Dems May Be Walking Into Republican Health Care "Trap"

Politics Daily:

Are the Democrats about to walk into a Republican trap on health care? As I monitor the latest back and forth, I feel as if I'm watching a cheesy horror flick and some poor unsuspecting person is about to open the wrong door--and you want to scream, "Hey, don't open that door!" But....

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Comments

[Boodah5]

Hopefully, the Baucus bill will be amended. As it is it will have to be vetoed if it passed. What the republicans want is for the dems to pass a bill that does not reduce cost and the overall price of health insurance. I pray our dear president doesn't sign a bad bill just to get something into law and claim a victory, for the victory will be a meaningless one as the republicans gain a heap of seats in congress next year. I find this whole process depressing.

[bascombe]

willingly, I might add......

[bascombe]

of course the (R)emocrats are walking into a trap. there's too much money involved in both parties.
they are all FLucking FLiars.

[thepoliticalcat]

Baucus' bill is reprehensible. Is he getting Federal employee health care? Because if he is, he needs to get off it now and get insured by the same health care vultures he is preparing to unleash on the rest of us.

[wafuu]

If there are Americans in need of adequate and affordable health care, they absolutely deserve as much, no questions asked. If you want to score points on government overspending, address issues such as Iraq or Afghanistan; or address reform in the financial industry; or deal with our country's dependency on foreign oil. Don't sit back smugly and doubt whether helping your fellow Americans live healthy and productive lives is worth the cost! In a word, that's AMORAL.

[BertrandRussell]

Fanned and fav'd

[kathy001]

Ditto.

[akababs]

Republicans aren't smart enough to lay a trap. Now the dems may be stupid enough to cut their own throats with no help from minority party.

[pattyjack]

Ya think?

[Wallysmom]

The democrats will not move forward with this bill. It lacks the public option plan or plan trigger. He just wasted 3 months of his life that he'll never get back writing a Republican pile of manure.

[research]

The dems created their own trap.

Ried: Remove these jerks from their committees!

[rdn411]

If only is was this easy. As I have been led to believe, and of which I do not understand, the arcane rules for committee assignments and appointments are very complicated, and according to Lawrence O'Donnel Reid CANNOT just replace Baucus, et. al.

[research]

I have heard the exact opposite: Reid can remove them anytime he wants, but the "traditions" would be ruined.

[mcmchugh99]

They have been walking into one trap after another for months now, and Baucus seems eager to help them do it.

[quiviran]

Mr Corn is right on. Baucuscare will kill the Democratic majority faster than anything the Republicans can muster. It will also kill thousands, if not millions, or Americans who desperately need the access to health care that a single payer system would provide. Baucus should be tried for attempted murder.

[keepemhonest]

I saw Baucus give the press conference re: his Bill ... he stuttered soooo much that it was clear he did not believe his own L I E S regarding his Bill.

[Wallysmom]

I suspect Baucus knew it was suitable for the doo-doo box but it kept up the "appearance" of bipartisanship and gave the 6 unproductive tools of the Insurance Industry something to keep them occupied.

[dnegri]

Here's the trap:

The PO. It will be structured and so closely regulated that it won't be able to compete in the market for long. It'll be dominated by the poor, hence those on heavy subsidies, and the majority of "pre-existing conditions" people. And it will have to rely totally on premiums. It runs a very real risk of going bankrupt or
having to price itself out of the market entirely.

And since it will have the "government" label on it, Republicans will beat the drums about how govt can't run anything.

So let's pass a Bill that addresses insurance company abuses, and that contains some of the good things about delivery system reform that HR3200 contains. And, if you wish, a phoney baloney co'op.

And when the reform doesn't do the job in respect to controlling the cost of premiums, or covering
the uninsured, or making Medicare more viable.....then we can perhaps get the general public to be
more open to the only viable financing system: single payer.

We aren't getting single payer now...forget that dream. But the PO runs a risk of failing and dealing a death blow to future single payer at the same time because the two will be linked by Republicans under the same label: "government run health care".

[joyce628]

All that I have to say is that if president Obama and the real liberal and progressive democrats, can sit back and let the Blue Dogs Democrats squander the political capital that we the electorate gave them in the last general election, then they deserve to lose the house, the senate and the presidency. There is no leadership in the senate. Harry Reid needs to be put out to pasture already. The republicans in the senate are behaving as if they are the minority and it was the republicans who had won the election. I do not understand this. The only conclusion that I can come to is that there are a lot of republicans embeded in the democratic party as Blue Dogs. I hope that the Baucus bill written for him by the insurance companies does not pass, because then we will have a revolution. This would be the straw that breaks the camel back. The people are suffering enough from the economic down turn and they will not be subjected to buy mandatory health insurance that is a give away for the insurance companies.

[joyce628]

Corection: I should have written The democrats in the senate are behaving as if they are the minority and it was the republicans who had won the election.

[Kealadi]

I agree. The Baucus bill should be scrapped! Force people to buy insurance that would not put a stop to the companies' greed, or pay A FINE??? Yikes!! That's WORSE than what we already have! That's oppression! Baucus needs to be replaced by a different senator, one with some compassion and a conscience! The whole committee may need to be replaced. What's wrong with the house bill? What is wrong with the Kennedy Bill? I'm waiting to see a bill from President Obama himself. Maybe We The People should write a bill! I mean, could we do any worse than Baucus?This whole thing is getting outrageous!

[LesleyAnne]

I agree with this post completely. The Repubs already say they won't support even this watered down version of a health care reform bill, so why continue to negotiate and try to please them. They should just write a bill similar to the one in the House and put it out there. The special interests that are paying into the campaign coffers of people like Baucus are dictating our future. Next election, I'm going to chose from among a host of lobbyists and try to elect them directly! Why not!

[gs-425]

What trap....the Dums don't need the Pugs. If the bill is that good, pass it and stop whining. The Pugs have no power to stop it....NONE!! If you can't pass it, then the problem is with the Dums. Why are you blaming the Pugs??

[keepemhonest]

gs,

You are correct ... the democrats do not need the drooling rightwinger's votes.

I know you must agree that the democrats have shown absolute respect for the Droolers by, not only spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars trying negotiate WITH the Droolers, but ... also shown them the utmost respect by approving 161 Drooler's Amendments in the HELP bill, approving 63 Droolers Amendments in the House Bill and compromising single-payer down to public option.

If the Droolers end up not voting for comprehensive healthcare reform - it is their loss ... they will have NO ONE to blame but themselves for negotiating in bad faith.

The Droolers truly are a pathetic bunch.