Clinton Urges Progressive Push On Health Care, Shoots Down Euthanasia Myth

PITTSBURGH -- In a speech rallying progressives to make one last major push to pass health care reform, former President Bill Clinton accused Republicans of propagating a campaign of disinformation reminiscent of the effort to bring down his own attempt at reform.

"Do you want to go through that again?" the 42nd President asked the crowd of bloggers, online activists, and a slew of Democratic lawmakers at the Netroots Nation convention in Pittsburgh. "Of course you don't. I'm telling you no matter how low they drive support for this with misinformation, the minute the president signs a health care reform bill his approval will go up. Secondly, within a year, when all those bad things they say will happen don't happen, and all the good things happen, approval will explode."

The remarks fit into the wider theme of Clinton's more than hour-long address. Fresh off a trip to North Korea, in which he negotiated the release of two imprisoned American journalists, and with a sore voice, the former president declared the moment to be ripe for a progressive political era that could last "30 to 40 years."

But health care was the topic that the crowd wanted to hear about and Clinton didn't shy away from it. Occasionally referencing anecdotes from his failed reform effort in the early 1990s, he directly confronted the popular "death panel" myth being promoted among conservatives: that Democrats wanted to set up government panels to determine which sick patients to euthanize.

"Helping somebody draw up a living will is not the same thing as inviting seniors to die. It is a legitimate thing," he declared emphatically. "[Writing a will] doesn't have anything to do with all these crazy charges that are being made."

He pinpointed three ways in which Barack Obama's health care agenda faced an uphill battle: the complexity of the topic, the cost of reform, and the natural concern among the populace about changing the status quo. But he urged Democrats not to "lose their nerve."

"I'm pleading with you," he said, "try to keep this thing in the lane of getting something done. We need to pass a bill."

More than anything else, it was the memories of past failures that should compel current action, Clinton added. Unlike 17 years ago, he explained, the stars are now aligned to get legislation passed, in terms of the temperament of the American public, the genuine need for a systematic overhaul, or simple voting calculus in the United States Senate.

"Right now the Republicans are sitting around rooting for the President to fail," Clinton said. "And one of the reasons people are so hysterical at all these health care town-hall meetings... is they know they have no chance to beat health care this time, unless they can mortify with rigid fears some moderate conservative Democrats. Why do I know? Because they don't have the filibuster this time."

Comments

[creolechild]

07:27 PM on 08/27/2009

If you are concerned about receiving "real" health care reform in this country, please take the time to watch a video on our current system. The video was created by Oregon physicians who are advocating for the single-payer option. The video is very informative and helped me to gain a better understanding of various aspect of health care, as we know now it.

https://www.madashelldoctorstour.com/Mad_as_Hell_Video.html

These Oregon physicians are in the process of organizing a caravan designed to inform the public about the benefits of the single-payer option. At last count they will be stopping in approximately 23 states, on their way to demonstrate in Washington. They need volunteers and our support. Please spread the word.

[Sicario]

07:13 AM on 08/16/2009

WOW Bill looks like he he just came off a 3 day binge in Las Vegas, in the video.

[W-31]

04:07 PM on 08/18/2009

Let me get this straight.

We're going to pass a health care plan
written by a committee whose head says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it, signed by a president that also hasn't read it, and who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that's nearly broke.

What possibly could go wrong?

[EminemsRevenge]

10:21 PM on 08/15/2009

Personally i think we should be bringing up the question---AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER----then show that Matthew 25:31-46 SHOWS that according to Jesus, the answer is a resounding YES!!!

Of course the moralistas will say WE are using the bible to further our socialist agenda...and so what? Just keep driving the point home that JESUS would've been for Obamacare!

[Hopeforward]

10:50 PM on 08/15/2009

Great idea, but if anyone thinks that Conservatives would give a flying flip on what they thought Jesus would do, just keep thinking about those "birthers" and "deathers" and it never comes down to what Jesus would do, it's all about this election and who won it and who resides in the WH. If any of those people who call themselves "Christians", with the one man even screaming at the the town hall "one day you will stand before God" they wouldn't judge anyone for the color of their skin. And this is really what it's all about. Those that just "want their America back".

[geeegee]

03:17 PM on 08/15/2009

I am getting tired of the fringe people who are saying health care reform will kill grandma! You know what? Insurance companies kill more grandmas and kids and parents than you will ever know. 22,000 people a year die from no or inadequate health care. I am fighting for my son's life right now with one of those insurance companies.
I am sick and disgusted with the knee jerk Americans who are disrupting an essential dialogue and spouting lies. As a nurse I have seen euthanasia....with our current system....it's called a slow code....or a judgement call about who gets health care and who does not....start to think, people!

[Raster]

03:12 PM on 08/15/2009

We have pushed, as hard as we can, Mr. Bill. But it does little good when there is a President who is as extremely risk-averse and conflict-averse as Obama.

[pammiethekid]

04:18 PM on 08/15/2009

He's not conflict adverse, he's just smart. Politics is the art of the possible, and Obama is at the bottom of a steep hill not of his own making. He can only carry so much at a time. He can't wear himself out with conniptions or toss out edicts like he believes himself to be king. Much as I love the Clintons, if you think Bill would do better in Obama's shoes, just remember that the fact that he couldn't keep his pants zipped contributed greatly to the 8 years we got of Bush. To say that Obama is risk-adverse is to show that you are a spoiled child waiting be served the dinner he wants because you, what, made the effort of pulling a lever for him? What have you ever done that comes close to what Obama did before he even got to the presidency? Seriously. Bill's call here is for THE REST OF US to act and not for Obama be so perfect that we can all sit on our butts.

[billw8017]

07:50 PM on 08/16/2009

Americans never blamed Bill Clinton much for his affair, rather I think the most of us thought that Kenneth Starr was sort of creepy. Gore made a mistake in pushing Clinton away. For all his undeniable brilliance, Al Gore could, himself, mock his stiffness. In the summer of 2000, Alan Greenspan at the Federal Reserve raised the overnight rate to 6 3/4% -- perhaps to slow down stock market euphoria, perhaps to start a little recession around election day and favor the administration's opponents. Clinton's prosperity was so strong that the economy didn't falter until the end.

President Obama is hurting now because the economy is so rough. Yet, the worst that can be said of him is that he is continuing Republican policies with just a bit more accountability. Tinkle down didn't work for Bush. There was not a "jobless" recovery, but according to Kevin Phillips, inflation is understated, the economy was several points less than said, and we had a mild recession throughout the Bush years.

[billw8017]

08:09 PM on 08/16/2009

I got a little ahead of myself. I meant to say, tinkle down didn't work for Bush, and it isn't working well for President Obama.

The report on incomes (elsewhere on the Post) is very interesting. Supposing the top 5 and 10% figures are artificially high because of the miscalculation of inflation, the relative stagnation is explained. These groups, the people who make more that $109 000 a year would be the enterprising "middle class" that creates small businesses and are the most dynamic employers.

For the rest, Pammie is right. President Obama is working for us and to assure his success, we have to stand up for ourselves. Nobody can go out on a limb to circumvent some of the biggest industries in the country and sweep to victory all by himself.

At that, I don't blame the rich or the owners of the big companies, but I'm sure most are decent people with good intentions. I blame their employees, the lobbyists and artful liars among the politicians who are pandering to their powerful employers and abusing their trust. It is not to anybody's serious interest that some Americans are hurt and sick without hope or that some institutions are held responsible beyond their capabilities.

[Chip W]

08:25 PM on 08/15/2009

I don't pick up that you're a spoiled child. Are you a spoiled child?

I don't know that he's risk-averse or whether this is his style in dealing with people. He was a community organizer, and this approach is consistent with that. He seems to like consensus and for people to come to agreement, and to include everyone.

He's not an aggressive guy, which in his position, working in a hostile environment, may be a shortcoming.

[ratmonkey1]

02:58 PM on 08/15/2009

The answer to all this Obama bashing isn't health-care or where the president
was born or every issue brought up by the president & his staff.

It's he has African blood in his veins & he's a Democrat so the millions of right-
wing dimwits are crazy because he won the election. Every thing else is sour
grapes and visceral racism. These hillbillies can't stand the fact that Obama
is our president. Everything else is window dressing to get the dumbarse
population riled up. This zany stuff is as American as apple pie. Shame on us.

[tinman1967]

11:47 AM on 08/15/2009

Progressives are their own worst enemy. That's a good thing.

[OurKoan]

02:51 PM on 08/15/2009

You need oil, tin man.

[Chip W]

08:26 PM on 08/15/2009

Progressives are bad!!

[Dale Larson]

11:41 AM on 08/15/2009

It's time to end our "risky experiment" of "For-profit health insurance". It's a proven failure.

HR676 (http://hr676.org) Single Payer system that is proven, pro-business and pro-people:

* Slashes at least 30% of costs off the top by removing private insurance overhead.
* Companies take health care expenses off their books. Stock value increases. Better able to compete internationally.
* Small companies could have access to higher skilled workers because previously they couldn't compete in the labor market by offering similar benefits.
* More entrepreneurial ventures will launch since they have more money and less unrelated risk.
* Dramatic drop in bankruptcies.
* Dramatic drop in lawsuits. Most of these lawsuits are simply to obtain money to cover health care if something interrupts their coverage.
* Reduced system complexity. Greater efficiency due to fewer regulations.
* Savings from employees not having to fight with their insurers during work hours.
* HSA and MSA dollars redirected back into the economy for goods and services.
* Additional money to spend from not having to carry "uninsured motorist coverage" on your auto policy.
* Contract employment is more viable for workers since they are guaranteed access to health care.
* People are covered when unemployed. No chance of being wiped out financially if you lose your job.
* Health care providers (doctors, hospitals, therapists...) see increase in business with much less administrative expense.

[marijam]

07:29 AM on 08/15/2009

Bill, I still respect and admire you, but, can I trust you on this? After all, look what has happened to our economy because of NAFTA and because of the repeal of Glass-Steagall.

[tomasedison]

08:56 AM on 08/15/2009

get your facts straight the GOP was behind getting rid of Glass-Steagall in a very charged political environment which they created

thank Uncle Phil from the GOP

[huffingt]

06:23 AM on 08/15/2009

read Pawlenty's sppech on politico. It may come later on H uff

Tim Pawlenty foresees GOP surge if health plan is rejected. can you imagine the REthugs?
They want the Pre sident to fail, Health care for Americans fail? so they can come in to power?
Another poisonous pawlenty mushroom head popping up.
We really need to make GOP powerless completely.

[SG Phillips]

10:17 AM on 08/15/2009

My Minnesota family tells me Pawlenty's a light-weight maroon who won't win his next election.
Let us pray that is so.

[LHibbard]

02:11 PM on 08/15/2009

Mr. Pawlenty isn't running for re-election, remember? He wants a bigger crown, which he won't get.

[Chip W]

08:34 PM on 08/15/2009

Pawlenty is smart and he's a political animal. He's already positioning himself for a run at the presidency.

[Chip W]

08:38 PM on 08/15/2009

Pawlenty's also framing himself as a leader in the We're Losing Our Freedoms Movement.
The Cash for Clunkers program is the government making our decisions for us.
I need that explained to me.

[stevendedalus3]

12:37 AM on 08/15/2009

Who but Bill would know the inner workings of these nut cases crawling out of the woodwork of 1993 to again defeat necessary healthcare reform? They continue irrationally to support the strategies of the insurance robber barons, the pharmaceuticals and the AMA that rip apart fair balance in the economy by continuing to escalate pricing as though they were connected to Wall Street's bonus system at the expense of other businesses. These hecklers pretend to be for the average citizen when in reality they are duped by the profiteers of medicine.

[benne]

10:18 PM on 08/14/2009

Clinton's speech was terrific. I liked all of it, and it even had me, a hardcore progressive, convinced that I must do more to help pass healthcare. That is, it stirred me. I mention this because I woke up the next day, read a bunch of these stories about the elimination of the public option, and am not sure I can be on board with either Barack or Bill. What will "universal health insurance" mean except huge giveaways to the health insurance companies?

[who38]

10:36 PM on 08/14/2009

Do you think that he will be speaking to the Blue Dogs as well?

[StopSexismNow]

12:59 AM on 08/15/2009

Clinton or Obama?

[marijam]

07:31 AM on 08/15/2009

Yes, that is my fear as well. We must have a public option.

[daffey]

09:26 PM on 08/14/2009

Having tasted the spotlight, expect to see Mr. Clinton, perhaps one of the most narcissistic people to trod the earth in the last five thousand years of human civilization, back in the news as much as he can - here to save the world of course. : )

[BobQueuePublic]

11:57 PM on 08/14/2009

Being narcissistic does not make one wrong.

[marijam]

07:32 AM on 08/15/2009

Jealous huh?

[WakeUp2021]

09:21 PM on 08/14/2009

Democratic Death Panels - cover doctor patient consultations for living wills.
Republican Death Panels - deny patients health care claims killing patients.

The republicans make Orwell proud.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/The-Return-of-the-Viral-Email/

[MarionWatts]

09:21 PM on 08/14/2009

You gotta love Bill Clinton. If anyone can drive home a point, he can. Kudos to him to rally the Progressives. Too many of us have been highly critical of a President who's sincerely trying to do his best for all. What he's trying to achieve will take time, and some time something achieved through slow change is change that will be permanent. I've always considered myself a Progressive Democrat, but some of us have to stop throwing the toys out of the pram, crying for attention and GROW UP. Get behind this good man we've elected. Just think about the option if you DON'T.

http://emiliawahoo76.blogspot.com
http://myspace.com/virginiadem

[who38]

10:38 PM on 08/14/2009

Tell that to Lady Jane, Mary, the Ditz, and the rest of the Blue Dogs. It isn't just Progressives that are holding things up. And you know that the BeeDees will never, ever compromise.

[guajiro]

12:10 AM on 08/15/2009

I love your enthusiasm and faith in Obama. But Crikey, when these Pols want something done, they get it done IN DAYS. Think back to the Iraq war. The Dems bent over backwards to give Bush his war. Think back to the passing of legislation that gives the Pols increases in pay, that hides their vote by not having it recorded, etc. All those bills were passed IN DAYS. This once in a lifetime opportunity where Dems have a one vote majority in the Senate that allows Dems to break any filibuster the Repugs might put out, could be our last chance for another 40-60 years again. The time is not for going slow, The White House knows who put him there and what we want. Even the Justice Department will go along as they did with the conservative movement. Either he starts moving on something or he's going to the bench.

[pammiethekid]

04:32 PM on 08/15/2009

Different. War is panic by it's very nature. Obama has jumped on health care as fast and as hard as he possibly could. We progressives would do well to back him and help him and stop acting like kids in the back of the station wagon complaining to dad, "Are we there yet?"