On June 15th, The Reverend wrote this…
"As I have blogged previously, I firmly believe that any health care reform coming out of Washington, inevitably, will exclude a public option and, most likely, will tax employer-provided health care benefits as well. Love to be wrong about that."
Two months and a hundred swastikas later….
Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND)…
"The fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the United States Senate for a public option. There never have been, so to continue to chase that rabbit, I think, is just a wasted effort." said Conrad.
Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius….
"I think what's important is choice and competition and I'm convinced at the end of the day, the plan will have both of those. But [a public option] is not the essential element," said Sebelius
In other words, if you liked that donut hole gimmick from Medicare Plan D which costs seniors thousands of unnecessary dollars…..you're going to love the financial ass-kicking coming your way in the soon-to-be-passed, minority orchestrated, health care reform bill.
I try my best to be optimistic about the United States and it's future prospects…..but alas, it is to no avail. No matter how cynical I get….no matter how much hyperbole I employ…..it's never enough to match the reality of a nation hopelessly enslaved to a small group of filthy rich corporate controllers and their media and political puppets.
Consider….
We watched a Dot.com bubble inflate and deflate into the pockets of hedge funds. We watched criminal banksters gamble away America's near term economic life while those same hedge funds deflated another artificially induced bubble and put what was left into their pockets. We watched a totally corrupt non-regulated commodities "market" steal hundreds of billions of dollars from Americans and stuff all of it into the pockets of a tiny minority of sharks and con-artists with $4 per gallon gasoline. All of that within the last 10 years and absolutely nothing has changed to prevent all three of those financial catastrophes from happening again.
And now we're going to witness a further takeover of the government and America's resources by yet another tiny pocket of filthy rich insurance and pharma crooks with a health care reform plan that is anything but. The irony here is that lying propagandists have scared Americans by falsely arguing that the government would take over the health care industry if a public option passed, while the reality is that the health insurance industry will have sucessfully taken over the government without including a public option.
What will come out of a Congress that is unsalvagably corrupt, what will come out of a Congress that is sloppy drunk on the bribes from big corporations, will not only make health care in America worse and more expensive…..but it will also help to usher in a return of the treasonous GOP political party to power.
What Americans will be told is that the vile legislation Congress will pass and Obama will sign…..will reform health care nationally. Nothing could be further from the truth. At the very best, all that is going to be passed is some weak health insurance reform. Weak for average Americans hoping for lower costs and more accessible coverage, and yet extremely strong for a corrupt, gangland-style health insurance industry who will be guaranteed upwards of 50 million new customers.
Without a public option to keep private insurance crooks from perennially raising it's coverage costs to consumers, we will all be subjected to economic enslavement, to the whims of CEO's who will continue to benefit by denying treatment while continually raising prices. And I don't even want to hear any pussified talk about some non-existent co-op exchange instead of a true public option.
So, basically, we're screwed. As ever-increasing health care costs continue to take what's left of America's economy and hand it over to a handful of the country's richest people (as we witnessed in the Dot.com crime, $4 gasoline theft, and bankster caper)….Democrats will be blamed for all of it. Hey, they were in charge when health care "reform" was passed.
Despite what Big Dog Bill Clinton says about the country moving more and more towards the progressive side……what will actually happen is that spineless, "bipartisanship"-seeking, corporately-compromised, Democrats will take the blame for the abject failure of health care…..and that will pave the way for a return to power of the openly-criminal political party, the Republicans.
I want to personally thank the equally corrupt appendage of the Republican Party, corporate-whore media, for appropriately scaring enough of the American people with their exceptional coverage of every crazy wingnut m'f'er they could possibly locate and grant 24/7 looped video to.
A job well done.
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
The Dems own the media Rev. All of it but FOX. Also, most of the hedgge funds and big corporate whores that run the country…yep again lib democrats. Guess what else we are going to be paying $3 a gallon for gas here in about 6 months..why you ask…the Dems amd Obama are printiing money so fast the the dollar is crumbling. This is 100% the dems fault. They tried to sell us a bill of goods without being able to answer basic questions. Now we all suffer. They tried to slam it through and America answered back. Why? Obama took more time with picking out the WH dog.
Americans wouldn't have been scared if the Dems would have presented a complete bill instead of an incomplete bill with huge gaps.
I'm not giving up yet. I can think of at least a couple of reasons to do this. One is or fire up the people supporting the public option so make themselves heard along side the crazys screaming at the townhalls. Another is that is it a compromise into something that may work even better. Obama is a compromiser and that is why when someone brings up something he has said in the past or some position he has stated and point to it saying he is being untrustworthy I sometimes chuckle and sometimes just plain get annoyed and say who cares. The idea is to get the best plan/compromise we can for the American people — politically someone who never moderates his or her opinion based on what he or she has learned is a Republican.
Reverend,
I can't understand why you always seem to have an unquestionable favoring and trust in the Democratic party? If your goal is just to paint Republicans as money-grubbing corporate whores, well done. Not like that's too difficult to do. Now, we're in a situation where the Democrats have overwhelming majorities in congress, as well as the presidency, and the same things are passing that would have passed in the Republican led days. Democrats are money grubbing corporate whores too! (blasphemy, I know)
The only 'compromise' going on is how to distribute the special interest money between the parties. Our great choice between two parties isn't much of a choice at all. I hope this doesn't pave the way for GOP to take back over, but instead for a fairly reasoned 3rd party to step in place. If not, we look to be on the quick road to bankruptcy as a country.
Easy, Rev. All is not lost yet. Non-profit insurance co-ops might pass. Same as the public option but without the government running the show.
"Democrats will be blamed for all of it. Hey, they were in charge when health care "reform" was passed."
Who else would you blame ? The GOP can't stop the Dems. They don't have the votes. Not a single GOP vote is needed to stop health care reform. The BlueDogs are your problem. What has really happened here is that the public is against Obama on health care reform, and the Democrats are getting scared.
Could it be that the Reverend is awakening to what poltics is really all about for BOTH parties now ? That Dem=good, GOP=bad narrative you've been peddling never was true, my friend. They are both corrupt, which is why keeping government as small as possible is the best way.
These posts remind me of a time when Washington and Adams and Jefferson and Hamilton argued about Federalists v. State RIghts, etc… President Washington at the time did not join a party in order to keep the politics out of the office. It is like we always say" Governemnt is fine, as long as you keep the politics out of it". I say vote them all out, regardless which sde of the aisle they are on. Aaron is right-on, "Our great choice between two parties isn't much of a choice at all". This 3rd party will need a cable channel to go up against MSNBC and FOX. Any ideas on a catchy name?
Just something that is good to read
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/17/potter.health.insurance/index.html
This one Reverand sort of backs up what you said before about the attack was racial and more about Obama . I know I am posting it wrong place but I want some to read it
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/08/17/2009-08-17_its_obama_theyre_after.html
Rev,
Your title says it all. We are screwed. There is but one truism: FOLLOW THE MONEY. Wouldn't it be great if there were a conflict of interest rule that would forbid Congresspeople from voting on any issue affecting their campaign contributors?
Mr. averagejoe5,
Democrats own the media? Ya gotta be kidding! I'll grant you that the Democrats are just as beholden to Wall Street as the Republicans, but they aren't what I'd call liberal. I'd call them traitors to the working folks of this country that they used to represent. All that changed with the formation of the Democratic Leadership Council, led by Bill Clinton, which cynically decided that if they were to compete with Republicans on raising money, they'd better whore themselves out to Wall Street. If you wish to know which way the wind blows for your representatives, see where their campaign contributions come from.
King, everybody knows the Dems don't have the votes in the Senate.
What was McCain's take on Obama's retreat, mary?
Andrea, thanks for those links.
I had to pass this along, from the Rude Pundit's blog:
"Sometimes they are referred to as the 'radical Right.' But the fact is that there is nothing radical about them. They offer no novel solutions to the problems that plague them; indeed, they offer no solutions at all. They are immensely discontented with things as they are and furiously impatient with almost everyone in public office who can in any way be held responsible for their frustrations. But it cannot be said that they hold any clearly stated objectives or have any specific program either in common or individuals. They are fundamentally and temperamentally 'aginners.' And perhaps the commonest characteristic among them is anger. They can fairly be called, if nothing else, the Rampageous Right."
That's from Alan Barth, writing in the New York Times Magazine on November 26, 1961, talking about, among other things, the rise in conservative activist anger about discussions of starting Medicare. Barth continued that to this group of right wingers, "socialism is an epithet applied indiscriminately to almost any form of collective endeavor. Thus, any governmentally operated insurance program to provide medical care for the elderly is denounced as Socialist." To them, welfare and "even the progressive income tax are all looked upon as satanically inspired deviations from capitalism." Also driving this anger were groups like the John Birch Society (which still exists) talking about Communist infiltration into the civil rights movement and the Democratic Party, a trifecta of a conspiracy theory. Barth mentions how well-funded the groups were by wealthy donors and corporations.
And here's one more tidbit: "Most frenetic of the fanatics is the group calling itself the Minutemen…They have actually organized themselves into armed bands of civilian guerrillas." President John F. Kennedy didn't say he understood how they felt. He mocked such extremism for being idiotic.
larry d last I read McCain did not support a public option. In my reading today lots of folks who support the public option are speaking out. I know I took the time yesterday to contact my senators and representatives about my feelings. I would like Obama to be more the face of the public option but I also know from business the way to get something controversial accomplished is to get a larger more vocal more articulate band of supporters on your side. I still think if someone is really interested in health care reform he or she has to gather their thoughts and know what they want to see in health care reform. Then they need to make their wants known. If you cannot articulate what you would like to see in a good heath care system in the US AND you are complaining about each and every possible change that is proposed then I have to believe you do not support any form of health reform policy and thay you are only complaining because of who is pushing for it for whatever reason. And by the way articulating what you do not want is NOT articulating what you do want.
Thanks for all the thoughtful comments on this topic.
Co-ops do not exist and would take many years just to set up. That's the reason why corporate-whore Democrats and all the Republicans call for co-ops….they know they will have no effect whatsoever in creating competition.
Pure fig leaf.
The Democratic Party, as frank mentions, decided to whore itself for the campaign cash from corporations who are not looking out for anything but their profits.
The reason I am a Democrat is because, in principle, the Democratic Party is the only party that represents the people.
I wish anybody good luck with placing their hopes in a third party. It just ain't gonna' happen.
Very good links Andrea, thanks.
Steve,
How about the Liberty News Network ?
Tbomb,
There are 60 Dems and 40 Repubs in the Senate.
Rev,
It's also going to take several years to setup the public option (it wouldn't go into effect until 2013). Co-ops could be accomplished in the same time period, and the government would hand out the seed money.
And the only reason a third party can't succeed is because of the defeatist view that it can't. It can succeed, but a lot of folks will have to get involved.
Almost all Republican voters do support a public option Rev. They don't support govt takeover.
King I think if the right 3rd party candidate got involved it just may. Ross Perot wasn't that far off in the general 1992 election. He recieived 19% of the popular vote, even though he didn't win any electoral college votes.
I think it was possible that Perot could have won that election. He was polling much higher and connecting with the people, but then he dropped out, and re-entered again later. He lost a lot of votes when he did that.
WE ARE SO SCREWED IN THE U.S. BECAUSE HEALTHCARE IS FOR PROFIT,and always will be….The rich CEO's and the others involved will NEVER let their profitting go. We have crossed the point of no return. Don't expect ANYTHING to get better.We bail out the rich only while they profit off the Taxpayers money when they are in trouble. The Lobbyists pay the Politicians,so we are done. Best to move to another country where they have National FREE Healthcare. Our Government is lying when they tell you bad things about other countries Healthcare system because they DO NOT want to give up THEIR profitting on Healthcare. We also need to change giving birth rights to every Illegal that dumps a baby on us,and CLOSE the borders..Don't expect it to get better..OBAMA is NOT GOD..(this I say especially to black people that worship him because he's their "color") get a clue. He's NOT GOD!