Democrats Optimistic, Progressives Coming To Terms, On Health Care Bill

James Clyburn IS Majority Whip, but he is NOT R-SC; last time I looked he was a Democrat. I know it's hard to believe anyone out of SC could be a Dem, but he is.

I say KILL THE BILL. America deserves real health care reform, not this stinking pile of offal. The mandate will enrichen the already-obscenely-rich insurance companies beyond all imagining and give them tons of cash to buy more senators.

Bizarrely, then, I'm counting on the Republicans and Blue Dogs to pull the plug on this. It will only make things worse and further entrench a failed system, making single-payer all that much more difficult to ever enact.

The timeline on edlabor.gov has reform, the exchange, and public option on hold until 2013. That is really not good.

I can hardly wait for all the pragmatic, mealy-mouthed blogospherians to start tutt-tutting and telling us we have to be mature and sensible and take what we can get. Both the Senate and the House bills are nothing more than sops to the insurance industry.

America can do better.

Conservative Dems get what they want, progressives need to learn to suck it up. That's what I'm hearing from the democratic party.

Does this mean Progressives have agreed not to offer amendments? If not, they still can add a better public option. We need the names of the blue dogs that are holding out.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but having ConservaDems in congress is in lieu of having more Republicans in congress, which wouldn't have helped the healthcare cause either. It's lamentable, but to all those "caucus them now!" folk: is it really possible to get more progressive congresspeople out of some of these leaning-red districts? Not to sound like a pollyanna, but given the state of both houses, we're not in a too-bad place bill-wise right now, dontcha think?

Reading the AP and Reuters coverage, I see that "moderate Democrats" are upset that the plan might pay for abortions.

Is that really what the party has become? Moderates are forced-childbirth advocates now?

If we're screwed on abortion coverage, then let's at least make sure it doesn't cover viagra. (Not that they're the same, but it might make the point that denying healthcare based on gender is pretty stupid.)

HCR is an incremental process, not a single bill. Look at the history of SCIP, Medicare, Medicaid, minimum wage, workers comp. Once it starts, the ratchet only turns one way. If nothing comes out of this round other than reducing exclusions, payment caps and personal mandates, then we'll have at least 95% of the population insured. If, after that, costs continue to rise (which they would) then the next step would address costs directly. The best way to get to single payer is to get to one step away from single payer. You don't do that by blowing up the ship and sitting on the beach pouting.

I am heartsick over Sen. Lieberman's threat to filibuster cloture on final passage of the health reform bill.

I think the best way to counter his threat is to get him where he's most sensitive; and since I am of Jewish heritage, I can say this. I suggest asking progressive Jewish organizations to get involved. Here is the letter I faxed to Lieberman.
______________________________________

Senator Joseph Lieberman
Fax: (202) 224-9750

Dear Senator Lieberman:

You will be remembered as an embarrassment to the Jewish People and a betrayer of American Democracy.

”Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?” – Army head counsel Joseph Welch to Senator Joseph McCarthy, 1954 Senate hearing