David Brooks: Why Lobbyists Are Prevailing In Health Care Fight

The New York Times :

The Clintoncare collapse and the ensuing decade in the wilderness drove home the costs of failure. This has produced a Vince Lombardi attitude toward winning. There are limits, of course, but leaders in Congress and in the administration seem open to nearly any idea so long as it will lead to passing legislation. On health care, the administration would like a strong public plan, but it is evidently open to a weak one. It is on record against taxing health benefits, but it is clearly willing to tax them. It will do what it takes to pass a bill.

Read the whole story: The New York Times

Comments

[WorkingClass]

Blah Blah Blah. Democrats are for sale. That is why lobbyists are prevailing on health care. Yes, Republicans are for sale also. So what. Democrats control both houses and the white house.

[Lorianne]

Which means the Insurance Companies win.

[Montgriz]

Tht is not news...the GOP is also for sale.....o­ur entire system has been broken permanently by the money interests and greed.....­the only solution is to somehow take lobby money out of the free speech argument or limit the amounts per capita and every senator recluse himself when voting if he receives gifts on bills up for a vote....we are going the same route as Rome, Athens, Byzantium.­..selling offices...­.ignoring the people, but giving them bread and circus

[macohmz]

Here's why lobbyists are prevailing. Its because we have a bunch of bribe-taking, law-selling, money-grubbing whores running the government. That's why.

[Montgriz]

Bingo....p­ut tht together with our media paid for by corporations and Big Pharma and you begin to see a pattern...­..

[Mahi Joe]

You got it! I don't know where people get the idea we are a christian nation. In acuality we governed by totally immoral greedy bunch of egocentristic politicians who are only concerned about themselves and could care less about their constituents.

[jazzman]

I read this article two days ago. It is one of Brook's best. Obama cannot bring about real health care if he follows the pragmatic politicking that allows the Congress to come up with a mish mash full of trigger option and coop options and just tinker around the edges.

This system of ours is seriously broke. If you saw the town meeting today you heard one tragic story of a woman shut out of health care who has cancer. If you read the NYTimes today, you can get another picture of the tragedy of our system with a story about a couple who had insurance and then ended up filing for bankruptcy because of medical bills. There are many many more tragic stories but here is the real tragedy.

While every American now knows someone either in their family or their neighborhood who has suffered at the hands of the Health Care Industry. While the situation has reached a critical mass and tipping point moving towards public outrage we have Senators like Olympia Snowe saying that we can't make health care too cheap. We have a Finance Committee chairman like Max Baucus who didn't even seriously consider a single payer system. We have a weak kneed John Kerry who talks of trigger options.

Obama, needs to put the hammer down, LBJ style, on these spineless and valueless politicians. We need real reform that includes a public option and we need it now. That is not option.

[cubs325]

amen and if congress blocks it (repubs) or fails to get it done (dems) then we can choose to vote them out in 2 years and give obama and the people what they want

[nwfurn]

Or hit the streets in the millions! Why wait 2 years for this sort of nonsense. These people need to be frightened by the masses to get any real change.

[mick7191]

The LBJ analogy is right on. He should use the political capital to bust heads and threaten the existing congress creatures with alternative Dem candidates in 2010 if they don't fall in line. That is capital well spent.

[flurryup]

mick7191- LBJ would've busted heads in the first month and voila HEALTHCARE. God I miss that man.

[Mugzi]

Yes, you are correct. I too read the article and there is one huge difference. The gop backs their prez, as gw...right­, wrong or indifferent, they backed him. Even now, the party of "no", as bad as they are, they are a cohesive unit. Clinton failed in healthcare, not because it came from the executive branch, but because the Dems do not act as a unit and are too busy with their own agenda to act together as a unit. It's too bad even the Dems don't back the Pres...it'­s expected the gop won't, but the Dems should. We would see real change if they would!

[mick7191]

You bet. Senator Al should ratchet up the pressure because all excuses not to get it done are moot. Repeal the Reagan tax cuts.

[Liberal2]

The only way to reform Congress (to get the legislation America needs to rebuild) is to end legalized bribery of all political candidates. Public financing now.

You'd think politicians would be for an end to eight hours a day begging corporations and the wealthy to go ahead and bribe them.

[ADVOCATE4ZPG]

You're at the root of it all......

[PaxEterna]

Brooks is right on all counts, and his analysis begs the fundamental question:

Where is the leader we thought we voted into the Presidency?

He is more concerned about NOT getting his hands dirty, than actually providing real solutions
that help the people.. We don't need hugs; we don't need his rhetoric or his supposed empathy, we need programs and policies that work.

Example in point: health care, and the fact that SINGLE PAYER HAS BEEN SWEPT OFF THE TABLE BY NONE OTHER THAN OBAMA HIMSELF.

Why? because he is afraid of the lobbyists and the corporate interests they represent.

Like I said at the top: WHERE IS THE LEADERSHIP WE WERE PROMISED?

WHERE is the guy who promised to take on DC, the Congress, the lobbies, the special interests et al.?

From all vantage points, he is MIA.

Too bad, America, another missed opportunity.

[Lori Bowles]

One more reason to clamp down on PAC and lobbyists groups. When politicians see us as the enemy and corporations as friends we are in trouble. The golden rule has always been in place and its time for a change.

[ohmetoo]

too late

[marinade]

Lots of groups and special interests are being catered to. Maybe the government should cater to the American people for a change.

[Nardwilly]

Listen to the POTUS. Follow his lead. Fight for what you want. Write and call your US Representative and Senators.

Fight to Win.

[jmpurser]

The president is leading the charge TOWARDS doing the industry's bidding. Following him takes us AWAY from real health care reform.

[olmossy]

Who do you think you are ? Thoman Jefferson or somebody.

[Montgriz]

you might say, our congress people and senators are catering to the people...n­o one objects when a new post office replaces the old one built 5 years ago. or uncle Ted is hired by the govt. to count cars on main st......

[olmossy]

And a no bid contract to Halliburton and JBR for a multibillion deal for WarBiz.

[olmossy]

KBR

[research]

The democratic party ceased to exist a decade ago, when the DLC conservative democrats were bought by the bankers and corporations. the only peoples democrats are Kucinich and approximately half of the house like him. The DLC obama clinton rahm, call themselves centrist, but they are corporatist, read their web site declarations.

Maybe this is what Rove meant when he said he had the numbers: He knew even if the democrats won, they would continue the corporatist agenda.

7 trillion to the Banksters, 1 trillion to main street, and much of that to large companies.

We needed an FDR, instead we got a Hoover.

Kucinich/Dean 2012!