Schumer Public Option Amendment Fails in Finance Committee

Depressing, but not surprising.

Wow. This is such a huge disappointment.

Remember those names.

No $$$ from now on.

Worst committee in the Senate. Just get the bill out of there. Strengthen the assistance to the poor and working class, get rid of the work penalties, and pass the bill. Strenghten it more later.

Let's make sure Lincoln, Baucus et al pay a heavy price for this.

Baucus, Lincoln and Conrad representing Montana, Arkansas and North Dakota. Small States, with very few people, where a small campaign contribution and a little bit of pork go a long way. Good value for money Senators, relative to big State Senators, where campaigning is an expensive proposition and where it takes a lot of pork to fill so many constituents' pockets. That's strategic giving on the part of the health care industry. I feel ill...

Not bad for a start. Time to ramp up the pressure on Conrad ("I won't vote for a government option because it's run by the government"); Baucus ("I won't vote for the public option because it won't pass because I won't vote for it"); and Lincoln ("I won't vote for it just because and I won't even show up to vote either"). There WILL be a public option in the legislation Obama signs.

No money from now on for any federal candidates.

We've seen what they do with it. They spend time with insurance company lobbyists who convince them that those of us actually claiming to be harmed by the current system are, well, misinformed.

The answers are local. These guys have shown us what they think of us. Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, Kent Conrad, Max Kingmaker. They don't believe that the 50,000,000 without health care are a real problem.

At this point, we don't want an individual mandate. That would be a disaster. It would be a complete disaster -- not just from the perspective of winning elections, but from the actual implementation of an individual mandate. It would be a nightmare.

Anyone else find it disgusting that the "public option" is the part considered controversial while the idea of forcing people to buy insurance who can't afford it just gets glossed over?

What's particularly galling about this is that Baucus was on the bipartisan unity search all freaking summer long, and these amendments get defeated because not one freaking Republican voted in favor and Democrats couldn't hang together. Baucus looks like a pathetic needy and duplicitous loser at this point.

I'm not giving a fucking dime to any Democratic candidate anymore. I'm not going door-to-door for any of these douchebags anymore. I don't care how "progressive" they are. Sirota was right: we never should have aligned the American Left or Progressive Movement with a candidate and thus a political party.

God, I hate Babyboomers. They live in another fucking world. You can't talk reality with them. It's like trying to teach a fish how to breathe air. And the early 1960s peeps? Maybe even crazier.

There is a piece by Tom Schaller at 538.com about how fundraising for the DCCC and DSSC has fallen off and they are way behind the GOP now.

Well duh! After multiple appeals to "get us to 60" we see that it was all a con job. Why give to committees that coddle the Blue Dogs and Conservadems? I give only to individual candidates. If you don't have time to do your own research, there are progressive sites and committees at Act Blue to steer you in the right direction. Maybe the money comes in later, but so be it. Why give to a party that can't get out of its won way? Thanks, Max and Kent and Blanche, for nothing.

The Insurance Industry is gonna win. That's how it was sold to them, by Obama, seemingly (I'm referring to the deal they struck).

We lose.

One other option, of course, is to just vote down a bill. That is, Schumer and Cantwell need to vote against the bill.

I'm tired of liberals caving. It's nauseating. An individual mandate without a public option is a disaster.

Disappointed in both the Rockefeller and Schumer amendments going down, albeit with 10 of 12 required votes in the Schumer amendment's case. There's another Schumer amendment (pending a vote, I think) to wholly incorporate the HELP committee public option provision in the Baucus mark, but, I guess the assumption is that will go down, too.

Nevertheless, trying to read between the lines among what Conrad and Baucus said, and what Lincoln didn't say. Haven't seen all the coverage, but never saw Lincoln say anything (other than "no" on the Rockefeller amendment), I get the impression that Conrad and Baucus would support public option choice a la Schumer or Snowe's option with trigger in a blended Finance/HELP bill, in a floor amendment, and/or cloture on the final Senate bill. The inscrutable one is Lincoln, and what she might do on cloture. Apparently, Snowe is the dispositive one on public option: one with a trigger. Unless--Lincoln can be prevailed upon to allow a bill with public option choice to come to a vote even if she votes against it on final passage. Party discipline is the essential ingredient for Democrats, at least, procedurally. This will be true for health care, energy/climate change, etc. going forward if they want to hold significant majorities in the House, and maintain or enlarge their majorities in the Senate in 2010

See this map...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USA_states_population_map_2007_color.svg

This really underscores the disconnect between the 65% support for the PO and the small poulation states represented on the finance commitee...

BTW... the 3 Dem spoilers repesent a Full 1.5% of the US population, of course we still need to cut that in half as technically they share representation w/ another senator.

First reaction is disgust, which quickly boils to rage. The US Senate is a morass of patrician fat cats well paid by big business, especially the insurance industry. This 64 year old lifelong activist democrat is now going to work to defeat every democrat who votes against the public option. I put many hours and dollars into the Obama campaign, which helped many democrats get elected and helped many others raise money. I am finished with those weasels. Finished, done, going Green. Goodnight, democrats, you white fat old fools, goodnight.

It's time to talk with our wallets. The only thing these guys understand is money. When you get one of those envelopes in the Mail from the Democratic Party, simply do what I do, write "No public option, no money" on it and send it back. If you get a call from the DNC, tell them the same thing.

I would have been amazed if this thing came out with a public option. The game goes on.

Yes, agreed. NO money and plenty of speaking out will be my course.

we should all get together and put through voter initiatives that mandate (invite) your/our elected officials enjoy the same benefits as the lowest 10% of their representative constituency.
I believe that such an 'invitation' would certainly move them off their collective dimes.

Hold your own Senators accountable. Don't let them off the hook by blaming this on the Blue Dogs. Make them know that you are going to hold each and every one of them accountable in 2010 and 2012 for the outcome, not for their vote, but for the final outcome. Don't allow them to hide behind a vote for the public option now but with a final bill that leaves one out.

Make them know that the only way they get your vote is by dragging the Blue Dogs kicking and screaming to our side of the aisle.

Tell them you don't want to hear that they don't have the votes. You don't want them coming home until they do have the votes.

My fellow Democrats: "We gave you a huge majority; either use it or lose." /s/ a lifelong Democrat...

This is an awesome video of Beck and his attempt at a so called fair and balanced town hall meeting.

People from Glenn-Beck-istan!!!

http://progressnotcongress.org/?p=3027

Progressive initiatives will continue to go down in defeat in contests like this until there is a Constitutional Convention. It's crazy the amount of influence plaid flannel shirt Senators representing the 'duh' crowd wield...OK, now where did I leave my bong?