Obama: Critics 'stop scaring everybody'

Republican Corporate-Sponsored "Patients United Now" - A Big Insurance Industry Lobbying Group, Funded With GOP Dollars, Is Trying To Kill The National Healthcare Plan For Poor And Middle-Class Americans:

After orchestrating and funding the so-called "Tea Parties" movement, "Americans for Prosperity" — a nationwide front group founded and funded by the right-wing polluter Koch Industries — is launching an ad campaign characterizing President Obama’s effort to reform the health care system as a government take-over that will ration care and care and deny treatments.

"Americans for Prosperity" is notorious for its fake Republican grassroots efforts, funneling millions of dollars into conservative campaigns designed to undermine public initiatives. As Lee Fang put it, “AFP is a professional Republican AstroTurf machine”:

~ They Hosted ‘Drill Baby, Drill’ rallies around the country.

~ They Financed Joe the Plumber’s tour against the Employees’ Free Choice Act and other anti-EFCA rallies.

~ They Started NoStimulus.com, “a grassroots website that we hope will be a focal point for the widespread frustration ordinary Americans feel at the runaway government growth that we see during good economic times and bad.”

Now, they're operating under the name "Patients United Now, Americans for Prosperity", (which is mostly funded by large multinational corporations) and they're masquerading as an organic grassroots movement pretending to be "outraged" over the Presidents health care proposals.

The effort provides cover or ‘grassroots clout’ for conservative politicians and activists to oppose the President’s health care initiative. But this collection of trumped-up charges, outright lies and complete fabrications makes little headway in critiquing the President’s actual proposal." Just like all other peddlers of the “government take-over” critique — Frank Luntz, Conservatives for Patients Rights, Betsy McCaughey, Rick Scott and Sally Pipes — the goal is to define Obama’s proposal in their terms rather than to engage in a debate about health care or offer real solutions to the crisis..
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http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/05/27/pun/

WaPo/ABC poll:

54% of Americans support a government run option paid for by taxes on the rich (the very same rich people whom the BushCo Republicans gave tax cuts to the last eight years while everyone else was left to drown in debt).
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/postpoll_072009.html

That's a damning statistic and indictment against any claim that the Republican party is a national party. They only act in the narrow interests of their own small, local electorate, never what's in the best interests of the national party.

And the interests of the national party and the interests of those rigid, ideologue, conservative Republicans are opposed to each other.

The only Republicans left are extremists in extremely Republican states (excepting perhaps Maine) and their extremely Republican, conservative electorate doesn't line up with the American electorate.

Republican Congressman who oppose universal health insurance should immediately relinquish their federal health insurance. After all, these members of Congress have long enjoyed taxpayer-subsidized health insurance, a privilege that they apparently believe tens of millions of working, uninsured Americans and their families don't deserve.

If Republicans don't think being uninsured is a big deal, then they should go right ahead and try it out. And if they really believe a public plan is such a bad option, maybe they can persuade their parents to give up Medicare too.

Unlike you mr liar in chief, the critics have read the bill. You are the one scaring the 80% that are happy with their health care. The critics aren't the ones making up the number of uninsured to ram through a bill that no one has read.

Why do the critics include a large number of dems as well as the dem controlled CBO.

When you only argument is "trust me, its good for you" it is obvious you are lying and simply appealing to your mindless followers.

The "Baucus Bailout Bill" is the Republican "Healthcare" Plan aka A Big Givaway To The Healthcare Industrial Complex and Nothing For Average Americans Who Can't Afford Healthcare Coverage.

We all know the 3 Blue Dog Democrats and 3 Republicans (okay, okay, 6 Republicans) on the Senate Finance Committee have floated key provisions of their so-called bipartisan health care bill. We also know the bill they float is a winner for America's health insurance industries and a loser for poor and middle class Americans.

We have all been waiting with baited breath for the Republicans to put forth their health reform bill. The Republicans respond with "well, we did," or "we don't want to," or "we're still putting the final touches on it."

Well, folks, the final touches have been finished and the bill has been found! The Baucus Bailout bill is the Republican Health Care Plan aka A Big Givaway To The Healthcare Industrial Complex, we've all been waiting for. It is NOT the Democrats' bill. It IS the Republicans' bill. Let's hang it around their necks instead of ours.

America needs to know that Republicans are responsible for this bill, and we need to be sure they know. Here's proof:

The Baucus/Republican Bailout:

(1) says large businesses do not have to offer coverage to their workers;

(2) is a giveaway to the insurance companies (gives them millions of new and unwilling customers at whatever price they want to charge);

(3) says there will be no governmental option to keep prices down or offer a safety net (Public Option);

(4) does nothing to lower health care premium costs;

(5) does everything to increase health care premium costs;

(6) says that all Americans have to buy health insurance policies whether they can afford them or not.

Read the above list again. Does that sound like a Democratic bill to you? Does that look like a Democratic bill to you? Of course not. That duck quacking above doesn't look or sound like a duck because it isn't the Democrats bill. It is a REPUBLICAN BILL.

The only thing that scares me more than Barry are those horrid close ups of Nancy Pelosi.

The trouble is that most Americans don't believe him about keeping your plan and your doctor, because one of the bills already out there says otherwise. And most Americans are smart enough to know there's no free lunch -- you can't cover more people and offer better care, and still reduce costs. No magic wands here -- just magic "wants."

Our health care system is disintegrating. Today, 46 million people have no health insurance and even more are underinsured with high deductibles and co-payments. At a time when 60 million people, including many with insurance, do not have access to a medical home, more than 18,000 Americans die every year from preventable illnesses because they do not get to the doctor when they should. This is six times the number who died at the tragedy of 9/11 - but this occurs every year.

In the midst of this horrendous lack of coverage, the U.S. spends far more per capita on health care than any other nation - and health care costs continue to soar. At $2.4 trillion dollars, and 18 percent of our GDP, the skyrocketing cost of health care in this country is unsustainable both from a personal and macro-economic perspective.

It always makes me laugh when I hear people say they want to preserve "insurance choice" in this country. What choice do you have when you work and are nominally "insured," but your insurance coverage doesn't pay for anything you need? Are you then going to have the ability to run out and purchase extra coverage on the wages you make? Well, I guess you have the "choice" to rob a bank or maybe win the lottery to pay for it, but that's about it.

Republicans and their rich oligarchy supporters (Healthcare CEO's and Lobbyists) will do anything to kill a good healthcare bill because they know people will like it and when that happens their electoral goose will be cooked for generations - if it's not already.

We all remember the commercials that were made by Republicans and their pals at the Big Insurance Industry to trick Americans into thinking that health care reform would hurt average working families. We now see what has happened to the health-care system. CEOs rake in the big bucks from the huge profits they take in as health-insurance costs have skyrocketed.

FierceHealthcare reports the following top 10 CEO salaries for 2008:
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* Ron Williams - Aetna - Total Compensation: $24,300,112.
* H. Edward Hanway - CIGNA - Total Compensation: $12,236,740.
* Angela Braly - WellPoint - Total Compensation: $9,844,212.
* Dale Wolf - Coventry Health Care - Total Compensation: $9,047,469.
* Michael Neidorff - Centene - Total Compensation: $8,774,483.
* James Carlson - AMERIGROUP - Total Compensation: $5,292,546.
* Michael McCallister - Humana - Total Compensation: $4,764,309.
* Jay Gellert - Health Net - Total Compensation: $4,425,355.
* Richard Barasch - Universal American - Total Compensation: $3,503,702.
* Stephen Hemsley - UnitedHealth Group - Total Compensation: $3,241,042.

My rates go up and coverage goes down every time I turn around. And then they just decide not to cover certain medications without an explanation. Even scumbag criminals are resurfacing like Rick Scott to try and con America for a second time -- and the corporate media does nothing about it.
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http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/dont-let-third-way-ben-nelsons-or-repub

The GOP has no ideas, no plans, no visions, no leadership, and could care less about the welfare of most Americans. They are a negative, frustrated, and miserable lot of hypocrites. As of today, there is not a single Republican who would defeat Obama in 2012. The new Republiscum buzzword is socialism. They scared silly of it.

Swamp Censors: why is all this spam allowed to pop in post after post after post? Just about everyone of these items are the same ones that have been posted over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. The alleged "john A," "former republican," "greta," "mullah limbaugh," "kathy," and "devil's advocate." These posts have been posted already today, posted in several Swamp items yesterday, the day before, the day before that and so on and so forth. If the Lefty Loons who destroy every communication vehicle they infiltrate have no further ability to discuss the issues, then keep your ignorant traps shut!

By the way, what Obimbo means by "please stop scaring everyone," is "shhhhhh, the less known about my plans the better to get them through. Don't tell the people what our plans are."

you can't cover more people and offer better care, and still reduce costs. No magic wands here -- just magic "wants."

Posted by: Beth | July 29, 2009 2:29 PM

Other countries spend a fraction of what the United States does,, and recieve better healthcare as measured by an array of qwquantifiable standards. Are those countries just smarter than us? Do they have a magic wand? Why do we pay far per capita for healthcare than in any other nation on earth, without getting better results than those countries which pay less?

I'll be surprised if those 5 reforms make it into the final bill. The whole mess is now being driven by a few Blue Dogs and the Republicans. The final version of whatever emerges will be a Republican plan. None of the reforms Obama mentions above fit the Republican mindset.
The only thing left for the Democrats and liberals in congress to do is obstruct and or defeat the emerging mess. No bill will be better than what is emerging.
Short of that, Obama needs to veto the dirty dog.

I don't know if this counts for anything, and The Swamp reserves the right to do as they please. I'm cool with it. However, I'm with Johnny on the spam issue. Like over and over and over and over and over and over and over ......
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As to this reform, I give up until I see what's in it, and it will be evaluated looking at what it does for the people before what it does for the insurance industry. Very convenient for our "leaders" to frame this as socialism up against one swift move to shaft Obama. It keeps the ball away from the realities in the bill.

Unlike BO who says unless the Stimulus is past immediately, we will get into the next Great Depression.

BO on October 28, 2008 "We are in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. 760,000 workers have lost their jobs this year. Businesses and families can't get credit. Home values are falling. Pensions are disappearing. Wages are lower than they've been in a decade, at a time when the cost of health care and college have never been higher. It's getting harder and harder to make the mortgage, or fill up your gas tank, or even keep the electricity on at the end of the month." Lot's of hope here. This is also the same guy who said they under-estimated the condition of the economy.

Former,

Of that 46 million - 9 million make over $75,000 per year - so they chose to go w/o health insurance. Another 9 million are illegal aliens. That brings the number down to 28 million.

Let's give the 28 million some vouchers and let them go buy health insurance in the private market

How about this for a real health reform plan (one way to help solve the problem): We have medical savings accounts, but if you don't use it all by the end of the year you lose it. Rather than losing it, how about if that money keeps rolling over? Health care is more necessary as we get older, so an interest-bearing savings account that can only be used for health care that grows each year, makes sense. And then because folks don't want to lose the money in there, they use it, whether they need to or not. This way, if there is $2,000 in the account and only $400 is used, that $1,600 rolls over into the new year and the excess amount keep rolling over and earning interest. And because most folks will be frugal with that account, they will be more mindful of health care costs.
Just an idea. Course, I am sure those on the Left will not like it for whatever nonsensical reason they desire.

Not the critics that scare me, its Obama as he is so reckless with the taxpayers money.

"We have medical savings accounts, but if you don't use it all by the end of the year you lose it. Rather than losing it, how about if that money keeps rolling over"

My HSA rolls over and earns interest, doesn't yours? I guess that companmy provided, insurance company administered plan you have is really crap. Too bad you don't have an alternative. Oh well, I guess your company chose their bottom line over your health. I bet your glad that yoyur employer has such compltete control over your health, aren't you John? Keep fighting hard to make sure you don't have any option other than your employers bad plan!

Well, they can't scare America with the spectre that minorities will take over, because America voted Obama into the White House.

So on to the theatre of the absurd:

Govt. health plan will euthanize senior citizens.

And such like lies.

James, James, James, James, my company plan is just fine. I have no complaints with it. They have covered every doctor visit as well as physical therapy on my shoulder. No complaints whatsoever with my insurance.
Now, it seems your company also has a good plan. You have an MSA that does carry over. Sounds like a pretty good private company plan to me. Why don't you like it? And why do you think the government plan will be better?

Obama:

""First of all,'' the president said today before an audience at a high school in Raleigh, N.C., " no one is talking about some government takeover of health care."

Versus Reality:

"Rep. Paul Ryan: What’s weird about that line right there, Katrina [van den Heuvel], is that I know you and others are very much in favor of a single-payer plan, which is obviously to deny competition and have the government run it all. What’s concerning about this debate with me is that you’re using capitalist rhetoric to try and move a plan that is inherently anti-market.

The problem is that the facts tell us this: A public plan option quickly becomes a government-run monopoly….The actuaries are telling us is that in a few short years, the public plan option displaces the private sector, employers dump their employees on the public plan, and then they have no choices but the public plan.

And so, let’s not try to sell a government-run plan using free market rhetoric. Let’s have an honest debate about what this bill is all about."

"This way, if there is $2,000 in the account and only $400 is used, that $1,600 rolls over into the new year and the excess amount keep rolling over and earning interest."

$2K won't even pay for one day of stay at the hospital. Good luck! This isn't a 401k. . .

Obama: "These folks need to stop scaring everybody.''


Surely you jest!! You've been using nothing but scare tactics and fearmongering ever since day one to push your agenda:

"If we don't pass the stimulus immediately, we will face an economic catastrophe."

"If we don't pass cap and trade immediately, we will face an environmental catastrophe."

"If we don't pass healthcare reform immediately, we will face a medical catastrophe."

Am I the only person here to see the staggering irony in all this?

Anyone? Anyone? ...

Why don't you like it? And why do you think the government plan will be better?

Posted by: John D | July 29, 2009 10:43 PM

The plan is OK, but that could change tomorrow, and I would have no say in it, otr no other realistic option if they made the plan worse. (Which has happened before)

In addition, I've considered starting my own consulting business a couple of times, but the lack of a decent option for health coverage for my family has just made it unrealistic. The costs are just so much higher outside of the large group plans that companies can get. Under the proposed plan, I would have access to those same kind of group rates. That would be a good thing, but the Republicans, who claim to support small business and entrepreners are fighting giving me that option. They want me tied to my company. I guess we know who's intrests they really care about, don't we. It's not me, it's not you, it's the CEO, and you like a good little sheep cheer as they work hard to make sure you don't have a choice over your own healthcare.

James, the Republicans have been in favor of a plan that allows small businesses to pool together to get better and less expensive health insurance options. Republicans also have been in favor of allowing health insurance to be sold across state lines. There also is a small business association (name escapes me at the moment) that I once was a member of in which I got my health insurance through and there were a variety of plans to choose from and at reasonable rates.

And, Mr. Rodney King, those numbers were just for example purposes. Yes, an emergency room visit far exceeds $2,000 for one night. I know having just spent a night there a few weeks ago. It was more than $13,000, but with insurance that rate was lowered and covered by mean and nasty Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
But one way to help bring medical costs down (in addition to tort reform, which the Democrats are against) is to make folks a little more responsible for the costs and more atuned.

Anyone who reads the bill will be scared. It has over 1000 new mandates. It creates hundreds of new panels, boards, and other governmental entities.

Obreshnev Care (plus) the Elderly (equals) Shovel Ready Project.

Here's the real secret, James:
Single payer health ins. would give everyone more freedom, not less.
You just stated one of the reasons; Freedom to change jobs, move, or start a small business.

Only in John D.(evola's) world does more freedom = less freedom.

Also, nowhere in any government plan will you have less choice of doctors or hospitals. In fact, we would all be using the same doctors and hospitals that we do now.

Also, under any private plan, you are restricted to certain doctors, hospitals and treatments, and if you get sick on vacation and seek medical care out of network, you are really screwed.

As usual, the right wing is talking nonsense at a high volume.

Posted by: John D | July 29, 2009 3:49 PM

Geographically Stupid Little Johnnie D is in top crybaby form - way better than his usual whining.

Idiot-for-Life BC, speaking of true crybabies, has your wife changed your diaper yet today and your bib?
If you could read, which I know you can't, oh why even bother? Obimbo can bowl a better game than you can be rational, reasoned with and intelligent.

Accusing someone of not being "rational, reasoned with and intelligent" in the same sentance as childish schoolyard name calling "Obimbo."

Now THAT'S hypocrisy!!!