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Progressives Prepare to Pressure Reid to Include Public Option in Senate Health Care Bill
Major progressive organizations see a golden opportunity to resurrect the public option, and are preparing a campaign, which will include television ads in Nevada, to pressure Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to get on board.
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV). "If Harry Reid does not have the leadership skills to get 60 votes for cloture and give a Democratic president an up-or-down vote on health care, progressives will help defeat him in 2010, even if that means Republicans take that seat," said the head of one progressive organization, who's still working out the detail of the campaign. "There is no use for Reid's vote if 60 Democratic votes means nothing on cloture, and no use for Reid's leadership if his leadership is so blatantly ineffective." (Photo: Newscom) As I've noted a number of times, the public option will not be in
the Senate Finance Committee's health care bill, but it can re-emerge
at three key points in the legislative process. Among those, one of the
most important is the next step, when Reid merges the Finance bill with
a more liberal proposal from the Senate HELP Committee. If he adopts
the latter panel's public option, it would dramatically alter the
nature of the legislative battle, shifting the onus from liberals, who
have been doggedly fighting to include the public option in the Senate
bill, on to conservative Democrats, who would have to decide whether
their opposition to the popular measure is so strong that they'd be
willing to join the GOP in a health care filibuster and tank the entire
reform effort.
Such a move would likely alienate Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), the only Republican working with Democrats on health care reform, and require Democratic leaders, including Reid and President Obama to make sure all 60 Democrats stand united when Republicans try to block the bill--a tall order, and one Reid doesn't seem prepared to meet.
"If Harry Reid does not have the leadership skills to get 60 votes for cloture and give a Democratic president an up-or-down vote on health care, progressives will help defeat him in 2010, even if that means Republicans take that seat," said the head of one progressive organization, who's still working out the detail of the campaign. "There is no use for Reid's vote if 60 Democratic votes means nothing on cloture, and no use for Reid's leadership if his leadership is so blatantly ineffective."
That might not be such a troubling threat if Reid, who's up for re-election in 2010, wasn't suffering at the polls.
Leadership, which will work with the chairmen of both the Finance and HELP committees, along with White House officials, when it cobbles together the final bill, says its main concern is ensuring that any bill that reaches the floor has 60 votes for cloture. And though that would likely be easier in absence of a public option, conservative Democrats and Republicans would still be able to have their say by introducing an amendment to strip it from the bill. That amendment would also likely require 60 votes, and would almost certainly fail. But it would give skeptics a chance to go on the record.
A call to Reid's office for comment on the coming ads was not immediately returned.
- Posted in
31 Comments so far
Show AllI think we should include SINGLE PAYER as a rider on a bill to impeach the supreme court for collusion of war crimes, and voter fraud.
Stack the deck, it's a new game now. here comes the credit card bubble....
Hell, these people don't have the same fear of losing an election like in the past. Corruption is neck high in Washington.
So what if they lose. They're pretty much guaranteed a job on "K" Street, raking in tubs of cash working for one of their special interest buddies. That's the problem. That's why they can continue to ignore us. The most they suffer is a bruised ego. Big deal.
Harry Reid should get his ass kicked out no matter what he does. He's been a turncoat from the get go. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Senator Reid is leader of the Demorcrats,not the Blue Dogs. Public option is a DEMOCRATIC necessity on behalf of better health care for the American people.
If nothing more, give us access to the same health care policy that Harry has, and at the same cost.
The full cost of my US government insurance plan - the same one Harry Reid probably has, would be about $1,400 per month. There are cheaper plans, but with lousy coverage. I don't think that a good deal.
If you mean that every US citizen should have their healthcare subsidized as if they were full-time US government employees, this would be outrageously expensive, because the government plans are all big insurance company plans - mostly for-profit. Even the one exception - the APWU (Postal workers Union) plan is actually adminsitered by Cigna.
I have already written to both my senators requesting that they do not bother to run for re-election.
Do you all remember when George W. Bush signed an "Executive Order" stating that Congress will get automatic cost of living pay raises, no longer requiring any debate on the matter while millions of people are losing their jobs and health insurance as a result of our congressional leaders voting to both "offshore" jobs and "import" cheap labor?
Does Barak Obama, after putting taxpayers in debt for $12 Trillion or more over the next 8 years, have the cajones to sign an "Executive Order" which cuts-off free health care for congress, given that the country is in such debt that it can no longer afford to pay for health coverage without borrowing that money from China or some other country?
Are we totally convinced yet that majority on Captiol Hill are nothing but parasites feeding off the taxpayer host, which is now in debt into the $Trillions? Does anyone really believe that these corporate-loving bloodsuckers are worthy of free health care, after railroading the citizens of the country they took an oath to protect and defend?
Congress like all federal employees, don't get free health care. They pay for it from paycheck deductions, plus a employer contribution, just like any other private-employer-provided plan.
What percentage is being taken from their paycheck and how much are "We The Railroaded" paying?
From this link - http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/rates/index.asp - it looks like the federal employee pays about one-third of the cost, and the employer (the federal government) pays about two-thirds. Pretty similar to how the local government where I worked split up the costs.
And, somewhat worse than some private employers, where 100% is covered by the employer, especially if the workplace is unionized.
You could say the same thing about any private employers health plan - some of the price of gasoline goes to oil workers's insurance, some of the price of bread goes to bakery and grocery store worker's insurance. Do people complain about that?
Congresspersons are federal employees, take it away from them and you will take it away from many thousands of other federal workers, including me.
Or are you an anti-tax, anti-government libertarian type? You are certainly playing into their anti-public service, pro-privatization agenda.
At very least, you are barking up entirely the wrong tree here!
pjd412 October 2nd, 2009 10:48 am
"Or are you an anti-tax, anti-government libertarian type? You are certainly playing into their anti-public service, pro-privatization agenda."
I am none of the above: What I am is someone who pays taxes and expects "public servants" to work for and create legislation that supports the citizens of this country and not international or otherwise, corporate interests, that have no loyalty or concern for the well being of citizens in this country.
"Congresspersons are federal employees, take it away from them and you will take it away from many thousands of other federal workers, including me."
pjd,
This comment clearly explains why you would defend the self-interest of lawmakers on Capitol Hill who have proven time and time again that their agenda is different from the people they are supposed to be representing. This is not about you and me; it's about the millions of people who can't afford health insurance as a result of sky-rocketing costs due to deregulation and other corporate-friendly legislation. It's also about the millions of people across the country who are being forced to file bankruptcy as a result of not having health insurance or their health insurance providers deciding that it's not in their best interest to cover many of the illnesses that people are dealing with.
"Business as usual" isn't going to change anything in a country with one foot on a banana peel and the other in the grave. We need "single payer" in this country. Anything short of that is not going to work over the long run. We cannot have sky-rocketing insurance premiums while wages are dropping and people are losing jobs. The math is simple.
Gail: Thanks for your post! I agree with you.
I have always been aware of the loopholes in Medicare, and most people I know are also aware of the weaknesses in Medicare, as it stands right now. From the beginning of the so-called debates, I have strongly advocated for a single-payer system, and I am continuing to do whatever I possibly can -- and you're right -- "The math is simple."
I'm not so sure about that. Ever hear of the Office of the Attending Physician? Neither had I.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/congress-health-care-clinic/story?id=8706655
(Can't get the html to work. Is there a help page here for inserting links into comments?)
Big deal!
Large private employers, every university, and the US government facility where I work, have such clinics too. Their services are limited - mostly just mandatory work physical exams and emergencies.
I don't know why people expect government workers (congress, unfortunately being among them) to not get the same benefits private employers give, or should be giving their employees.
Obamacare Cost Cutting
Seniors on the Chopping Block
By MARY LYNN CRAMER
Even at this late hour it seems progressives do not understand the goal of Obamacare. They keep repeating the mantra (on every “liberal” talk show from Democracy Now to NPR’s On Point) that the cuts in Medicare will only be from the “wasteful” programs like Medicare Advantage.
That’s right! Medicare Advantage: The plans that make Medicare affordable for most of us senior citizens. The original Medicare A & B do not begin to cover basic medical needs. I would be living in a shelter and begging on the streets if I had to depend on Medicare A & B or Medigap (the program that covers the 20% of costs not paid for by Medicare A&B) for my weekly medical expenses and doctor visits.
Progressives who think that “Medicare For All” is the same as Universal Single-Payer, are stuck behind their ideological blinders, swinging their swords at windmills and stabbing senior citizens in the back, all the while pretending they didn’t know low-income seniors are the targeted source of the $500 billion cost savings that Obama plans to root out of the "wasteful and fraudulent" Medicare Advantage program.
The health care plan being designed by Obama and his powerful friends will reduce the health care coverage of all of us to the same low standards and minimum coverage of the original Medicare.
Yes, we will have “Medicare For All,” the most inadequate and worthless coverage available: No coverage for physical exams, eye or hearing exams, hearing aids or glasses; no foot care or orthopedic shoes, no chiropractics, no dental care, etc., etc. (See my article “Progressives Abet Obama Fraud” in the Aug. 18, 2009 at Counterpunch.org). That is why that wise old man confronted Obama demanding that he “keep the government out of my Medicare Advantage.” Grampy had done his homework long before most of us.
The “Original Medicare (A&B)” and “Medigap” programs are subsidized by the federal government on a cost percentage (of severely limited medical services) in a one-plan-fits-all program. All the private providers of Medigap insurance must offer the same identical plan---which does not include any drug coverage--- based on the very limited number of services covered in the Original Medicare. This Medicare Supplemental Insurance covers the 20% of costs of services in parts A & B that the Original Medicare does not pay for.
Not so with Medicare Advantage. Each private provider for Medicare Advantage gets a lump sum per enrollee/patient, and covers a wide range of services, with competitive low premiums, no deductibles, and each manages its own costs and programs. Let me be clear: I am for universal single-payer health care, as they have in France or Canada or at least what they have in England. There are many different ways to do single-payer involving both the private and public sector.
However, that is not what is on the President’s table! Obama has said repeatedly, there will be no ”Trojan Horse” opening the way for an eventual single-payer health plan. He means it, as you know. So progressives have to set their idealistic rhetoric aside and look at what is actually on the table being set for us by the largest drug and insurance corporations — waited upon by their front men in the White House and Congress. Don't sacrifice the seniors for propaganda purposes.
Mary Lynn Cramer, MA, MSW, LICSW, Senior Citizen, has a background in economics and clinical social work, and considerable personal experience with Medicare. She can be reached at mllynn2@yahoo.com
Mary, Progressives know what is on the table and have known for some time. I don't know of any Progressives who support what you label "Obamacare." Your post really tells us nothing that we didn't already know.
Also, would you please give us some examples of the "idealistic rhetoric" in which you foully claim that we Progressives indulge ourselves.
q
This is a re-post of her piece on counterpunch. I was likewise confused. You might want to e-mail her directly.
However, I do know that many senoirs were angry at the mocking the left gave to the senior who said "keep government's hands off my medicare"! The govermnent is indeed trying to dismantle the few good parts of an otherwise rather flawed Medicare syatem. Most people under 65 don't seem to understand that existing "traditional" Part A/B/D Medicare is pretty lousy, but the alternative privatized "medicare advantage" plans were a way around the worst holes in coverage and very high deductable and copays in the pure goverment plan - assuming you have enough retirment pay or savings for the monthly premium. The poorer retireees, who must rely on basic medicare, are really screwed.
They are also miffed by simplistic calls for "Medicare for all". They know that really-existing US "Medicare for all" would be not be very good - it would be everything the right-wing fearmongers say mandatory single payer would be. Medicare for all could only be successful if it's coverages were greatly improved at the same time it's coverage was extended to everyone. This would be expensive - although not as expensive as the insurance premiums individuals and employers are now paying. But, you have to convince an anti-government-brainwashed public of that.
just what we're up against is an enormous overwhelming organism with many heads. the health insurance industry ( which are international corporate holding entities with global economic infuence), the pharmaceutical conglomerates( like dupont and its subsidiaries; the most powerful corporation on earth earning 700 billion annually), the private prison industry( another international corporate entity which directly influences the passing and enforcement of criminal law), and the auto insurance industry, which commands premiums from every driver on the road for medical insurance coverage of vehicle occupants, to the tune of around fifty billion dollars a year. these are all multi-billion dollar operations reaching far and deep into every financial nook of american life. universal health care reform is not just a good place to start, but probably the greatest civic hurdle in modern american history to be overcome. if that day comes, the carpetbaggers and their house of cards will soon tumble down the hill.... godspeed...
The same should apply to ALL Democratic lawmakers, not just Reid: any and all of those spineless, corporate shills who do not vote for medicare-for-all need to be voted out of office at the next election.
But, of course, that ain't gonna happen. The vast majority of "Democratic" Amer'cuns think by voting for a Democrat, they are being "progressive," and that "well, hell, it's better than a Republican being in that seat."
Idiots, all. And idiotic voters get exactly what they deserve in their elected officials. Just look at the government we have now, after last fall's election: the Democrats control the House, the Senate, and the White House, yet the Republicans are still getting literally everything they want.
Why? Because there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans. When are the American sheeple going to realize this? Isn't it painfully obvious by now??
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross."
Sinclair Lewis, "It Cant Happen Here", 1935
Demonstorm,
Somehow I get the feeling that you like to demonize.
I sure hope progressives stick to their principles. Progressives may not have the numbers to elect anyone, but they sure have the numbers to un-elect anyone. That is the only way to make the fork tongue politicians take notice and institute a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
This is our system of legalized bribery at work. Right now the corporate 'health insurance' faction wants more profit and has unleashed it's agents (or meat puppets)in congress to make sure it happens - or at least to make sure the faction doesn't lose any of its current staggering profits. People and their needs and preferences are, as usual, left out of the process. It is no longer about the farce of democracy, that's only what they tell guileless children in elementary school, it's about what money can buy in the great discount store of capitalism known as congress.
History has amply demonstrated that capitalism and democracy, even our tepid, listless, attempt at 'representative democracy' can not long exist together in one society.
I have no clue why the senate dems picked Harry Reid for a 'leadership' position. He seems to be without any and every quality of leadership.
Whether the 'founders' had such a thing in mind or not we'll never know.
Sent this e-mail to Harry Reid yesterday, as part of the lobbying effort being run by FireDogLake:
Dear Senator Reid,
I add my voice to the millions of others who insist upon a robust public option, along the lines proposed by Sen Rockefeller in his amendment, defeated Tuesday in the Senate Finance Committee.
This is a poor substitiute for a single-payer system, but more on that later.
I ask you to engage President Obama and his chief of staff in the enforcement of party discipline. Bring a bill to the Senate floor with a robust public option, force the Republicans to filibuster, and demand that every member of the Democratic caucus vote for cloture, so that the bill can be voted upon under regular order.
Let the chips fall where they may. Your party is hapless if it is held hostage by Blue Dog Democrats-In-Name-Only, especially in the Senate. A re-alignment may very well cause the loss of your THEORETICAL 60-seat majority, but one must ask: "What good is that majority if it can't deliver meaningful results on the two most important issues of our tome -- health care reform and climate change legislation?"
Among Progressives, Senator Rockefeller has this week been transformed from "Jello Jay" to "Jay Rock."
I ask that you step up to the mantle of "Give 'em Hell Harry."
I believe you'd be gratified at the renewed strength such an act would bring to your party.
Sincerely yours,
David Holmquist
Oak Park, Illinois
demonstorm please be a little kinder to our fellow citizens.
in some parts of the country folks can't afford cable
or a computer. all they have is right wing propaganda
nonstop 24/7/365. its been like that their entire life
and that's what they believe is the news.
freepressmyass you see this game very clearly. the evil
is so deep and entrenched its hard to fathom!its almost
like being a pol is triple in a baseball analogy.
you graduate to being a lobbyist ind life is good
beyond your wildest dreams! no more arcane laws to
restrict the amount of corruption. all the "factfinding"
golf course resorts you can take your pals the congress
on! the best food hottest escorts if you get my drift
and all that for some mere citizens life. what a cheap
price. you can let your full freak out with no one to
stop you. you help get through those laws people die people
revolt you pals in the military come to their aid. as they
say amerika what a country! but not for the reasons that
it used to be said for! YOU CAN SMELL THE SULFUR NOW!
Harry Reid is not a leader He is as sissy as Nancy Pelosi. Neither one of them care about the people. We realize the the repugs are a nazi group only looking out for someone of their color. White with a yellow streak down their back.
Using the congressional reconciliation procedure, only over half the senators present and voting is required to pass legislation, and that could be a cake walk. That's what we need to push for. As long as the legislation coming out of the two chambers is even slightly different this can be done.
AD
Another preview coming right up, and I just "gotta love it."
Using the congressional reconciliation procedure, only over half the senators present and voting is required to pass legislation, and that could be a cake walk. That's what we need to push for. As long as the legislation coming out of the two chambers is even slightly different this can be done.
AD
But didn't I read that harry and Pelozi have alredy been paid by the Medical Insurance Industry reps to NOT support a public option...surely you don't want them to cheat on their benefactors ,do you?
No reform, no bill: Kill it.