Wednesday, September 2, 2009
President Obama is expected to deliver a major healthcare speech next week, when Congress returns from its August recess. Although House leaders like Speaker Nancy Pelosi insist any bill must include a public insurance option, Obama has no plans to insist on it himself.
According to senior adviser David Axelrod:
“We’re entering a new season. It’s time to synthesize and harmonize these strands and get this done. We’re confident that we can do that. But obviously it is a different phase. We’re going to approach it in a different way. The president is going to be very active.”
Top White House officials concede the past six weeks have taken their toll on Obama’s popularity. The historic drop in job approval numbers appear to explain the president’s willingness to abandon the public insurnace option from any healthcare reform bill.
From the Left 
The logic of the Obama White House escapes me.
If the president stand up to his “liberal base,” in the minds of Axelrod and Emanual, this will make the president appear to be a strong and decisive leader?
I think standing up to his conservative critics in the Republican minority is the thing that will make him appear be a strong and decisive leader.
I’ll go a step further. No public option equals no reelection in 2012. It’s that simple. President Obama needs to remember who got him elected in the first place and it isn’t the insurance industry or southern conservatives. If he throws his base under the bus, he’s in trouble.
Obama made a huge error letting the Congress go home for August without a vote on healthcare. This decision alone resulted in the president losing control of the debate and ceding it to the townhall loons and the rightwing cable news channels like Fox and CNN.
1994 redux?
I just don’t understand what happened?
We have enough money to keep Bush’s Iraq war going for another year and money to expand the war in Afghanistan but we can’t afford the public option?
Please, someone explain what am I missing here?
It’s a Politico article, and Politico is a notorious right wing mouthpiece. I hope they’re blowing smoke (and they do that a lot.)
If we don’t have the public insurance option, the I would prefer no healthcare reform bill at all.
Single payer was my preference at the start and the president quickly threw that out too.
I have lived long enough to know if the insurance industry is involved in the bill, we’re going to get screwed.
We still have the insane donut hole in Medicare Part D, so my vote is get rid of it first, then deal with the public option next year or in 2011.
That’s not some change I can believe in. I wonder which direction the wind is going to blow tomorrow?
Just get the public option done, for Christ’s sake.
Obama was elected with a mandate to change the course of government and this included meaningful healthcare reform.
Why do these people get to Washington and then dissolve into hapless, spineless wimps once in office?
NO CO-OP’S! A Little History Lesson
Young People. America needs your help.
More than two thirds of the American people want a single payer health care system. And if they cant have a single payer system 77% of all Americans want a strong government-run public option on day one (86% of democrats, 75% of independents, and 72% of republicans). Basically everyone.
According to a new AARP POLL: 86 percent of seniors want universal healthcare security for All, including 93% of Democrats, 87% of Independents, and 78% of Republicans. And 79% of seniors support creating a new strong Government-run public option plan, available immediately. Including 89% of Democrats, 80% of Independents, and 61% of Republicans, STUNNING!! Senator Max Baucus, You better come out of committee with a strong government-run public option available on day one.
The History:
Our last great economic catastrophe was called the Great Depression. Then as now it was caused by a reckless, and corrupt Republican administration and republican congress. FDR a Democrat, was then elected to save the nation and the American people from the unbridled GREED and profiteering, of the unregulated predatory self-interest of the banking industry and Wallstreet. Just like now.
FDR proposed a Government-run health insurance plan to go with Social Security. To assure all Americans high quality, easily accessible, affordable, National Healthcare security. Regardless of where you lived, worked, or your ability to pay. But the AMA riled against it. Using all manor of scare tactics, like Calling it SOCIALIZED MEDICINE!! :-0
So FDR established thousands of co-op’s around the country in rural America. And all of them failed. The biggest of these co-op organizations would become the grandfather of the predatory monster that all of you know today as the DISGRACEFUL GREED DRIVEN PRIVATE FOR PROFIT health insurance industry. And the DISGRACEFUL GREED DRIVEN PRIVATE FOR PROFIT healthcare industry.
This former co-op would grow so powerful that it would corrupt every aspect of healthcare delivery in America. Even corrupting the Government of the United States.
This former co-op’s name is BLUE CROSS/BLUE SHIELD.
Do you see now why even the suggestion of co-op’s is ridiculous. It makes me so ANGRY! Co-op’s are not a substitute for a government-run public option.
They are trying to pull the wool over our eye’s again. Senators, if you don’t have the votes now, GET THEM! Or turn them over to us. WE WILL! DEAL WITH THEM. Why do you think we gave your party Control of the House, Control of the Senate, Control of the Whitehouse. The only option on the table that has any chance of fixing our healthcare crisis is a STRONG GOVERNMENT-RUN PUBLIC OPTION.
An insurance mandate and subsidies without a strong government-run public option choice available on day one, would be worse than the healthcare catastrophe we have now. The insurance, and healthcare industry have been very successful at exploiting the good hearts of the American people. But Congress and the president must not let that happen this time. House Progressives and members of the Tri-caucus must continue to hold firm on their demand for a strong Government-run public option.
A healthcare reform bill with mandates and subsidies but without a STRONG government-run public option choice on day one, would be much worse than NO healthcare reform at all. So you must be strong and KILL IT! if you have too. And let the chips fall where they may. You can do insurance reform without mandates, subsidies, or taxpayer expense.
Actually, no tax payer funds should be use to subsidize any private for profit insurance plans. So, NO TAX PAYER SUBSIDIES TO PRIVATE FOR PROFIT PLANS. Tax payer funds should only be used to subsidize the public plans. Healthcare reform should be 100% for the American people. Not another taxpayer bailout of the private for profit insurance industry, disguised as healthcare reform for the people.
God Bless You
Jacksmith — Working Class
Twitter search #welovetheNHS #NHS Check it out
(http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/why-markets-cant-cure-healthcare/)
Senator Bernie Sanders on healthcare (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSM8t_cLZgk&feature=player_embedded)
American HEROES!! 🙂 Click replay to play http://bit.ly/j31oU
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbWw23XwO5o) CYBER WARRIORS!! – TAKE THIS VIRAL