by Noam N. Levey
The left may be livid at Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Senate Democratic leaders who caved to his demand to remove any public option from the healthcare bill that Democrats are pushing to pass next week.
But bowing to reality, Health Care for America Now, the influential coalition of liberal activist groups, plans to send a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) this afternoon calling for passage of the legislation, the group's campaign manager Richard Kirsch said.
"There are major problems with the Senate bill," Kirsch said in an interview today. "But if the Senate doesn't act, there will be no healthcare reform ... The place to fix (the Senate bill) is in a conference committee" with House and Senate leaders at the table.
The House healthcare bill includes a provision to create a new national government-run insurance plan that would be available to Americans who do not get their coverage through work.
Health Care for America Now's members include MoveOn.org, the NAACP, the AFL-CIO and the American Nurses Association.
Calling Lieberman's renunciation of a Medicare expansion that he had backed just a few months earlier "despicable," Kirsch labeled Lieberman "a neutron bomb for the insurance industry" in healthcare negotiations.
But he said liberal activists were hopeful that House Democrats would succeed in restoring a government plan in the final bill that is sent to President Obama.
"If anyone thinks that this is the last public option story we're be reading, they are very mistaken," he said.
Comments
Health Care: The Poisoned Chalice
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"With government in control, we have the health care you would expect. We have costly regulation. We have cartelization and unions. We have credentialism. We have politicians like Harry Reid trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear with our money.
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Harry's problem is yet another predictable unintended consequence of any government spending. As health care costs rise to pay for the government interventions, more and more people clamor for subsidies because they can't pay the government-mandated higher costs. Naturally, the people already benefiting from government subsidies get nervous. After all, they should come first.
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Poor Harry Reid. He's the guy left holding the poisoned chalice of liberal health care fantasy. And he might lose his Senate seat over it.."
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http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/12/healthcare_the_poisoned_chalic_1.html
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | December 15, 2009 3:12 PM
These liberal groups?
Health Care for America Now's members include MoveOn.org, the NAACP, the AFL-CIO and the American Nurses Association.
Plus the likes of AARP (who sells supplimental insurance policies to thier members) and the SEIU gorilla thugs who have nothing but Big Money to gain sure are for this.
Good thing there are some reasonable people still left in the process to sqaush this megadisaster.
Posted by: springfield | December 15, 2009 4:54 PM
Here's more thugish behavior from BO's hatchet man. You better vote for our Socialized health care bill that will add trillions to the deficit or we will close down a military base that employs 10,000 people. The Chicago Way.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Source-White-House-threatening-Sen-Nelson-with-military-base-closures-in-Neb-79326897.html
And then the flatliners are targeting Joe Liebreman's wife for his vote against this socialism catastrophe. Real class people they are.
http://thehill.com/capital-living/in-the-know/72195-liebermans-wife-targeted-by-liberal-website
Posted by: Terry | December 15, 2009 11:01 PM
terry the teabagger:
(snip)
And then the flatliners are targeting Joe Liebreman's wife for his vote against this socialism..blah blah
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There are elected members of congress and their spouses who have profited from their *relationship* with big insurance and pharma giants by accepting their bribe money or employment as lobbyists or consultants in return for special favors or consideration. Upon retirement or ouster by the voters, they will be rewarded with a high paying position by these same greedy cpororate interests and why not ?
Money talks and you work for who pays you. End of story.
This is a complete conflict of interest and goes against our democracy which people like Terry claim to support.
So what becomes of the 47+ million Americans without healthcare insurance/access?
They're roadkill.
Posted by: writerofwrongs | December 16, 2009 12:27 PM
Always Wrong,
To make a political point, the left is going to w/h funding from cancer research. There's smarts for you.
So I guess you really must be upset with Sen Baucus (D)?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/20/AR2009072003363.html
As far as the 20 million uninsured, health insurance vouchers with open markets between states would work wonders.
Posted by: Terry | December 16, 2009 7:48 PM