by Mark Silva and updated
President Barack Obama, intent on an "up or down vote'' on healthcare reform, maintains that Americans cannot wait another decade to address the issue.
"We also know what the future will look like if we don't act - if we let this opportunity pass for another year, or another decade, or another generation,' the president says in his weekly radio and Internet address today.
"More Americans will lose their family's health insurance if they switch jobs or lose their job. More small businesses will be forced to choose between health care and hiring. More insurance companies will raise premiums and deny coverage. And the rising cost of Medicare and Medicaid will sink our government deeper and deeper into debt.''
Obama is calling on the Senate and House to act in the next few weeks.
"I know it has been a long and hard road to this point,'' he said today. "And we are not finished with our journey just yet. But we are close. We are very close. And so I ask Congress to finish its work. I ask them to give the American people an up or down vote.''
The Republican counterattack today sounds the party's repeating refrain: Rep. Parker Griffith, a physician from Georgia, says the president's party is trying to "jam through a massive government takeover of healthcare. It would raise taxes, slash Medicare benefits and destroy American jobs.''
Griffith, who arrived in Congress two years ago as an independent, a "conservatve Democrat,'' says he has aligned with the Republicans because he "became increasingly concerned that the policies being pushed by Democrats in Washington were dangerous for our country and out of step with our values.
"Instead of working across the aisle and focusing on creating jobs, Democratic leaders pressed ahead with their partisan, big-government agenda of taxing, spending, and borrowing from our children and grandchildren,'' he says. "The trillion-dollar 'stimulus,' the 'cap-and-trade' national energy tax, I voted against them.''
And now the doctor is voting against healthcare reform.
See the president's address above, the GOP address when it's available at the party's weekly address Website, and read the texts of both below, here in the Swamp now:
Also, here's Griffith explaining his move to the GOP:
This is the text of the president's weekly address:
"This week, I asked Congress to schedule a final vote on reform that will give families and businesses more control over their health care by holding insurance companies more accountable. This comes after nearly a year of debate, as well as a seven hour summit with Democrats and Republicans where we had a public and substantive discussion on health care. Since then, I've said that I'm willing to incorporate some ideas offered by Republicans, and we're eliminating special provisions that had no place in health care reform.
Now, despite all the progress and improvements we've made, Republicans in Congress insist that the only acceptable course on health care is to start over. But you know what? The insurance companies aren't starting over. I just met with some of them on Thursday and they couldn't give me a straight answer as to why they keep arbitrarily and massively raising premiums - by as much as 60% in states like Illinois. If we do not act, they will continue to do this. They will continue to drop people's coverage when they need it. They will continue to refuse coverage based on pre-existing conditions. These practices will continue.
That's why we must act now. That's why the United States Congress owes the American people an up-or-down vote on health insurance reform.
The proposal we've put forward would end the worst practices of the insurance industry, lower costs for millions of Americans, and give uninsured individuals and small businesses the same kind of choice of private health insurance that Members of Congress get for themselves. And while it will take a few years to fully implement these reforms, there are numerous protections and benefits that would start to take effect this year.
This year, small business owners will receive tax credits to purchase health insurance.
This year, thousands of uninsured Americans with pre-existing conditions will finally be able to purchase coverage. Insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions. And they will no longer be allowed to drop your coverage when you get sick.
This year, all new insurance plans will be required to offer free preventive care to their customers - so that we can start catching preventable illnesses and diseases on the front end. There will no longer be lifetime limits or restrictive annual limits on the amount of care you receive. Young adults will be able to stay on their parents' insurance policy until they're 26 years old. And there will be a new, independent appeals process for anyone who feels they were unfairly denied a claim by their insurance company.
Finally, seniors who fall into the gap in coverage known as the donut hole will receive $250 to help them pay for their prescriptions.
What won't change when this bill is signed this: if you like the insurance plan you have now, you can keep it. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. Because nothing should get in the way of the relationship between a family and their doctor.
If we act now, all of this will happen this year. Millions of lives will improve. Some will be saved. Many families and small business owners will have health insurance for the very first time in their lives. Doctors and patients will have more control over their health care decisions, and insurance company bureaucrats will have less. This future is within our grasp.
But we also know what the future will look like if we don't act - if we let this opportunity pass for another year, or another decade, or another generation. More Americans will lose their family's health insurance if they switch jobs or lose their job. More small businesses will be forced to choose between health care and hiring. More insurance companies will raise premiums and deny coverage. And the rising cost of Medicare and Medicaid will sink our government deeper and deeper into debt.
I don't accept that future for the United States of America. I know it has been a long and hard road to this point. And we are not finished with our journey just yet. But we are close. We are very close. And so I ask Congress to finish its work. I ask them to give the American people an up or down vote. And let's show our citizens that it's still possible for Washington to look out for their interests and their future. Thanks for listening.
This is the text of the Republican address:
"Hello, I'm Dr. Parker Griffith, and I have the great privilege to represent Alabama's 5th Congressional District. In the next 10 days, Democrats in Washington will try and jam through a massive government takeover of healthcare. It would raise taxes, slash Medicare benefits and destroy American jobs.
It would put federal bureaucrats in charge of medical decisions that should be made by patients and doctors. And it must be stopped.
The American people have said loudly and clearly that they do not want this job-killing government takeover of care. They want us to start over with a clean sheet of paper and a step-by-step approach focused on lowering costs for families and small businesses.
But President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid refuse to listen to the American people. For them, healthcare reform has become less about the best reforms and more about what best fits their 'Washington knows best' mentality - less about helping patients and more about scoring political points.
This is no idle observation. I've witnessed it firsthand.
You see, two Januarys ago, I was sworn into office as an independent, conservative Democrat. But like so many Americans, I became increasingly concerned that the policies being pushed by Democrats in Washington were dangerous for our country and out of step with our values.
Instead of working across the aisle and focusing on creating jobs, Democratic leaders pressed ahead with their partisan, big-government agenda of taxing, spending, and borrowing from our children and grandchildren. The trillion-dollar 'stimulus,' the 'cap-and-trade' national energy tax, I voted against them.
Still, even as Democrats lost their way, I held out hope that things would be different with healthcare reform, but I was wrong.
Even as public opposition continued to rise, Democrats refused to let up, stuffing these bills with sweetheart deals for lawmakers and giveaways to Washington special interests.
Given all that's at stake, I realized that being a voice of dissent and a vote of conscience was not enough. Shortly before Christmas, after much thought and prayer, I decided to align myself with House Republicans, who have stood on principle to fight this big-government agenda and offer better solutions to the challenges facing our country.
Republicans understand that the right way to fix healthcare is with a step-by-step approach focused on lowering costs. Only Republicans have proposed the kind of healthcare reforms we can afford during this economic downturn, like allowing small businesses to group together to purchase healthcare plans at reasonable costs just as unions do.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that the Republican bill would lower premiums for families and small businesses by up to 10%. All of the details are available at HealthCare.GOP.gov.
You know, before coming to Congress, I spent 30 years practicing medicine in North Alabama. The worst thing we could do is have the federal government decide what policies and what procedures would be done in hospitals or in physicians' offices, what would be paid for, what would not be paid for. This will only cause premiums to rise and the quality of care to go down.
I've also run a small business, and I can tell you that healthcare costs have everything to do with the ability to maintain a payroll and hire new workers. The mere threat of this healthcare bill being enacted is freezing employers in their tracks and destroying much-needed jobs.
To get a final bill through without public or bipartisan support, Democrats would have to use a toxic, controversial legislative scheme known as 'reconciliation.' Reconciliation would allow Democrats to make a few last-minute backroom deals and rely on only Democratic votes.
Reconciliation is by no means a cure-all that would permit drastic changes to improve the bill. For instance, reconciliation would not address the loophole in the Senate-passed healthcare bill that would lead to taxpayer funding of abortion for the first time in more than 30 years.
If Speaker Pelosi has her way, the loophole will become law as is, so the final battle will be here in the House of Representatives.''
Comments
Maybe its time for an update and reminder of just what the future generations will be responsible for:
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/24/bush-deficit-vs-obama-deficit-in-pictures/
Has the gov't ever run a social program that meets the customers' needs and come in under budget?
As for BO and the democrats claim that the healthcare bill will create a surplus - that is nothing but a boldface LIE. That would make BO a boldface LIAR.
Posted by: Terry | March 6, 2010 7:55 AM
Every democrat will lose their election and their respectability and their careers if they vote for and support this horrible bill.
Don't t he democrats care or listen to their own people?
Posted by: charles | March 6, 2010 8:15 AM
Obama is pushing this to save his LEGACY. This bill is nothing more then
massive government take over.
Posted by: JLB | March 6, 2010 8:27 AM
I look forward to the day when Obama sends me an email telling me what I'm allowed to do that day. Keep voting in these democrats that think everybody is a victim.
Posted by: Andre | March 6, 2010 8:39 AM
And so it begins. There are rumblings of 2 to 3 other Democrats about to switch for the same reason that the majority of the voters have been calling the Democrats on since Obama entered the White House. If the Democrats keep doing what they are doing now November will most likely be the biggest and fastest turnover in the history of America. It will be hard to do what was done after the Kansas Nebraska act of 1854 but, we may have a shot to do a complete reversal in one election cycle. And the only people to blame if this happens is the Democrats themselves for not listening to the people and only pandering to the minority voting block and all the special interest that have bought and paid for them. George Soros with his MoveOn.org and other shadow organization will be called out at the same time. People are seeing how the Democrats along with shady organizations like MoveOn.org and Acorn operate using organized labor to intimidate and spread false propaganda.
Posted by: Crooks_In_DC | March 6, 2010 8:44 AM
It must be nice to have a healthcare plan, to not worry about hurting your knee, or your kid's asthma. I wish I could bash this plan with enthusiasm and say, "screw you" to all the people just like me. It must be nice.
Posted by: My kids need healthcare | March 6, 2010 9:13 AM
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, a source the Swamp often cites, came out today with a report saying Obama's budget proposals will add 9.7 trillion dollars to the national debt over the next decade. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/05/AR2010030502974.html for the news that media Democrats aren't anxious to let you know.
Because it puts the lie to everything Obama's saying about the deficit.
Posted by: Bruce | March 6, 2010 9:28 AM
Mark,
You make little effort to hide where you stand on this issue. We could make a simple substitution in your text and come up with the following truth: "Obama's fifth attempt to sell his reform package to the public 'sounds the party's repeating refrain . . .'" Interesting what you can do with words, eh?
Posted by: CJS | March 6, 2010 10:32 AM
"Massive government takeover"? How sadly ill-informed. I'll tell you what will be a "massive government takeover." When more and more individuals can no longer afford health insurance, they will go on Medicaid (government program) or will be forced to use the emergency room as their primary health resource and will have limited ability to pay (government picks up tab). So instead of a plan that will actually prevent this from occurring and will ultimately bring down the deficit (not a lie - the right's argument is the lie), detractors like JLB would apparently rather see health care costs become 50% of the U.S. economy as they are projected to do if the insurance companies are allowed to continue at their current pace. And that bill will be footed by you and me, because there will be no established process for people to attain health care economically and fairly. Those who can't afford insurance will end up added to the public assistance rolls. Also, JLB, just what do you think Medicare is? A PRIVATE enterprise??
Posted by: Mother_of_Peer | March 6, 2010 10:36 AM
Wall Street and the Replicans bankrupted America.
Democrats now have to enact a healthcare bill.
Otherwise their own base will punish them.
It's rather like the early New Deal, isn't it?
Bush and Replicans wrecked the economy so badly that radical measures were required to revive it.
FDR famously said he was willing to "experiment" with many programs....
By the standard of FDR's measures, the healthcare bill is tame indeed.
Insurers won't be able to cancel ("rescind") your coverage just before your surgery/chemotherapy?
Horrors!
Actually, it may be that Obama the chess player has picked the right issue to draw the Replicans out onto the battlefield:
As the economy continues to falter, more and more people will lose coverage as they lose their jobs or as the employers slide into bankruptcy.
And the healthcare bill will look better and better over time, won't it?
And those who oppose it will look worse and worse...
Japan had a "recession" and it's still going on after 10 years.....
America's "Great Recession" is shaping up to continue just as long...
So, can the "fiscal responsibility" rhetoric and dry the crocodile tears about the "debt clock" and your "grandchildren having to pay debt"......
Because there will be a lot more "stimulus" $$$$ to be authorized and pumped into the economy to keep the Great Recession from turning into the Great Depression.
It's still right at the tipping point.
Posted by: ornery | March 6, 2010 10:50 AM
"More Americans will lose their family's health insurance if they switch jobs or lose their job"
They'll loose their private health insurance (if this bill passes), if they switch or lose their job, as they will be required to only be offered HC Ins through the Government exchange.
Posted by: MAJMark | March 6, 2010 10:55 AM
THIS DOESNT EFFECT ANYTHING FOR 4 YEARS FROM NOW.....SO DONT YOU THINK UNEMPLOYMENT IS EFFECTING US NOW AND THAT SHOULD BE THE PRIORITY..SHOULD BE BUT ITS NOT....CUTTING COSTS SECOND PRIORITY ....BUT HE IS ADDING COSTS.....HE IS DESTROYING THIS COUNTRY AND DOING WHAT BEST FOR HIM AND HIS UNION BUDDIES AND PUTTING US AND OUR COUNTRY SECOND
Posted by: lou | March 6, 2010 10:58 AM
What part of "NO!! We DON'T want this bill or this sham of a "reform" package," that Obimbo and the rest of the Demoncrapic thuggery do not understand???
If they pass this, then it will be time to remove these people, either via election of by force.
Posted by: John D | March 6, 2010 11:21 AM
The worst thing that the media can do for the american people is to keep this issue open, an debated to no end. Most people don't have a clue how the medical system works, or how they would be treated if they get sick without medical coverge, or to even have a large bill from a terminal illness. Reform the healthcare system, even if you need to cut other entitlement programs to do it.
Posted by: horest | March 6, 2010 11:27 AM
Griffith, who arrived in Congress two years ago as an independent, a "conservative Democrat,'' says he has aligned with the Republicans because he "became increasingly concerned that the policies being pushed by Democrats in Washington were dangerous for our country and out of step with our values. ~ M.S.
-------------------------
This is the message that old traditional democrats don’t seem to ever get. They seem to think that the better angels in the nature and form of FDR, Truman, JFK, or LBJ are going to, somehow, cherubicly arise to the surface and suddenly, SHAZAM!, charlatans become statesmen. I take the under.
Posted by: Django - N Exile In/Around the 30th Parallel | March 6, 2010 11:47 AM
Why is there NO DISCUSSION about getting health care reform RIGHT? Why hasn't the news media supported a business process that attempts to achieve a productive solution to the problem? Why do our corrupt politicians and news media support doing something wrong over doing something right? I guess that YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID!
Posted by: ken chicago | March 6, 2010 11:49 AM
1. READ THE POLLS, people. Opinion is split about right down the center. "The will of the people" is anything but clear; to claim otherwise is is self-serving and not supported by any objective data (and NO, Fox's polls are not by any means objective).
2. If you really believe that these proposals constitute a "government takeover" of health care, then you only make it abundantly clear that you haven't read any of them and, instead, are happy to play the patsy to overblown political rhetoric.
3. Few of this nation's problems (including health care) are simple. Probably none will ever be adequately solved if we keep resorting to such a simple-minded, black-or-white, "you're either with us or against us" mentality. The truth is, I don't have all the answers, and neither do YOU. Nor does Obama, or the Republicans.
Turn off the TV.
Read a newspaper.
Read a history book.
THINK FOR YOURSELF, people.
Posted by: NP | March 6, 2010 12:25 PM
Onward, He Said, Regardless
*
Imagine a bill granting every American a free federally delivered ice cream every Sunday morning. Provision 2: steak on Monday, also home delivered. Provision 3: A dozen red roses every Tuesday. You get the idea. Would each individual provision be popular in the polls? Of course.
However (life is a vale of howevers) suppose these provisions were bundled into a bill that also spelled out how the goodies are to be paid for and managed -- say, half a trillion dollars in new taxes, half a trillion in Medicare cuts (cuts not to keep Medicare solvent but to pay for the ice cream, steak and flowers), 118 new boards and commissions to administer the bounty-giving, and government regulation dictating, for example, how your steak was to be cooked. How do you think this would poll?
Perhaps something like 3-1 against, which is what the latest CNN poll shows is the citizenry's feeling about the current Democratic health care bills.
*
http://townhall.com/columnists/CharlesKrauthammer/2010/03/05/onward,_he_said,_regardless
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | March 6, 2010 1:05 PM
The dems had a political perfect storm and look what they have done with it. bo is trying to ram this thing through because he knows he'll never have another chance like this and somehow he's persuading (hopefully NOT enough) democrats to committ political suicide for him. I am a republican and I freely concede that if the republicans had such an opportunity they (we?) would probably screw up as badly.
You read it here first - after the midterms Hillary Clinton will quit as Sec. of State and not long after that she will announce for president.
Is this a great country or what?
And I would never vote for her, but that don't mean this ain't a great country.
Posted by: Terry | March 6, 2010 1:44 PM
Every democrat will lose their election and their respectability and their careers if they vote for and support this horrible bill.
Don't t he democrats care or listen to their own people?
Posted by: charles | March 6, 2010 8:15 AM
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Good observation....and the answer is NO, they are not listening to their VOTERS -- they are listening to wrong-headed advice from Pelosi, Reid and Obama.
Posted by: JimBob | March 6, 2010 1:45 PM
America is close to being bankrupt...very close.
Posted by: Astute Investor | March 6, 2010 2:14 PM
What a complete waste of time, this administration. Let it be a lesson that the left wing kooks have no business being in power. QED
Posted by: Jack from Fort Lauderdale | March 6, 2010 7:53 PM
Posted by: John D | March 6, 2010 11:21 AM
What part of "NO, we don't want a surge in Iraq." Did Bush not understand back in 2007. Oh, but when it is one of "your" guys, polls don't matter.
Are you saying a president shouldn't do what he thinks is best for the country, just because the polls say so?
In part of Griffiths GOP response, he called Obama's plan a "Washington Knows Better approach". That is always a cute thing to say. But what the hell do we elect them for then? Don't we, at least partly, elect them because "they do" no more about government, economy, health, defense, etc.....than we do?
All I'm saying is, we elect them for 4 years, which gives them the "power" to make law. Then, if it doesn't work, or we don't like it. We have the option to get rid of them.
It sounds to me like republicans (and some right leaning dems) are scared of how GOOD the plan actually is. They know their corrupt insurance cronies will be put in their place. And that the "fear and smear tactics" of the (LOUD but overall very small) group of "tea baggers" among others are all just lies.
Posted by: Davey S | March 7, 2010 6:37 AM
Hey, Jack, from Florida !! It's alright for the Rightwing, Draft-Dodgers, The Bush&Cheney, to run our country into the ground, engage our Armed Forces in an economic enterprise, known as the Iraqi war and occupation, create a drug program that was never funded, right?? Where was the hue and cry about our children's future with those Republican-Libertarian-T.Bagger's rip-offs of our economic assets, not to mention the toll of death and suffering, those policies have visited on everyday Americans !! You, Right-wingers, just can't handle the truth and if you are able to lie your way back into power, the sad days for America will only be more compounded.
Every honest, reasonable American knows that President Obama and the Democrats are right, in pursing Healthcare Reform. The healthcare reform that the Obstructionist opposition in Congress has forced them into presenting is a very good beginning and will allow for the cost containment to begin. Otherwise, if we listen to the Obstructions, Distortionists of the Radical Right, America will go further into the economic morass, the Bush&Cheney left us in. Make no mistake about it, America, it is these Radical Rightwingers that are hoping and Praying that President Obama fails, in spite of their loud, insincere denials !! It is glaringly obvious, to us, by now, they have trouble with what is actually true. Just look at our run up to the Boondoggle in Baghdad, or how about that unfunded Drug Program, The Bush&Cheney heralded as the program of the future. As it turns out, it is going to be our children's debt of the future. Revise history, on these blogs, as much as you will, it doesn't change the fact, and history will bear this out, that the Bush&Cheney, Draft-dodging Duo, put this country into a 10-12 TRILLION DOLLAR hole. Their constant cries and moans, will not change that fact. President Obama and Vice-President Biden, in office for one year, didn't lie us into a idiotic war with Iraq, nor did they allow the Weasels of Wall Street or the Bandits in our Boardrooms from ripping-off America. They are doing their best, in spite of a national campaign, corporate and political, to deny them the necessary tools to correct the Bush&Cheney idiotic policies. I think, in the end, America will come to her senses and turn away the Obstructionist in our Congress, as Texas turned away Senator Hutchinson. The only problem with Texas is, they are all Hutchinsons or Browns, nothing to offer but distortions and pre-masticated slogans !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS. BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | March 7, 2010 7:38 AM
I see no mention of the CBO in the LINK address provided by Mr. Griffith in his quote :
"The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that the Republican bill would lower premiums for families and small businesses by up to 10%. All of the details are available at HealthCare.GOP.gov."
.
Maybe he is talking about this NICE GRAPH and report found in the LINK below ??
.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/11/29/mit-economist-confirms-senate-health-reform-bill-reduces-costs-and-improves-coverage
Posted by: W W | March 7, 2010 7:47 AM
DUMPTRUCK SLEEPER FITZ,
Our country is in its current economic mess due to the policy of extending mortgages to those who couldn't afford them - Thank You democrat-socialist-flatliners .
We fought a fron in the War on Terror in Iraq due to quotes such as these:
http://www.davidstuff.com/political/wmdquotes.htm
The democrat-socialist-flatliners wanted the Medicare Prescription drug plan even bigger.
The cry about deficits and debt being out of control wasn't as loud because it was as dire. Look at chart:
http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/24/bush-deficit-vs-obama-deficit-in-pictures/
As Hillary Clinton said recently - our deficits are now a national security issues. But Nero continues to fiddle.
Pursuing healthcare reform is right, but not the 2,000 page pile of crap that the democrat-socialist-flatliners are proposing. Common sense market reforms without running this country furthur into debt.
Bush and Cheney did not put this country into a 10-12 Trillion dollar hole - Facts matter, and you have none.
BO and Foot-in-mouth JOe didn't lie about a war, then again neither did Bush and Cheney. However, BO and BIden are lying to us about the cost of this healthcare plan. This entitlement will add a couple hundred billion to the deficit ANNUALLY once the program kicks in in 2014.
Go back to sleep in your dump truck.
SUPPORT SMALLER GOV'T. VOTE OUT THE DEMOCRAT-SOCIALIST-FLATLINERS.
Posted by: Terry | March 7, 2010 8:17 AM
SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE!!!
National debt to be higher than White House forecast, CBO say
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/05/AR2010030502974.html
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | March 7, 2010 10:04 AM
Lil' Johnny wet the bed is advocating to overthrow the gubmit by force.
Be sure to get all the rudderless and leaderless teabaggers to unite in your cause Johnny.
And don't forget yer musket, it's next to the 50 empty Krispy Kreme boxes in the corner.
Posted by: I love donuts, god and the heritage foundation | March 7, 2010 10:43 AM
Does Obama want to get health care done for 30 million Americans when 25 million of them are illegal aliens? Yep, immigration 'reform' is next on his agenda--only after getting the ducks in a row for the free health care to come right afterwards. I mean, they WILL be citizens--and not caught in that funny little law that states health care will not be for illegals. Easy fix for Obama and his illegal relatives. Easy fix for the Bush south-of-the-border in-laws. It will be the middle-class, cash-strapped working, long term American citizens who will have the gun-to-their-heads forced mandate and then, the IRS penalty--not the criminal quick-amnesty-made 'citizen'--who will foot everyones bill. 'Reform' of any kind only benefits the criminals--regarding immigration (illegal aliens) as well as insurance corps. Reformatory. Reform School. No reform. Just use the laws already on the books. Send illegal aliens to the back of the line where all the other good LEGAL immigrants are waiting--doing it the right way according to our laws. I have my T-shirt ready to go that says, "Joe Wilson Was Right-No Matter That Obama Made Them All Quick Citizens." Obama. Reform. Is. One. Big. Joke. And, Obama and congress still have not reversed the Bush tax cuts to the wealthy--the tax cuts during time of war that cost this nation more in trillions than the cost that any health care "reform" will cost us. Obama does not know how to govern. Bush didn't govern either--he looted. He killed. he never even started any domestic help for us. Now, Obama gives America--and whatever wealth we might have left--to criminals and the rest of the world. I'm still waiting for the wonderful, large infrastructure projects to be completed--here in America--not roads, bridges or embassies in Iraq or Afghanistan. Don't want the money for the promised American infrastructure or American health care given to quick-made illegal "citizens" for their free health care.
Posted by: Vivian | March 7, 2010 11:35 AM
W W
Your way out of date. Try to keep up.
Posted by: Crooks_In_DC | March 7, 2010 12:11 PM
Links to the CBO
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/112xx/doc11231/index.cfm
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/108xx/doc10871/BudgetOutlook2010_Jan.cfm
Posted by: Crooks_In_DC | March 7, 2010 12:15 PM
The Next Time . . .
The next time you’re tempted to throw in the towel and support the president’s socialistic power grab consider once again a primary model for Obamacare, the U.K.’s National Health Service or NHS.
Horror stories about the NHS regularly ooze out of Britain, tales such as the one about a woman giving birth on the street because the socialized NHS decreed she were too close to a hospital to dispatch an ambulance. And the one about a guy who has an appendicitis attack and a ruptured appendix weeks after it was supposedly removed.
(For a first hand account of one man’s personal experience with the NHS, see “Considering Obamacare? Consider the NHS Horror Stories,” http://bit.ly/3MFJb0.)
thereby deprive some poor old bloke of his care?
Chances are that the old bloke will have his tubes pulled and be unplugged under the NHS anyway.
One young bloke met his Maker . . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=1548)
Posted by: Berlet98 | March 8, 2010 1:56 AM
"Berlet98", you obviously continue to keep your head in the sand. Check out Stephen Hawking's account of England's healthcare system. You may learn something, if you wanted to and it will not be what you are presenting here, as facts !! Anecdotes do not present an accurate and truthful picture, but you knew that already !! It's all about distortions, misdirections and falsehoods.
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | March 8, 2010 10:11 AM
Health Care Reform is Easy
The republicans have used reconciliation on health care before plenty of times - heck they created the whole CHIP program - via reconciliation. Dear lord stop swallowing the kool-aid - this isn't a sporting event my side versus your side (do you think the status quo might be aware of the concept of divide and conquer - don't be such dupes)
People, people, people - this is about getting our dollars back from the richest 1% that hoard them at the top (there is no such thing as trickle down) or For Profit insurance wouldn't be killing the middle class, driving people with health insurance into bankruptcy, and tying a dead weight around small business and even the bigger national corporations - this has to get done - our politicians are playing games to get elected....
They are not "governing" but manipulating voter sentiment to whip up turn out to try and win elections - not based on any specific philosophy of governing but for plain old self interest.
Actual governing takes a huge back seat to "will I get re-elected" - the easiest way to solve the health care debacle of for profit health care is simple - but handing a success to the other party - isn't how the political "game" is played.
Unfortunately our lives are caught in the cross fire of their STUPID GAME. And because of game playing we deregulated everything and created the global financial meltdown - ooppps - maybe proper management would have prevented that - but politics has never been about properly managing our resources - its about GETTING RE-ELECTED.
Healthcare is easy - here's how -
“Use Senate reconciliation and expand Medicare via the Senate’s buy-in provisions. The CBO has already signed off on this as a means of saving money.
More importantly, if more Americans can do a buy-in with Medicare, it creates more cost control (because there’s a genuine competitor to for-profit healthcare).
It also helps to solve the problems of pre-existing conditions, because Medicare does not deny coverage on this basis.
Allowing a Medicare buy-in to Americans under 65 would give people a genuine alternative to private insurance and thereby render the pre-existing question moot.
It would also lower Medicare costs by expanding the risk pool of patients (the great bulk of medical expenses are accounted for by a small number of people, mostly the elderly, requiring very expensive treatment).
And it would substantially enhance the global competitiveness of American corporations. After all, in what other country in the world is health care a marginal cost of production for business?” - Roosevelt Institute Marshall Auerback
Now get out there tell your neighbors, your friends, pick up the phone and email your representatives - because whether you like it or not we are all in this together - and it's us versus the politicians - not each other.
Paul Burke
Author Journey Home
Democracy For America
Posted by: journey home | March 8, 2010 12:13 PM
Obama: Healthcare 'close... very close'
-----------------------------------
To follow that bankrupcy close...
very close also.
-----------------------------------
Then after that no more social security checks for Don Fitz
and no more blogging for Don after that.
Posted by: wingnut master | March 8, 2010 12:59 PM
I rather agree with Congressman Griffith's take on the Democratic agenda here. I wonder, though, whether he mightn't have been more effective remaining a Democrat with his stance on healthcare reform (which I prefer to call insurance reform because it speaks pretends to fix healthcare, whilst it really only doles out insurance). I fear that his party switch may just lend fuel to the fire of those who say this has become a partisan issue rather than one of policy.
Posted by: Hildebrand, The Insurance Warden | March 8, 2010 1:00 PM
Davey S., the trouble is once an entitlement becomes law it is pretty darn impossible to get rid of it. Please name one that no longer exists.
And, yes, we have a representative government. By a strong majority, the American people have voiced they do not want this bill. Therefore, you don't ram something our throats we don't want.
Posted by: John D | March 8, 2010 2:20 PM
Hidden Dangers: Guess Who's Coming to Your House?
Look what's buried in the Obamacare bill.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/03/guess_whos_coming_to_your_hous_1.html
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | March 8, 2010 2:32 PM
Well today we see the loony liberals in Congress are coming apart and it is all over how Obama and the leadership are handling healthcare. How the leadership along with Dead Fish are forcing Democrats to vote the party line and not tell the truth. How long before more of these stories come out about how screwed up the loony liberals leadership is. You got the president's chief of staff using Chicago mob tactics and it is not going over well in DC. We are ready now that the leader of the Congress is toast back home in Nevada. And most likely come February of 2011 there will be new leadership in the House of Representatives. And there are rumblings on Hill that two or three more Democrats may be switching parties. I said this in a post right after Obama was elected; it will not be long before the liberals start to eat their own. And it would seem the buffet is ready.
Posted by: Crooks_In_DC | March 8, 2010 3:40 PM
Yes, Don, I have read what Hawkings has said about the NHS, but the NHS has even said that 'the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless' but because of his exceptional history in the world of science it was worth giving him top notch treatment. If only the rest of the 'regular folks' could say the same the about the NHS.
Posted by: MAJMark | March 8, 2010 3:58 PM
DUMP TRUCK DRIVER FITZ,
"Anecdotes do not present an accurate and truthful picture". True enough. So what do you do? - "Check out Stephen Hawking's account of England's healthcare system." Wouldn't that be anecdotal?
SUPPORT SMALLER GOV'T. VOTE OUT THE DEMOCRAT-SOCIALIST-FLATLINERS.
Posted by: Terry | March 8, 2010 6:15 PM
I know it is asking a lot, for you Republican-Libertarian-T.Baggers to figure anything out, on your own, I'll give you a little assistance. It isn't anecdotal, gossip or rumor, when a real person comes forth and speaks highly of his/her healthcare system. Read Mr. Hawking's own words and you will gain an insight into the overall success of the NHS of England. The same has been said about Canada's NHS, by Canadians, but since these pictures do not support your " fear and smear " campaign against President Obama and the Democratic attempt at righting a wrong, in every day, American life, you ideologues distort, mislead and, of course, lie.That dishonesty is not helping the 1,000s of American lives that are lost, each year, because the Insurance Companies are denying healthcare to many Americas or they are rationing it. Wake up, America, these snake-oil salespersons of the Republican-Libertarian-T.Bagger clan are hurting Americans with their lies about President Obama's Healthcare Reform. Let your congressmen and women know, we need healthcare reform now, not another 100 years from now !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | March 9, 2010 6:22 AM
MajMark, you are misleading, again !! I suggest you go back and re-read the comments surrounding the critical article in a conservative business magazine in England. There you will find, when the magazine was confronted by the facts of Mr Hawking's comments, they dismissed him as an example and his comments, charging the critics of the phony article with changing the subject. So, please present the whole story, not just your version of it !! That is called discussion, not propagandizing !!
So you might get a better grasp as to what accuracy looks like, I am presenting quotes that will disprove your notions:
"In 2009, Investor's Business Daily (IBD) claimed in an editorial,[36] "People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the UK, where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless." This caused widespread criticism, as Hawking has in fact lived and worked in the UK his entire life and has relied extensively on NHS treatments.[37] Hawking replied that, "I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the NHS ... I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived."[38] Eventually, IBD issued a correction,[39] but continued to defend the original editorial, calling the mention of Hawking a "bad example" and accusing those that mentioned their error of "chang[ing] the subject." Wikipedia.
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | March 9, 2010 8:48 AM
Obamacare Is a Budgetary Disaster
http://healthcare.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MmRmNzg2NDM4MGJiMWIzMTAzMzY1YWQ0Mjc5ZTJkYTc=
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | March 9, 2010 9:02 AM
Little Johnny D,
You're comment has been reported. I hope you are tossed in a dark dungeon for advocated a forceful overthrow of our democratically elected leaders. You wan't your party in office? Come up w/ popular ideas. You didn' t. You lost. Get over it!
Posted by: janet | March 9, 2010 12:16 PM
little terrasita:
(snipped)
Our country is in its current economic mess due to the policy of extending mortgages to those who couldn't afford them - Thank You democrat-socialist-flatliners .
~~~~
oh, pleeeze ! I cannot believe you are still yapping the same tired mantra; at least you're not blaming ACORN. this time.
America is in trouble because of a lack of jobs which pay a living wage, and without a job a person cannot afford anything except the basic of essentials. It's the working people, the middle class now nearly extinct, who drives the
economy. No jobs means no money and no money means no $pending. No $pending means stores close and more jobs are lost and so it goes, except in your little world.
Posted by: writerofwrongs | March 9, 2010 1:51 PM
I think Nancy Pelosi says it all:
“But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy. Furthermore, we believe that health care reform, again I said at the beginning of my remarks, that we sent the three pillars that the President’s economic stabilization and job creation initiatives were education and innovation—innovation begins in the classroom—clean energy and climate, addressing the climate issues in an innovative way to keep us number one and competitive in the world with the new technology, and the third, first among equals I may say, is health care, health insurance reform."
Posted by: carl | March 10, 2010 6:29 AM
What I find disturbing about the loony liberals argument is that they do not understand what the majority of the people want. In too many polls to list the people state they do not want this current bill. And here is where the loony liberals leave the track because in a lot of the same polls majority also states that we need healthcare reform. That is where the Libs lose it because I do not think they can separate the two questions. We know something needs to be done but, we want it done out in the open and in the light of day. And most people know that tort reform and immigration reform are part of it. When doing something minor the saying goes; you always have the time to do it right the second time. But when it comes to healthcare reform we need to get it right the first time.
Posted by: Crooks_In_DC | March 10, 2010 8:54 AM
DEMOCRAT, SOCIALIST, FLATLINER FITZ,
An anecdote is a short, free-standing tale narrating an interesting or amusing biographical incident. Thus, Stephen Hawking's experience with England's single-apyer socialist health care system is anecdotal.
Go back to sleep in your city-owned dump truck.
SUPPORT SMALLER GOV'T. VOTE OUT THE DEMOCRAT-SOCIALIST-FLATLINERS.
Still Writing Wrong,
We have a lack of jobs because of the recession (and BO's failed policies to put policies in place that encourage the private sector to create jobs). The recession was caused by the bursting of the housing bubble. The housing bubble was caused by gov't policies that encouraged home ownership to those that couldn't afford the mortgage.
Posted by: Terry | March 10, 2010 9:32 PM
Terry, I learned on my second visit to the Swamp that your bloggings were meant as comic relief, thus I have a good laugh with some of them and ignore the rest. That is all your narrow-minded, half-witted declarations are worth. I never expect you to consider an opposing view, that is well beyond your mental abilities.Thanks for the laughs !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | March 11, 2010 7:28 AM
* * * * *
“In part of Griffiths GOP response, he called Obama's plan a "Washington Knows Better approach". That is always a cute thing to say. But what the hell do we elect them for then? Don't we, at least partly, elect them because "they do" no more about government, economy, health, defense, etc.....than we do?”
* * * * *
Posted by: Davey S | March 7, 2010 6:37 AM
.
Heck, no! I don’t vote for anyone because I think they know better than I do about government or what’s good for us. It’s obvious that many of them don’t know any better, least of all BO. I would hope, instead, that you vote for particular candidates because they REPRESENT your political views. That’s why we call it a REPRESENTATIVE government, and why our elected officials are called REPRESENTATIVES rather than aristocrats and dictators.
.
Our crummy educational system has apparently failed to teach our citizens that, in the American system of government, elected officials are agents of the People in determining how we shall be governed. Government officials may be governors for a time, but “We the People” are the ultimate repository of sovereignty, and we have every right to object when the temporary governors cross us.
Posted by: John W. | March 11, 2010 4:53 PM
FITZ,
With your bitterness toward conservatives, I'm glad I can bring you the truth and you can find a little humor in it while your president has just set a record deficit for a month - $220 billion!!! And that was in February - just think if he had three more days.
Posted by: Terry | March 11, 2010 8:47 PM