The Healthcare Reform Thread

That’s only one version, they still have to merge the 3, they knew this one was going to go down. The other 2 have it in. Fuck the Republicans, they’re gonna vote no anyway so do what they’d do. If it passes, it will be with reconciliation.

I don’t think you’ll see any version pass with a public option. It just doesn’t have mainstream support, only far left support. Way too many Democrats got elected by the middle and know they’re signing their own pink slip if they vote yes on a public option.

The majority of America is still for the public option, contrary to what Fox News says. The only way they’ll sign their own pink slip is if they don’t pass anything. My prediction is, they pass the non-controversial parts of the bill by the normal measures. The public option goes to reconciliation, where they can gather up 51 votes. 6 year senate terms are a long time. By the time those Senators in conservative states come up for re-election, this will be long forgotten and accepted.

^You’re funny.

Shut up old man, or we’ll sic the death panels on you :lol:

If you think people are angry now, wait until they try and force something as far reaching as this through with reconciliation. You’ll see far worse than that facebook poll about if Obama should be assassinated.

Reconciliation was created as a procedure for passing budgetary items and had never been used to pass agenda items like healthcare. It’s amazing to me that the same people who screamed and cried about Bush and the Constitution have no problem with throwing out the rules that have governed politics for the history of our nation. Actually, considering how the far left work, it doesn’t surprise me much at all.

So why did the Republicans use it for:
-The Contract with America in 1995
-Welfare Reform
-The 2001 Bush Tax Cuts [HR 1836, 3/26/01]
– The 2003 Bush Tax Cuts [HR 2, 3/23/03]
-Opening the Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve to drilling

Sorry, but the Republican argument against using that is completely hypocritical when they are the party who did all of the using it. Particularly when it comes out of the mouth of the same guys that invented doing it. Now if we want to use the same tactics it’s “going nuclear”.

If you think are angry now wait until Cap and Trade. The entire country will be marching on DC with ozone depleting torches.

The oil and health insurance companies don’t have enough money to pay off the entire country…

^you really think it would take that? Silly little boy.

That’s what it took to get them to come out against healthcare…

I agree with Joe. This is only one bill and we knew it wasn’t going to pass. Republicans with their constant anti-healthcare reform are going to drive this country streight to what they fear the most, a single-payer system.

The way the health insurance industry is going this is actually the last step into keeping them around with competition.

How long before the number of people uninsured outnumbers the number of people who are insured.

200% increase in premiums since 2000.

400% increase in profits since 2000.

15,000,000 more uninsured since 2000.

And you want me to believe the Republicans know what to do?

Contract with America was not passed by using reconciliation. Much of it was vetoed or altered by the sitting president, Clinton.

Welfare Reform I’m assuming you mean Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Other than the one senator you got your list from I can find no evidence that it was passed via the reconciliation process. Even if it was it was signed by a Democrat president so it’s hardly comparable to 3 branches of Democrats using it to force something through.

The tax cuts are pointless to bring up. Tax cuts are budgetary items are they are exactly why reconciliation was created.

ANWAR drilling was not opened up by reconciliation, unless I just can’t find it. ANWAR drilling hasn’t even been opened up.

Contract with America was passed by reconciliation, then a lot was vetoed by clinton. But it would have never cleared congress.

http://www.c-spanarchives.org/congress/?q=node/77531&id=7316243
Here’s Judd Gregg the hypocrite when the republicans attempted to bring it up. Apparently it was defeated but here’s his argument. Works for me.

Mr. GREGG. No, I will not yield.

The point, of course, is this: If you have 51 votes for your position, you win. Fifty-one votes to say there should not be drilling, that there should not be exploration, that this small postage stamp of land in this vast area of land should not be looked at for the purposes of giving us some independence in the area of energy, addressing our energy needs as a nation–if you have 51 votes to say that, you win.

If, on the other hand, the Senators from Alaska, who feel that in good conscience they had a commitment from the Senate for many years that they would be allowed to pursue this initiative and that they can do it in an environmentally sound way, have 51 votes for their position, they win. That is the way the rules of the Senate are set up.

So it is totally inappropriate for a Senator to come to this floor and represent that this is some sort of unethical act, as was implied by the Senator from Massachusetts. We are using the rules of the Senate as they are set up to be used, and that happens to be the rule of the Senate.

I yield the floor.

Looks like this effort is going to fail, insurance companies are probably having huge ragers today in celebration.

Nope, this was a designed failure, since the Finance committee is the most conservative in congress

51 committed votes for a public option if they decide to go the reconciliation route.

I’m sure some form or trigger for a public option will be in the final bill somewhere. whether the Democrats get any Republican support or not.

My issue is - the economy probably won’t have recovered enough to keep our smaller businesses afloat with additional costs, and I’m sure that commercial companies, with a mandatory cover/no precondition mandate would have to increase rates.

Therefore, more small companies would chip in and force their employees on the public option as a matter of survival. That will mean that the reform bill concept of being deficit-neutral, as a whole, will be doomed.

uh ohhhhh numbers rising in support for health care reform!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091007/ap_on_bi_ge/us_ap_poll_health_care

Numbers are good, especially compared to the alternative.

A new Quinnipiac poll shows President Obama’s approval rating holding steady at 50%, but finds Republicans get their lowest grades since Obama was elected on several measures:

Voters disapprove 64% to 25% of the way Republicans in Congress are doing their job, with even 42% of Republican voters disapproving
Only 29% think Republicans on Capitol Hill are acting in good faith
Voters trust Obama more than Republicans 47% to 31% to handle health care
By a 53% to 25% margin, voters have an unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party
Said pollster Peter Brown: “Republicans are taking a public opinion pounding.”

All of this Republican scorched earth politics is definitely hurting the Democrats’ plans, but it’s hurting the Republicans just as bad. Apparently they just want people to hate the government.

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1284.xml?ReleaseID=1382&What=&strArea=;&strTime=0
Also interesting is that people are against the current bill 47-40 but in favor of the public option 61-34.