, etc, but Vermont needs waivers from the Federal gov to do something good for it’s citizens.
Crazy country!

Jane- under what statutory authority can HHS provide the kind of waivers necessary for Medicare and Medicare Part D?

are there additional ERISA hurdles?

we need to be not just for better health care, but also to respect the rule of law.

How politicians use insider information to pump their stock portfolio

An extensive study released Wednesday in the journal Business and Politics found that the investments of members of the House of Representatives outperformed those of the average investor by 55 basis points per month, or 6 percent annually, suggesting that lawmakers are taking advantage of inside information to fatten their stock portfolios.

“We find strong evidence that members of the House have some type of non-public information which they use for personal gain,” according to four academics who authored the study, “Abnormal Returns From the Common Stock Investments of Members of the U.S. House of Representatives.”

To the frustration of open-government advocates, lawmakers and their staff members largely have immunity from laws barring trading on insider knowledge that have sent many a private corporate chieftain to prison. ONE LAW FOR US AND NO LAWS FOR THEM

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/25/house-members-stock-market-success-questioned/?page=1

“that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it …”

Please, we have the right to Petition our government for redress. Do not nit-pick the issues we support, but support the right to do so.

And what exactly were you doing when people like Dan Ellsberg or Margaret Flowers or Kevin Zeese were out there getting arrested at Quantico? Whining about how nobody will do anything in some comments section?

Sometimes cynicism is justified. But the sheer ingratitude of your “shrug”, and the breezy dismissal of the actions of people who were willing to put themselves on the line to help Manning, makes me extremely suspicious of your motives here. Normally the “petitions don’t do any good” crew applauds that kind of behavior, but you’re just trying to let the air out of everyone’s tires.

That’s very HB Gary of you.

Yep! I’ve said it for years. Our own Congress is the largest group of inside traders there is. In fact, they pass legislation to ensure their stock portfolios gain profits!

Meantime Big Dawg Clinton Cozies up with Ryan, Biden’s in the back room making deals, the Dems keep repeating “Entitlement Reform”, and Daddy There’s A Big Wheel Rollin Over You..(Doin Time In The USA, QMS 1971).

No, you’re assuming I’m making some wider assault on all the activism surrounding the Manning case, a false assumption. I am arguing, from firm historical and physiological grounds, that the petition had little no impact.

The actual activism had a definite and positive effect, but a petition isn’t activism, it is, effectively, passivism. A request that others do something about an issue. [shrug] I understand you’re wedded to this plan and that I’m not going to change your mind. I’ve said my piece.

Thank you Jane, and kudos to VT.

I think it is time as a nation we collectively DEMAND not ask for the changes we want. No corporate campaign contributions, lobbyist’s salary taxed at 100 % Single payer Health care and all bills must be written by Real Lawyers not these idiots in congress that are not good enough lawyers to make it in the profession. Some of these bill a 1st year law student could do better after one class.

There is a process to reach a goal. Would you agree that there is a step one to most every way to achieve something meaningful? Also, our government is a stickler for the right steps.

What Paul (and Cheney and anyone else who spouts this nonsense …) is saying is he was elected to DO WHAT HE WANTS TO DO.

That’s absolute nonsense, anti-democratic, and should be called unAmerican without restraint.

Absolutely! Pure self interest with no intent to represent the people or do what is best for the country.

Don’t try and backtrack on what you said, it’s up there at #23 for everyone to see:

David Coombs suggests that the move to Leavenworth was motivated by a desire to avoid a writ of Habeus Corpus that he was preparing. [shrug]

http://goo.gl/fsao1
http://goo.gl/BXB53

The petition was the first part of the campaign we led starting in December of last year. It’s the first part of every campaign we lead. You are trying to not only divorce the petition from the rest of the campaign, but also to say that everyone who took part in the campaign had no impact, because [shrug] it was just a response to the writ of Habeus Corpus.

You obviously don’t understand the role a petition plays in identifying core supporters around an issue that you later ask to take further, more high bar actions. Which we did. Extremely successfully. That’s fine, the comments section is the place to ask questions about those things.

But you seem to be motivated not by ignorance of online organizing tactics. You seem to just be spreading general cynicism and telling everyone their actions to help Manning had no impact. And there’s a lot of DoD money going into paying trolls $250 an hour to spread that kind of stuff these days. So you are raising red flags all over the place for me here.

What is up with the moronic efforts on this thread to put down petitions?

What would constitute activism in the minds of people who think that petitions are passivism? What do such people think citizens should be doing in a representative democracy?

I agree, but the problem is for smaller businesses that can’t flood opposition groups with money. These waivers just make it harder for them to do business. Now we know politicians are using inside information (perhaps knowing in advance who is getting a waiver as one example) to pump their stocks.

On top of that we just found out in the trillions the FED reserve gave banks at 0.5% they gave $80 billion in SECRET LOANS at 0.01%, which banks like GS “we didn’t need help” accessed multiple times. GOD knows how many other secret loans the FED has done.

The political system is corrupt to the core. The politicians are in bed with the bankers and the corps, and I think nothing short of peaceful mass protests to throw them all out, is our only option.

I see you’re also on an RSS feed so you can jump in first in the comment section and throw a wet blanket over everything:

http://firedoglake.com/2010/12/15/early-morning-swim-jane-talks-tax-cut-deal-dream-act-on-lawrence-odonnell/#comment-2271235

And you’re also telling people that civil disobedience will have no impact, when actually it’s been the most effective tactic people have been using, and equating it with “violence.”

You don’t post diaries, you have zero “friends,” and you identify as a “former Republican.” These are all standard tactics of paid trolls, to reduce people’s participation in political activism.

Have you linked up a facebook page, as others have, so we can see you’re an actual person?

healthcare,and for profit insurance is depriving americans of any disposable income

that is the whole story imo
go Jane

Dr.s Pay

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/how-much-do-doctors-in-other-countries-make/

Unka appears to be a loud-mouthed coward who thinks “activism” is telling people that they can and should do nothing.

Otherwise, Unka could just be a low-paid hack.

Let’s give the whole country a waiver: repeal the bill.

Well, another option is the topic of this thread —– pass a state law that makes the federal law irrelevant.

We have unlimited options. Kind of hard to say there’s only one option when we’re discussing another.

Listen, as they were behind the doors making deals on HCR they were buying up huge blocks of stock in the companies.

I’ll bet you a fizzy drink that every single one of them in DC own block of stock in KBR/Halliburton and Blackwater/XE or their myriad different names and subsidiaries.

how many people have to die each year from lack of healthcare?

yes but Martha Stewart made 60,000$….fellon

Dunno. $250 an hour isn’t so low-paid.

Then again, as someone pointed out, that’s how much H.B. Gary was charging for the trolls. So the trolls themselves were probably making much less than that.

Apologies for the OT, breaking news:

Judge Voids Wisconsin Collective Bargaining Law

you are a nobody ,and dont deserve the info/

I know it! That bitch! She shouldn’t be making money on the market. Oh yeah, Hillary shouldn’t either. Why should the men behind revolving doors stand for a woman out performing them on a market stance? (snark)

7.25 imo

Another standard practice of the Konservatoids is to control the cognitive agenda with outrageous statements (Ann Coulter), and force the Liberals into a constant reactionary mode, instead of just ignoring their BS and focusing on actual progressive action. Ed Schultz is just the latest to fall into that trap.. Millions of mind hours are wasted daily by Progressive Talkers reacting to the latest Konservative Outrage..
The Vermont healthcare signing is a huge step forward.. This should be front and center.. And so should Bill Clinton’s obvious alliance with Ryan..

Are we assuming that Obama will refuse these waivers? Am I missing something.

It does seem that since the health insurance extortionists own his ass that he would refuse. But what, if anything, has he actually said about it?

My pleasure to sign if you say so Jane.

And what’s next if the feds say no to Vermont health care? Secession?

woman need to march as i pointed out to Bev,in the am

the glass ceiling is intact,though glass steagall is not

The Obama administration will likely not grant the waiver to Vermont. It’s far too threatening to the sweetheart deal he crafted behind closed doors with the insurance industry.

I cannot see Obama or any political body giving an okay to Vermont to have their own state run medical program. I will hope for sure it happens but I don’t think any state will be granted a free rein to govern themselves.

Anthony Weiner is good at that

The Real News…died a long time ago
hey,but Kim Kardashian will have Royal Wedding Redux

I AGREE! Huge female marches to address how government has done everything to prevent women from— you name it. Mothers can’t properly feed and care for their families, health/healthcare, chemical laden foods, the list goes on!

well Vermont has lovely weather in June
time for a sit in?

the WAR ON TEACHERS is another war on women

Not sure if you know but texas in the house passed a law that would make TSA groping a crime. It was meant to pass the senate and then HS sent a letter threatening to make texas a NO FLY ZONE, if the bill passed. It got pulled. That is your federal govt at work

Women in the Board Room: Change Comes Slowly | Business EthicsNov 29, 2010 … by Gael O’Brien Consider that: – Women hold about 15 percent of Fortune 500 board seats;

nice huh?

Vermont is doing great. I think DC is the problem! Kinda hot and muggy here.

Anthony Weiner is so good at it that he appears to be in collusion with those who are screwing over the American people, doing his part to pacify the little people while they’re getting shafted.

lets go where the press will cover it…mebbe a woodstock 11

we are actually fighting for our lives

mebbe

it could become like this

India Has Killed 10 Million Girls in 20 Years

Ten million girls have been killed by their parents in India in the past 20 years, either before they were born or immediately after, a government minister said on Thursday, describing it as a “national crisis”.

A UNICEF report released this week said 7,000 fewer girls are born in the country every day than the global average would suggest, largely because female foetuses are aborted after sex determination tests but also through murder of new borns.

here!!!!
stand up women,we can change the sick world run by old rich men
YES WE CAN

If we want to be where the press will cover it, we should go to Charlie Palmer’s Steakhouse, where the lobbyists hang out. That’s who gets coverage.

The repugs are doing everything possible to scare people into not exercising their rights, as seen in the above commenter. Why would anybody that claims to be a citizen and patriotic try to discourage people from petitioning their government if they were not part of a propaganda team?

women must organize,to save ourselves and our families,i went to get a culture and sensitivity test on my throat,a 15$ test
the clinic quoted me 800$ i shit you not
what the hell antibiotic am i supposed to take?
jeebus h keerist

people without ins
are walking time bombs

well it seems thatthe sociopaths running this country,yes you too Big Dawg,just dont care

didnt Michelle look royal in LOndon?/

okay breaking for lunch,ill march anywhere but deecee
been there done that

Great work, Vermont! A few years ago, during the national health care debate, I went to a talk given by T.R. Reid. He was pessimistic about a the passage of a single payer, or even a government option, bill. But he had hopes of the country going the way of Canada, which began its national health program on a province-by-province basis.

Vermont is leading the way. But I must plug my own state, Colorado, where State Senator Irene Aguilar, a physician introduced a bill for a Colorado Health Care Cooperative. It passed the Senate reading just before the legislature adjourned for the year, but did not have the support to pass the Republican dominated House. So, she tabled the bill until next session. Like Vermont, Colorado would have to be granted various waivers if it were to set up a Cooperative.

everybody see this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3ewtMeAdKk

The only people who discourage participation in an action are those who oppose the objectives of that action. And all of that “oh those tactics don’t work, you should do something else” bs is about as convincing as the “we’ll cut Social Security to save it” argument, especially coming from someone who is discouraging the “something else,” too.

Be very suspicious of that kind of cynicism. It’s not cynicism. It’s something else masquerading as cynicism, and the intent is to undermine the goal, not the tactic.

There has been a tremendous amount of money thrown around to marginalize single payer movements in the past, which have tremendous popular support. Comment trolls are cheap and always part of the expenditure.

Yes, waivers are going to be important to any state’s ability to manage its health care system effectively. And you can bet the lobbyists are in there right now trying to make sure it never happens.

As long as there’s a GOP controlled Congress, unlikely there will be any movement on those that require congressional approval. But HHS has discretion over many of them. On those, there is really no excuse, unless MacDonald’s right to provide shitty health care outweighs states’ rights to provide good health care.

McDonald’s right to provide shitty health care is based on the principle that enhancing corporate profits is good, while states providing good health care is bad for profits.

So, yes. MacDonald’s right to provide shitty health care does outweigh states’ rights to provide good health care.

Exactly. Vermont may just lead the country in these actions. It has to start somewhere when the political parties do not have the citizens interests. Luckily for them, they also have a strong citizens advocate in Senator Sanders.

As a Vermonter who’s been heavily involved in this campaign, I would like to point out the incredible work that Peg Franzen, James Haslam, Kate Kanelstein of the Vermont Workers’ Center “Healthcare is a Human Right Campaign” have done on this issue. http://www.workerscenter.org/healthcare

While Deb Richter has certainly worked tirelessly on single-payer, the legislation enacted today would not have been possible without the grassroots movement the VWC built over the past three years. I would encourage anyone interested in learning how to build and sustain a similar movement for universal healthcare in their own state to look at the model the VWC used.

That would be nice if you had a governor who gave a crap about the people, versus wanting to simply slide into the Koch’s back pocket like this ass-hat in Michigan (and the one in WI and the one in Ohio, IN, etc).

Wow, a real unpaid-for judge. Awesome.

Spot on

Thanks for clearing that up – I signed assuming that was what you meant – but it is good that you made that clear.

I am confused as to what could actually start up in Vermont after each HHS waiver – I thought from the Vermont legislative debate that it was an all in when ALL the waivers where in, and nothing before then, although I can see how partial implementation could be achieve. Is the Governor down with partial implementation?

Thanks for that info. It’s good to know which groups are the “building blocks” for advocacy, especially when it works.

The MOST POWERFULL PETITION the American people possess…

Was given to us by the founding fathers… it’s called our VOTE !

No change is possible as long as the same corrupt Democratic and Republican politicians keep getting reelected-rewarded for their corruption over and over and over.

American voters need to have the courage to stand up to corruption. They need to have the courage to STOP voting for Democrats and Republicans.

The largest group of voters in the country are now Independents [not affiliated with any political party]. Independents are ready and willing to vote for candidates OTHER than D’s and R’s. Corruption is destroying the country. The time has come to break the back of the corrupt two party system. The time has come to stand up to corruption.

Ok – I think I understand that the idea is to get all the pieces in place for when the HCR waiver to trade an exchange for something else is available.

Meanwhile, a nice Q&A – “Mythbuster”!! :-) – is available at http://vermontforsinglepayer.org/images/userfiles/Myths_March2011%284%29.pdf

While I agree that voting is powerful, when there is so much corruption within the Supreme Court, Congress and the White House that they repeatedly ignore the interests and needs of the majority of citizens, sometimes you have to deal with individual issues AND work on that larger issue. For Vermont, to have a single payer health care system would be a path to remove some of the corruption by the health insurance industry (which is still making record profits at the expense of citizens)and might even make some health care providers who have “lost their way” rethink why they are in the business to begin with… “first do no harm”.

Absolutely. Would you do a post on that on MyFDL? We’d love to have all of the people who worked hard on this acknowledged, and someone who was integral to the effort would be perfect to write it.

No change is possible as long as people expect elected officials to do all the work for them, either.

The activists of VT got this done, and one of the ways they did that was by working to get this governor elected based on his support for a single payer program. They didn’t apply a litmus test to the letter he had next to his name before they took action.

I have no patience for a strategy that says “I’m staying on the sidelines until everyone does what I want.” Tell us what you’re doing and why it is superior to the efforts of the Vermont people if you think they should not be supported in their efforts.

Beautiful work. Congratulations to all.

You can find the letter requesting a waiver on that link. It could answer some of the questions posted here. Obama has said states can request a waiver if they prove they can do as well (I don’t think he had the nerve to say better) than AHC can.

signed and sent with gusto and hope for the future!

Jane, I’m also so glad when you take the time to have an engagement with FDL readers, like this. As many good lead writers as you have, Nobody Say’s It Better (than you).
I’ve just gotten involved in a grassroots project in my neighborhood where the community is just coming together to fight a proposed strip mine in the hills right next to our neighborhood. We’re starting by canvassing every house, taking names and numbers. We have a lot of work to do, dealing with LA zoning and planning commssions and committees, we need to educate everyone about the potential dangers. Not only traffic, 115 trucks a day driving next to our homes and schools. Not to mention lower property values. Hello. I’ve learned a lot about activism from being a member of FDL. I’m going to be stressing the health dangers. Ah ha! Thank you for being an inspiration.

Vermont had the bill before they had the governor. I like Peter but not ready to give him credit for the bill. I was actually worried because he didn’t win by any huge percentage.

Your response reminds us how far we have moved in letting the candidates dictate the issues rather than the issues dictating the candidates.

Thanks, Demi.

Diane Wilson was here the other day over at the book salon. She said she ignores politicians these days and just goes straight for the corporations:

http://fdlbooksalon.com/2011/05/22/fdl-book-salon-welcomes-diane-wilson/

Count me as someone who agrees with her: those who think nobody should act until the perfect people are in office are agitating for the status quo.

I’ll read that salon, thanks.
Our very first meeting was last night and there were about 50 people there. And, lots of smart ones too. Already about 15 of us are signed up to do the next step. Block leaders, etc. I have to tell you I’m very excited about this. I know that the corporations have the money, but we the people have a great case and strong hearts. I’m sure there’ll be some diaries from me coming out of this experience.

we are going to make sure that single payer is not left out of the conversation again.

thank you thank you thank you thank you

That’s awesome, Demi. DEFINITELY do a diary. I’m very interested in how this goes.

Tremendous credit to the PNHP people too, with special thanks to Margaret Flowers. She’s done incredible work (as she always does) on the PNHP side of things to make this happen.

Outta sight messaging. :-)

Jane… thanks for your reply.

First… let me quote the post to which we are all commenting…

“Yet Vermont won’t be able to fully achieve this goal without multiple waivers from federal health care programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare Part D and the new Affordable Care Act (ACA).

“If the Obama administration does not grant all the waivers Vermont needs, the system could fall short of its true potential. Large segments of the state’s population wouldn’t be properly brought into the new unified plan.”

I believe anyone who has been paying attention would recognize this as classic corrupt political party… FAKE POLITICAL THEATER.

The VT Democrats pass a bill which has virtually NO chance of actually succeeding at it’s intended goal because it can be rendered worthless by those in power in Washington [the Obama administration]and various other corrupt agencies. The Democratic party lords all know this… and the Health Insurance lobby knows this… the Democrats have no intentions of going against one of their campaign contributors and benifactors the Health Insurance Lobby.

The unltimate failure of this state law to really change anything… was BAKED INTO THE CAKE from the beginning. The Democrats are just stringing along their supporters… as they have done a gazillion times before.

Anyone who plays along with this charade is playing right into the hands of these serial game players… and falling prey to the false “hope and change” game being played by the Democrats.

Ultimately the ONLY thing that will get results in the will be the act of VOTING these people out of office. We then deprive their corruptors of their tools to loot the country. Nothing will ever REALLY change until that happens.

Awesome thread, everyone! Activism rules!

Also…

I am a lifelong liberal-progressive and an Ex-Democrat who re-registered as an Independent [ not affiliated with any political party].

I am not on the “sidelines”. I am advocating and entirely new way of thinkiing and voting. I am advocating for candidates who do not belong to a politicl party… ANY POLITICAL PARTY.

Political partys by there very nature are incubators for corruption… because their most basic function is to grovel for money from Wealthy Special Interests. That fact assures their corruption.

The majority of voters now are Independents. We can think for ourselves and are ready and willing to vote for candidates who are not part of the corrupt campaign money system. I could care less how many campaign ads a candidate runs or how much money he-she spends or who says what about them.

The only thing I care about is if they have demonstrated a willingness to work for the American people.

It’s possible to bring back good government… but not a long as voters keep voting for corrupt Democrats and corrupt Republicans over and over and over. Until that changes… no real change will ever occur.

Thanks again for giving us all the opportunity to speak out.

i’ve only heard good things about margaret flowers (never met her though). pnhp have been my healthcare reform go-to people for almost ten years… ever since i sat in on a presentation sorta by accident (was working with a student chapter of phr on some anti-war stuff). a great group. imo one of the very very best.

In response to UnkaWillbur @ 35

And you’re also telling people that civil disobedience will have no impact, when actually it’s been the most effective tactic people have been using, and equating it with “violence.”

I suggest that “UnkaWillbur” read Ray Arsenault’s Freedom Riders, and drop by Sunday’s book salon to ask the author about the “ineffectiveness” of civil disobedience and non-violence.

One of the reasons Professor Arsenault wrote the book: to educate fools like “UnkaWillbur,” or at least prevent their spawning.

All one need do is drive around and view the vacant strip malls where local small businesses normally function. Well at least the top 3% wealthiest of the population are in agreement with this current version of Capitalism and that seems to work for the current occupants of Congress and the White House. The rest of us keep asking the same question that we have been asking the multi-nationals for the past 15 years; where are your future customers coming from ?

Please check my email to congresswoman Shiela Jackson Lee in my Diary. We need to stop & reverse the 27 TRILLION $$$$$$ BAILOUT.
Lakonas

So would the necessary waiver from the ACA be a show stopper unless Congress goes along with it?

Also, it seems to me the ultimate goal would not be just single payer, but single payer / single source — a long way down the road.

If healthcare is deemed a “right,” as seems to be the direction we are heading, then it would seek a level field for individuals. That would not be limited to access but it would also include quality. I don’t think that’s achievable under ACA, as written, or even basic single payer though that’s better.

It’s fun to play mind games with the possibilities and consequences in this. Yet we don’t live in a perfect world.