There Better Be a Public Option

If there isn't, the Democratic Party will lose major support, and not because of anything I say, but because of what average Americans will see. There is nothing more pathetic than a political party in the majority that gets bullied by wealthy interests to the point where an administration and political party can't do one really meaningful thing for the people, yet does so much bending over for powerful interests.

This government does squat for We the People... has done squat for the people for many years, and most know it already. If this President doesn't make good with the People, he will effectively remove all hope, and the number of voters will drop significantly.

There better be a Public Option!

the people do not fight hard enough...

and it still went on. What else can we do?

and I was astounded at how it was presented on TV. You never got a shot of the whole crowd, ever.

What else can we do, indeed?

and who owns the networks?

the defense industry, a rich rightwing naturalized terrorist, and cowards.

democrats are obviously the party of the extremely poor, or we would have our own mouthpiece to counteract the lies. :sarcasm:

:shrug:

Now if you are right-wing AstroTurfer and or borderline white supremacists (on Medicare) who doesn't want the GUVMENT involved in your healthcare......FULL COURT PRESS!

The media will never lift a finger to show that people actually like government services.

And it's clear which interests don't want it.

Congress knows what to do, if they want to keep their seats.

progressive dem in??

:P

Seriously though, Congress critters seem to be so easily bought off because they know they can keep their seats safe as long as their coffers are funded. We need to see more incumbents get dethroned - despite having a fundraising advantage - before they start listening to voters and not just the big donors. Before we strike any type of fear in them, they need to know that we're not afraid of replacing them. Obviously the best strategy would be to support a primary challenger.

But frankly I don't give a shit (or at least won't flinch) about the prospect of losing a blue dog's seat to a republican, if it sends a message to the rest of the bought-off politicians. We can't play it safe anymore, if we want to stop watching the pendulum swing and get to the root of the problem.

The big insurers don't follow the laws we have today!

Why should anyone expect they will follow these new laws?

A small hospital chain here in NY is suing UnitedHealth on RICO (MAFIA) Laws. Did you hear about the Ingenix fraud that UnitedHealth settled out of court with a multi-hundred million dollar fine? Chump change for the money they made off that scam.

Is there any major insurer that hasn't thumbed it's nose at state insurance regulators? Check out the end of the SickForProfit video for a shortlist some of the out of courts settlements the insurance industry has agreed to. The real word for this is government protection money. Insurer pays government not to enforce the laws. This is disgusting.

Any new rules will not go into effect for several years and it will take regulators at least 4 years to gather a complaint and evidence that they are not following them. And by that time they'll come up with new "innovations" to screw us over, pay the slap on the wrist fine and the people they murdered or the billions they stole will be all but forgot. And then government will take 10 years to ban the new "innovation" and the cycle starts again.

This cat and mouse game that our government is playing with BIG INSURANCE has got to end. This is an industry that cannot be regulated. It *MUST* be eliminated.

This reform effort is jusst kicks the can down the road, to pour water on the SINGLE PAYER MOVEMENT and buy time for Republicans and the conservadems to brainwash us into the b.s. notion that what we all need is $5,000 deductibles, deregulation and HSAs.

And what exactly are cost control measures in this bill? There is nothing in this bill that will save any money, for patients or for the government.

Worst of all this bill forces everyone to buy the insurer's defective product! It is the ROMNEYCARE model for the whole country. To see Democrats pushing this sort of reform really tells you all you need about the state of our party - CORPORATISM UBER ALLES.

Health Insurers are worse than needless middlemen. They are a pack of telflon criminals. They are vampires sucking the lifeblood out of our healthcare system. They murder people by spreadsheet for profit. The whole lot of them deserve the corporate death sentence which is HR676.

The problem with the Democrats and the left is that they will not call a spade a spade. The insurance industry is worse than the cigarette industry. At least we all know that Cigarettes will kill you. Few people know until it's too late that insurers make profit by denying needed medical care.

If we want real reform we need a huge movement to DEMONIZE THE INSURERS. They are the enemy. We can't build the movement for real reform until we define the enemy so people have someone to focus thier anger on.

IT IS TIME TO SLAY THE HEALTH INSURANCE VAMPIRE BY DRIVING THE WOODEN STAKE (HR676) THRU IT'S HEART.

if their profit is larger than a penalty and they see their actions as being profitable, they will gladly pay the penalty.

I know someone who has worked for the AG here in Mass, and it happens all the time.

in regards to basic health care.
we need to view them the way we have been asked to view other industries that have gone the "way of the buffalo". loggers and fishermen in the pacific northwest have been asked to retool their job skills and find different employment. the trees and the fish are not entirely wiped out, yet we accept that fewer workers can effectively harvest these "crops".
the insurance industry (combined with other american corporate interests) have over harvested the resources of the american worker. the industry needs to retool for the single payer model.
this one reform would go a long way toward addressing some other major problems associated with the "uniquely american" system we toil under.
half of american school children live in households at or below the federal poverty level. these students often struggle to keep up with classmates and with the curriculum. i know from working with them that health care is a nearly constant concern for them and for their families. i teach students who can not eat a candy bar because their teeth will hurt too much for them to concentrate. they can't stand the pain.
many of these same students regularly miss class to care for sick family members, putting them at an even greater risk for low achievement. even if their families qualify for medical coupons they must spend hours in government offices to demonstrate their eligibility, often for every incident that requires medical attention. the process is demeaning and designed to stress to the applicant their inferior and dependent position.
imagine how much might improve for these kids and their chances of achieving success if we (the country) valued them enough to see that their good health was something we all were willing to contribute to (a good investment)? something they deserved not something they had to beg for.
how about the health of small businesses in this country? everyone pays lip service to these supposedly valued entrepreneurs yet our government's policies favor corporations who can offer better health care options for employees while small businessmen can't afford to compete for reduced insurance costs to cover their workers. small businesses can provide employment for many workers but the cost of running a small business in america has kept this from being the case. americans end up working for mega-businesses (too big to fail) in impersonal environments that do, in fact, fail us in many ways.
our current health coverage (employer sponsored) also restricts worker choice (if you don't like your job go find another). many american worker can not change jobs due to pre-existing conditions they have or some member of their family has since they will not qualify for new insurance or can not halt their needed treatments for the 6 months it takes for the new plan to begin to cover their care. older workers are often rejected for employment because they cost more to insure.
slightly more than half the personal bankruptcies in this country are due to medical costs (many of these even have medical coverage). everyone of those who have had this happen to them would be better off under a single payer system.
this country would see many other benefits from a single payer universal system too.
a public option that allows private insurers to compete is not a reform that will offer any of the above listed problems any relief.
the american economy is a plantation model that requires the exploitation of huge amounts of human and natural resources so that a few can dwell in the "big house". this model needs to go "the way of the buffalo" too.
we need a more sustainable model that respects and values every citizen.
i have tried to explain this to my elected representatives until i'm blue in the face. their phone lackeys don't even ask me for my zip code any longer since they know me by voice.
it is frustrating to watch the discourse related to health care. none of the selling points of this needed reform are being addressed by either politicians or by the media.
single payer health insurance, campaign finance reform and paper ballot voting (that makes candidates beholden to citizens not corporations), a return to the "fairness doctrine" on the public airwaves, and honest land and resource management of our national and state properties for the benefit of the nation or state are needed steps toward making america the land of promise we advertise ourselves as being.
we have to keep working until these objectives are achieved and then we need to be vigilant to see that any benefits gained for the common man are not taken from us again.

We gave them everything they needed.

IF they don't deliver now, the Democratic Party is worthless.

Public Option = Publicly Owned, Government Administered Non Profit Health Insurance "like Medicare" available to ALL Americans.

That is what John Edwards proposed.

That is what Howard Dean champions.

That is what 72% of Americans EXPECT.


If the current House Bill HR 3200 passes, 72% of Americans are going to be PISSED when they realize they have been fucked by the Democratic Party.

if there is no public option:
we lose (all people lose)
the Democratic party loses
the United States loses

I have always been a patient person but I can no longer tolerate stupid people that are trying to block health care reform.

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have always been told by whites seeking to deny them equal rights or equal treatment under the law.
plus the current proposals are not half of what we want. they are nothing but a sham.
if this is what mr obama and democrats expect americans to accept as health care reform then they are no different than the republicans who are dictating the substance of the proposal.
our representatives deserve no support for selling us out.

and they're the ones running the system . . . if they say "no public option," then you can be your boots there will be no public option . . .

healthcare can only be truly reformed when control of the system is taken away from the insurance and pharmaceutical industries . . . as long as they run the show, it will be for THEIR benefit, not ours . . . their fiduciary responsibility means that their sole purpose for existing is to maximize shareholder value . . . anything that doesn't further this goal (such as a public option) is out if they say it's out -- and they say it's out . . .