It's time for Dems to hear music on Obamacare
August 2, 2009
As Democrats continue their stumbling march toward nationalized health care, splits in their coalition are growing wider. Instead of demonizing anonymous "insurance industry lobbyists" and special interest naysayers, Democratic leaders would do better to concede that their blind devotion to one solution -- government-run health care -- is their biggest problem.
The divisions among Blue Dog Democrats, the Congressional Budget Office, large nonprofits like AARP and even Americans who support health care reform show that President Barack Obama's lofty rhetoric about building consensus is little more than showmanship -- aka "spin."
Consider the difficulties of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Just after Obama emphasized the importance of passing health care reform before Congress goes home, Reid said it wasn't possible. Pelosi, for her part, had to compromise with Blue Dog Democrats to water down the public option, and worse, delay a full House vote until after the recess. That put progressive Democrats on the warpath.
All of this came even as the CBO was putting up other hurdles, issuing estimate after estimate making clear that federal spending will skyrocket under Obamacare. The CBO director, Doug Elmendorf, was called on the carpet in a special meeting at the White House, and was subsequently pilloried by Obama's Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag for "overstepping." Elmendorf, by the way, is a liberal Democrat, appointed by the congressional Democratic leadership.
Then there are the liberal activist groups like AARP. Leaders and staff of AARP gave beaucoup money to Obama during the 2008 election cycle, but their endorsement of the reform movement is clearly inimical to their member's views and interests. Obamacare will create long waiting lines for appointments and special treatments, aggravate the growing doctor shortage, and generate a flood of new forms and other red tape. A Gallup poll found that 43 percent of respondents 65 years of age or older think the bill will make health care worse, while only 34 percent see it making things better.
Lesson for Obama, Reid and Pelosi: Dragging your coalition to the finish line in September could be the biggest mistake of all. The Democrats should listen carefully to the folks back home during the recess.
|
|
Urgent Petition
|
Sign the petition to stop Social Security Cuts and send a fax to every Member of Congress demanding they cut other spending, NOT SOCIAL SECURITY.
Share This Petition
|
Recent News
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Source: ABC News
The Food and Drug Administration has warned doctors to watch for fractures of the upper thigh bone in patients taking several popular drugs designed to prevent hip fractures and fight osteoprothesis. The FDA warns that Fosamax and Boniva in particular, if taken unnecessarily or for too long, may actually be causing the bone fractures they are prescribed to prevent. Watch ABC News video.
Read Full Story
Thursday, May 17, 2012
 Exit Not An Option In Chuck Schumer's America. New York Senator Chuck Schumer has introduced the Fugitive Taxpayer Act of 2012 to re-impose taxes on expatriates after they flee the United States and take up residence in a foreign country. Proposal also would impose a mandatory 30 percent tax on the capital gains of anybody who renounces their U.S. citizenship and would bar such individuals from ever reentering the United States again.
Read Full Story
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Whether President Obama gets his second term or Romney enters the Oval Office, there’s a third candidate no one’s paying much attention to, and that candidate is guaranteed to be the one clear winner of election 2012: the U.S. military and our ever-surging national security state.
Read Full Story
Friday, May 11, 2012
According to the New York Federal Reserve, two million US seniors age 60 and over have student loan debt, on which they owe a collective $36.5 billion; and 11.2 percent of this debt is in default. 4.2 percent of all student loan debt is held by people over the age of 60, and that share grows with each passing year.
Read Full Story
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Across the U.S. economy, anxiety is rising about the potential for widespread disruptions after the November election, when a lame-duck Congress will have barely two months to resolve a grinding standoff over taxes and spending.
Read Full Story
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Two-thirds of Republicans and nine in 10 Democrats polled support making immediate cuts to the military across the board -- a position at odds with the leaderships of both political parties.
Read Full Story
Monday, May 7, 2012
Video revealing the circumstances of how a mentally ill homeless man in Fullerton, Calif. died last July was finally published Monday, revealing a stunningly brutal police assault that left Kelly Thomas bleeding, broken and near death.
Read Full Story
Monday, May 7, 2012
The number of people with jobs declined for the second month in a row, falling by 169,000 in April after easing by 31,000 in March. This means that there were 200,000 fewer Americans with jobs in April than there were in February. Additionally, the percentage of working-age adults who either have jobs or are looking for work, fell to 63.6%, which is the lowest level since December 1981.
Read Full Story
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
In November 2010, a police lieutenant from Parma, Ohio, asked Vanguard Defense Industries if the Texas-based drone manufacturer could mount a “grenade launcher and/or 12-gauge shotgun” on its ShadowHawk drone for U.S. law enforcement agencies. The answer was yes.
Read Full Story
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
A gang attack on two people stopped at a red light in Norfolk, VA has not, until today, appeared in the local newspaper. Local police refuse to follow up on the attack. The responding officer coded the incident as a "simple assault," despite the victims' and witness's assertions that at least 30 people had participated in the attack. A reporter making routine checks of police reports would see "simple assault" and, if the names were unfamiliar, would be unlikely to write about it. In this case, editors hesitated to assign a story about their own employees. Would it seem like the paper treated its employees differently from other crime victims? Something is rotten in Mr. Jefferson's State.
Read Full Story
Read All Recent News
Get in the Know Now
Get SSI Email Alerts
Social Networks
Action Center
|
