Kucinich is right on healthcare

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/08/29/kucinich_is_right_on_healthcare/

By Derrick Z. Jackson | August 29, 2007

DENNIS KUCINICH rarely gets much airtime in Democratic presidential debates. That was underscored recently when ABC's George Stephanopoulos called on him in an Iowa forum to talk about God. Kucinich said, "George, I've been standing here for the last 45 minutes praying to God you were going to call on me."

With poll numbers at 1 or 2 percent, the Ohio congressman is the nudge kicking at the knees of the Democratic Party to offer more than incremental change. He deserves more attention than he gets. On healthcare, he says what Americans believe, even as his rivals rake in contributions from the industry.

In a CNN poll this spring, 64 percent of respondents said the government should "provide a national insurance program for all Americans, even if this would require higher taxes," and 73 percent approve of higher taxes to insure children under 18. Those results track New York Times and Gallup polls last year, in which about two-thirds of respondents said it is the federal government's responsibility to guarantee health coverage to all Americans.

Such polls allow Kucinich to joke that, far from being in the loony left, "I'm in the center. Everyone else is to the right of me." More seriously, in a recent visit to the Globe, he accused the other Democratic candidates of faking it on healthcare reform.

(more at link - well worth a read!)

Derrick Z. Jackson's e-mail address is jackson@globe.com .

© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.

If people knew his positions are their positions, he would win hands down.

-Hoot

The response he gets from the other democratic candidates supporters is the same as the medias, nothing! They skip him over and ignore his message because they already have a favorite team to route for, but they forget that we the citizens are the real team and should work together to get the best person to represent us. My experience here at DU so far during these campaigns has been a negative one. When I first joined, I thought wow there are allot of people that feel the way I do about whats happening to our country. Now as the candidates campaigns have been around a while, I see that there are not very many people that feel the way I do about things? I started out with Obama as my first choice and from DU I was able to learn more of Kucinich and now my support is for him. I just don't get it, he stands for what most on this message board stand for but they dismiss him like the media. Is it more important to vote on the issues or should I just pick a favorite and ride it to the end with my eyes closed?

especially to those who have given up on politics, thinking it to be a rigged game.

Go to http://www.dennis4president.com/home/ and hit the "get involved" button on the right toward the top of the page. You can register as a volunteer, give money, contribute to discussions, and so forth.

There are a bunch of upcoming "visibility events" in most states and in most major cities. The idea is that visibility begets campaign money, which helps get his message past the mass media filters.

I've been on board for about a month and it's really been a revelation. I haven't seen this kind of grass-roots activism since McCarthy in 1972. This time, though, I'd like to see the results improve a bit.

wp

so much hope... so much optimism... so much determination...

:loveya:

...that you're already involved in the campaign. The visual clues apparently weren't enough to penetrate my thickening skull. Talk about preaching to the converted.

wp

Someone else might see it and get involved!

:thumbsup:

on occasion give him some time and then stab him in the back with derogatory labels.

They hardly ever miss an opportunity to bash him.

Kucinich's campaign is sucking because of a man named John Sweeney who doesn't practice green magic but instead EGO magic. He runs his campaign HQ and has no idea what he is doing. He certainly doesn't believe in justice...I can tell you that, nor does he believe in the environment driving around in his sportscar as he shows up to work at 11am with his sun glasses on and bitches at people about professionalism when we didn't have all the lights on in the building. The guy snaps on people and then apologizes two seconds later...obviously not an enlightened individual working for peace.

That's the truth. Call up his campaign and tell those motherfuckers to get their ass in gear. Maybe then a revolt will actually occur and Kucinich's campaign can get on track at the proper speed.

1 877 413 3664.
Kooch HQ
Toll Free!

Tell them Paul sent you.

C'mon... speak up for Kucinich! :7

He really does have the issues in hand. And he has the courage to make real change. He's one feisty son-of-a-gun, and I trust him to fight for the little guy, not just the big guys.

Whether or not he has a real chance (and there are many reasons for that, most of which can be summed up as: MSM), his voice needs to be heard, because he speaks for a majority of Americans on several of the issues that are important to us this election cycle.

His line about "I'm a congressman, but I'm not that kind of congressman..." :rofl:

I love this guy!

care? Many questions are answered in this interview and just a note. In the UK you can opt to buy private insurance that will cover items in the public heath care system. The private system is competing with the public system. In the Canadian system private insurers are not allowed to compete with the public system, the Conyers/Kucinich plan would more closely mirror the Canadian system.

Kucinich sees health care as a basic human right and if the profits that are now going to insurance companies can be channeled to provide care this could become a reality. All the other candidate's plans will have the private and public systems in competition and leave the government burdened with paying for care of the patients that need it the most.

Kucinich Health-Care Program Part-1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gjA3CV95i4

Kucinich Health-Care Program Part-2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FNp0wjAgfo


snips from the first video...

Speaking of the government paying for Medicare and Medicaid which props up insurance company profits by removing two segments of citizens who have high health care needs.

Arnie Arnesen

"We left the insurance company with the youngest, healthiest people and no wonder they are making a profit, because we've taken away the most expensive part of healthcare, which obviously is going to constantly sink us like a stone. Because insurance is about spreading the risk, we don't spread the risk, in fact what we do is prop up the insurance industry. Which is why they are so frightened about changing anything in the way of a system because it is about their profits and their CEO's and not about our healthcare..."

Dennis Kucinich

"For profit insurance companies make money not providing healthcare..."

We have ONE option in the primaries, if we want to stop fattening insurance executives at the expense of the public interest.

:bounce:

not much time to get it right. Health care will play a major role in that storm with more people being eligible for Medicare and the many vets who will need care. And in ten years the government will have to start paying back the money it borrowed from the SS Trust Fund, 2+ Trillion dollars, there is not much time to try and fix the problems that lie ahead.

:rofl: :rofl: :hi:


Tell me about Dennis while we have a drink
What are his good qualities, is he a
member of Move On or Code Pink
Will he win in the primaries, or come in last
I want to know what you think
:hi:
:bounce:

He's inherited nothing from BushCo, he's clean of corporate money and therefore corporate domination, he's for public financing of campaigns, he's adamantly against the Iraq occupation and would end it immediately, he would stop the saber-rattling over Iran now, he believes in diplomacy rather than bloodshed, he's the only one talking about universal-access, single-payer health care (as the rest blather on about universal coverage or expanded insurance), he's the only one advocating ending the war on (some) drugs, he wants to make it simple for labor to organize, he's the only one who would repeal the patriot and military commissions acts, and restore habeas corpus and the Bill of Rights, he's the only one who acknowledges the obvious: that the 2000 and 2004 elections were stolen and has introduced paper-ballot-only legislation to prevent a repeat in 2008 and beyond, the only one who wants to deal with media consolidation by repealing the 1996 telecom act and using anti-trust laws to break up media monopolies, has a workable proposal for reviving the US public educational system...


We're told by our media masters that he can't win. Well, he certainly can't if all the people who espouse his values believe that phony meme and won't vote for him because he's "unelectable." Kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Although it's hard to recognize these days, this is what a real Democrat looks like, dating from back when the party actually stood for something besides cowering from the GOP and playing suck-up for more corporate money. These core principles and values are why I'm still a member of the Democratic party, despite my disgust for the current party leadership and most of the self-anointed presidential candidates.

Hope this helps.


wp

he wants the US to return to a nation of laws, stop spending money on agressive wars and take care of the needs of people.

And may I have a glass of wine or a rum swizzle instead.

;)

:P

:kick:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PcMb9SDbZ8

Here's the 2 minute version of his plan but he needs a platform to inform the people. There is another video that I'll try and post later.

Honestly I'm starting to think people KNOW he's got the only sane solution... but they're convinced there's no way we can get what we need... so we have to settle for keeping profit for insurers in the picture.

:grr:

of the media :(

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1804160

This will make it easier for the top three to advance their plans.

Fucking celebrity politics.
Hillary? Like Madonna and Oprah, she's a single name celebrity.

Obama? Big time celebrity endorsement.

Gulliani? Celebrity.

Thompson? Celebrity.

Kuninich is a lawmaker. Not a celebrity.

On top of that, he doesn't have clear skin and an athletic physique.
In today's America ... that's trouble.

Sad country.

EM

All the others hand more to the insurance industry ... and some promulgate more corporate welfare by repeating the abomination of the "drug coverage" debacle.

I would really like to hear other candidates explain why they think theirs are better -- especially the continued involvement of for-profit insurance companies.