"Ed Show" Panel Discusses How Democrats Are Blocking Democrats On Health Care Reform (VIDEO)

Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker, A.B. Stoddard of The Hill, and Christina Ballantani of The Washington Times, appeared as panelists on MSNBC's "The Ed Show" tonight. One of the issues they addressed was the difficulty in passing health care reform, particularly one that includes a public option.

While Republicans are pretty much uniformly against a public option, despite a recent poll showing that a solid majority of Americans favor some kind of government-run plan, the panel honed in on two key problems for proponents of a public option.

The first is that the uninsured, who would benefit the most from a government-run plan, are not a very powerful and vocal constituency, and despite a majority of Americans favoring a public plan, they are also afraid of losing their coverage.

The second, and more important, problem is that the Democrats themselves are divided on the issue. If, Ballantani notes, they decided to really play hardball (and could keep all their members in line), they have the votes to do what the Republicans did during the Bush administration and push a plan through Congress without Republican support.

Watch the panel debate on health care reform below.

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Comments

[dandypuddin]

Big Eddie is getting stompin' mad about health care. Thanks for speaking up for us.

[LemonMeringue]

Wasn't that awesome? I think I'll write him.

I haven't heard anybody speak for us like that on health care except for Nader and Kucinich.

[LegallyPalin]

I have the solution on how to pay for public health care, LEGALIZE MARIJUANA nationwide, and tax the heck out of it. Its that simple really.

[lazercat2008]

Whoa, you just blew my mind dude.

[NKR]

It might be simple if that was a realistic option. You do realize that Congress has to vote on legislation for it to become law, don't you? People seem to forget that. Congress isn't going to legalize marijuana. We need to find other options, such as increased taxation on the extremely wealthy. The top tenth of the richest 1% have more wealth than the bottom 50%, and the US has one of the highest indeces of economic inequality. CEOs and the like who are making more money in a day than the average worker in a year aren't going to starve if their taxes are increased just a bit.

[BonoVox]

Ed's right, and I wish that wimp from the New Yorker would find another job. He's clueless, as is AB. Only from inside the Beltway could you find people being paid to be so out of touch.

Lacking a mass movement? What was the last election but a mass movement? Ed sticks with the 72% popularity figure, while the two of them play their Main Stream Media divination game, telling Ed to forget about the Republicans. Is that how the MSM reported on Democrats who were against the run-up to the war? Why do the Republicans get a pass on this issue? People die every day because of our lousy health care system, yet those two natter on about wrong-headed speculations they will never be held accountable for.

[underoath]

Max baucus needs to go home

[apoyo]

max f*ckus.

[kylie]

Mark Warner isn't doing too well, either.
These clowns need to be reminded Why they were voted in.
The insurance lobbyists may be funding them, but the public won't continue to keep them in office if they ruin our chance for real health care and not the Republican proposal that will amount to nothing.
It will play like the McCain/Feingold "Campaign Reform" that wasn't.
So diluted it did nothing and we have the same corrupt mess that we did before, maybe worse.
We need a public option--otherwise the insurance companies will become richer and more powerful--more greedy and more Exclusive.
Let's ask the senators and reps to trade their insurance plan with the Amercan peoples insurance or lack of insurance!
We need to take to the streets, if the Democrats fail us like the Republicans.(The Iranian people have shown us what courage is),
Accept no Substitutes--No Republicans that call themselves "Blue Dog Democrats"!

[Raul Garcia]

This is just the establishment, talking about the establishment.

[Icantbelieveher]

If they can't come up with the votes for the American people, I'm pretty sure the American people won't come up with the votes for them!

WHAT GOOD IS IT FOR A POLITICIAN TO GAIN ALL THE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE WORLD, AND LOSE HIS OWN ELECTION?

Like Howard Dean on Keith Olberman said tonight -- if they vote against something 72% of the American people want, and have said they would pay more taxes to get, people will assume they work for the insurance industry and they won't be re-elected! They'd better think! The most important thing to these people is getting re-elected! I've made it clear to my senators in Colorado that if they don't vote for the people, I won't be showing up for them in the next election -- and I know that a lot of people who got involved in this past election feel the same way!

If they are bought off, how is it any different than when the repubs were in charge?

[Firbolg]

What I suspect is that our representatives keep dangling the "public option" over a cliff and threatening to let it drop to make sure we will be so relieved when it is snatched back at the last minute that we will eagerly embrace even a watered down version of what is at best a very poor substitute for the real solution, "single payer".
This done they will continue to enjoy financial support from the industries that feed of healthcare while the "public option" withers and dies. In this they have the full support of the media, as demonstrated in the clip above, to keep single payer off the table and the airwaves.

[lazercat2008]

I'm voting Independent.

[mikala]

Good for you and where will tha get you!

[lazercat2008]

Well, maybe I'll get some health care.

[Ohsherri]

huh?
Where's the same ol same ol Repubs and Dems getting us?

[MikeCanada]

I've seen the ads on American TV with Canadians saying that our health care system is in "trouble." It's all b.s. I have a number of medical conditions, and I'm at a doctors office 2-3 times a month, and I don't pay a penny. No "bureaucrat" has ever intervened, no government official has ever contacted me. What the anti-public health care people tell Americans are blatant lies. You people pay your taxes, you DESERVE a public medical system, like every other civilized nation.

[michigander1]

While I would love to see a health care system, as not all my grown children here in the US have medical coverage for their families, I have to disagree with you Mike. I grew up in Canada and I watched my father sit by the phone for six whole months after a heart attack, awaiting his call for a quadruple bypass. He finally sold our family home and moved to the provincial capital, hoping that might improve his chances for hospital care. The Canadian system is overwhelmed. There is no reason not to order every test in the book, no reason not to ask for multiple follow up visits.... as no one directly pays! There is no comparison when looking at the taxes I paid living in Canada vs what I pay here. Someone has to pay for this health care. The federal tax rate in Canada for someone making 50K a year is 22%, the provincial rate for my ex-home is almost 13%, then on top of that you have a 13% sales tax on everything, even buying one postage stamp. I did look up those tax rates online and hope that those figures are indeed valid for 2009.
http://www.kpmg.ca/en/services/tax/documents/2009FederalandProvIncomeTaxRates.pdf

[chacounne]

As a fellow Canadian, who has multiple disabilities, I completely agree.

With gratitude,
Heather

[AlaninElkGrove]

sign Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) petition for single-payer healthcare @: sanders.senate.gov

call the D.C.office of your one representative and BOTH of your senators tomorrow. Tell the aide that you support single-payer health. It will be recorded on a survey and conveyed to the legislator.

If you can't be bothered..­.QUITCHERB­ITCHEN!!

[MikeCanada]

Americans need to do what Canadians did in the 60s. March in the streets, insist taht universal health care comes to fruition. Don't let the b*stard health care lobby and insurance companies derail this. Once America has it, universal health care will never be taken away; the public will not let it happen. Best of luck!

[Garybot]

Oh wait, I have to find some disgusting slimy jokes we can tell on Fox about the people marching in the streets. And a bunch of moronic reporters to help out.

[TJCole]

Call them what they are, Demo-rats...!

Simple as that..

[thinkworklivelove]

Get at them, Big Eddy!

THERE IS A MOVEMENT FOR A PUBLIC OPTION.

[LemonMeringue]

72%

That isn't a grass roots movement?

They are pretending 72% do not exist.

[MMJones]

And over 50% of Republicans are in favor of public option.

ARE THEY LISTENING UP THERE, OR TOO BUSY FEELING SMUG WITH THEIR OWN TOP-TIER HEALTH PLANS FOR LIFE???

[mikala]

Ed is doing a great job being a voice for the middle class on health care and the Employee Free Choice Act but he is only one voice. The question is what are the rest of us doing? Ed's voice alone will not get this done neither will Obama's voice. This is going to take all of our voices writing, calling and emailing our Senators and Representatives and those who are wimping out on a public plan. Writing is best because it becomes part of the public record.

Start by going to this site and let your voice be heard:

http://ga3.org/campaign/healthpetition?source=hc_durbin