"Now it falls to the United States Senate to take the baton and take us to the finish line," Obama said, adding he is "absolutely confident" they will.

I guess reconciliation is still an option...

"Courageous"? This guy is an operator. Kucinich is claiming on his website that an amendment that would have facilitated state-based single payer initiatives was stripped from this bill "at the request of the Administration". The tea-baggers are right to the extent that we are living in a plutocracy, and that the 'little guys' are being squeezed by the powers that be. Eisenhower's old military industrial complex.

Massachusetts going single payer?

In you're fucking dreams. No state is going to go single payer, for the simple reason of that individual states with maybe the exception of California don't have anywhere near the market share clout to make that even realistic. The only way any state is going to go single payer is if the US as a whole goes single payer.

For example, if Mass. suddenly decided it was going to go single payer, what do you think the insurance companies are going to do? Roll over and say
"You're right Bay State! We lurrrve single payer! And we'll bend over backwards to make sure there is an orderly wind down of our business and transition to government health plans so that the public, who we care soooo much about has minimal disruption to their existing plans and make it as easy on the tax payers as possible because we're good corporate citizens!"

If Mass. passed single payer the HMO's would simply cancel all existing policies, effective immediately and withdraw all offices and support from the state, leaving the state health care system in chaos and millions of individuals and businesses deluging the state gov't in order to get onto the single payer rolls.
Yes, Mass. would get single payer, but at a horrific cost to the state finances when they'll have to immediately pick up the tab for the entire population as opposed to orderly, gradual basis and to the millions of people who would lose their health insurance coverage when the private companies take their ball and go play in the other 49 states. And after that kind of a debacle, no other state will damn sure enact a single payer system.

With enacting single payer it's either all or nothing. It can't be piecemeal and state by state, because the only entity with the legal and economic clout to enforce an orderly transition away from the employer based system presently in place is the federal government. The states simply don't have nearly the kind of clout. Why do you think the insurance industry loves Mccarren-Feurgeson, making them exempt from federal antitrust regulations? Because regulation on a state by state basis means that if the HMO's don't like a state's policy they can always no longer do business in said state. And in the case of single payer they would make it a Pyrrhic victory for any state that enacts it.

So essentially, Kuchinich's proposal would have been dead letter and unworkable for all intents and purposes even if it had made it into the final bill. But hey, why let those inconvenient facts and reality get in the way of a good old pity party for the usual crowd of whiners and complainers on TPM?

Kuchinich never had, has or will ever have any chance at anything other than a fringe following in this country. Sure, he's technically right on a lot of shit but he's had absolutley no success in translating that into real world accomplishments.

Complain about Obama not being progressive enough and compromising too much till you're blue in the face, the fact is that he's actually getting the kind of stuff done that Kuchinich has been advocating since he's been in Congress or in his various quixotic presidential bids done.
Is it anywhere near as progressivly "pure" and untainted by the compromise of politics as what Kuchinich advocated? No.
But unlike Kuchinich and his supporters and their methods of trying to get reform, Obama is actually getting results.
Are they perfect? No. But they're a hell of a lot better then what we have now and provide a great starting point for more progressive reform to come. Social Security and Medicare were far from perfect when first passed and while still imperfect they've been vastly improved over the years by various reforms.
Why would the same not apply to health care?

Certain posters who won't be named but know who they are need take a deep breath and try and apply some historical perspective to the process and the scope of the reforms taking place right now. Democracy and politics isn't pretty and never perfect. By it's very nature it involves compromise's, many of which are odious but need to be made in order to advance worthy goals such as universal health care. Being sanctimonious doesn't get squat done.

If you're so unhappy with the Dem's actually getting shit done, than by all means go vote for the Green's or some other meaningless, piddly bumblefuck third party. Hell it worked out great in 2000 right?

I'll take my chances with the Dem's and actually having a record of achievement by which to run on, even if some of the reforms are initially imperfect. Actually getting shit done is what appeals to the independents (whom I would like to add got Obama elected, not the Kuchinch, Edwards, etc. crowds).