Schwarzenegger Latest Republican To Back Health Care Reform

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has joined other prominent Republicans in supporting Democratic health care reform legislation.

"As Governor, I have made significant efforts to advance health reform in California," he said in a statement. "As the Obama Administration was launching the current debate on health care reform, I hosted a bipartisan forum in our state because I believe in the vital importance of this issue, and that it should be addressed through bipartisan cooperation."

Schwarzenegger is only the latest in a series of well-known GOPers to express such conciliatory opinions. In an interview with Time magazine last week, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said he would vote for the Senate Finance Committee bill. (He later qualified his comments with some criticism of the bill on MSNBC, but he did not take back his words.)

Former Republican (now independent) New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg also praised the plan on Monday. "The health reform proposal that Congress will shortly consider is shaping up to merit broad, bipartisan support, incorporating Republican ideas and earning deserved support from Republican leaders," he said in a statement. On the same, day, President George W. Bush's Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said the Senate Finance Committee bill "moves us down the path of providing affordable, high-quality health care for all."

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Comments

[jrmbc4]

04:03 PM on 10/26/2009

THIS GUY IS NO REPUBLICAN. At least, not in the traditional sense. He's bankrupted the state of California with his spending, and therefore is in no way a conservative (and thus should not be considered a prominent member of the republican party). He is just like Bush, driving that which he runs into the ground via massive spending. These people should not be considered republicans at all - they will forever be know as "Repubics."

[masanf]

11:55 PM on 10/07/2009

I don't know why this is supposed to be news. Of course people back "health reform". But when told about the particulars of Obama's brand of health reform, the support declines. Asking people if they support "health reform" is like asking people if they love sunshine, lollipops and rainbows everywhere.

[sheaintsayin]

10:28 PM on 10/07/2009

He is the govna of my once-great State, and while I appreciate that he complied with the White House request, I appreciate his wife, Uncle Teddy's niece, more.

[QDP]

04:08 PM on 10/07/2009

I am disgusted by how these "leaders" of ours vote, and will certainly let them know at the polls how decisive I feel. Watch out with your spin moves and amorphic public polling decisions. With Twitter and Digg and FB- and all the other instant methods of interact/communicating by the voting public, your polling people may be surprised just how many of us will network to influence voting on YOU when the next elections come up. And all that positioning, jawboning and special influence catering will come back to kick you out of office.

Maybe our elected do not understand that the new age of instant SMS communicating has finally caught up with them. Democracy may jiust become that again, representing the will of a majority.
The people want this health care public option. It is a moral question and removes an embarrassing side of past American political influencing. Get it DONE!

[jrmbc4]

04:10 PM on 10/26/2009

I'm going to assume that you are referring to the Washington Post poll, in which case I will say this: That newspaper is in no way unbiased. I do not find that poll credible. I do, however, find Rasmussen Reports to produced credible polls. According to the poll they ran, only 45% of the country supports passage of the current bill in its current state. (The General Dynamics Scholarships )

[QDP]

04:07 PM on 10/07/2009

It's such a sad state, -or a really bad joke- watching all the positioning on health care proposals. Who do our leaders think we are? It used to be that the medical special interests groups had rich fingers and big clout. Well, anybody else fed up with this blatant profiteering? I'm watching closely as they hum and haw about terms, conditions and add-ons to these proposals. Gopv Schwarzenegger weighs in at the strategic most opportunistic moment. Good for him!

As predicted, watch as Obama's ratings improve, how these weasels we have in office cowtow to match up with his popularity / proposal approvals.

[billw8017]

12:40 PM on 10/07/2009

Those dots you are connecting are like stepping stones compared to a highway. Get back on the highway and when did the former chairman of Goldman Sachs give billions to GS and more billions to the GS insurer (AIG) and let the chief competitor to GS (Lehman Bros) go into bankruptcy? GS came out of it with record profits despite the recession.

OK. Trial lawyers can become multimillionaires under current procedures, but tort reform seems most designed to take away the one biggest way regular people can get social justice. A victim of medical malpractice will probably lose the insurance while facing new and considerable medical needs. Even as things stand, the insurance companies will keep appealing decisions while hoping the claimant dies. If there must be tort reform, let it be a binding arbitration that guarantees continuing medical coverage for a victim of medical malpractice.

[SocialistDistortion]

11:40 AM on 10/07/2009

Come on, Cohaagen you got what you want...GIVE THESE PEOPLE HEALTH CARE

[RMEdaps]

11:18 PM on 10/06/2009

Does ANYONE care what Arnold's opinion about ANYTHING is ANYMORE? If you do, take a close look at the shape California is in. He makes Gray Davis look like a genius.....

[Docbcs]

09:32 PM on 10/06/2009

Problem is that neither Schwartzenegger nor Bloomberg spoke specifically about a public option. Being pro-reform is really nice, but what are they pro?

[palou]

08:21 PM on 10/06/2009

BOYCOT CHEVRON

[Dreamers101]

07:28 PM on 10/06/2009

OffTopic1 I'm a Fan of OffTopic1 I'm a fan of this user 192 fans permalink
photo

I can't tell you how it would fit into democratic principles.
(i'm not smart enough)

But if real lobby / campaign reform doesn't take place within Obama's first
term it's the only way I see of possibly keeping the 2 parties somewhat honest, but certainly no guarantee.
If I recall I said a "viable third party". One that actually had a chance and was on all 50 states ballots.

What are your thoughts?
____________________________________________

I had a 6 paragraph re-butt but my darn keyboard ate it. Anywho, I could be wrong for even asking this but didn't you vote for Obama on hope and change?

And why wouldn't you want to clean Washington from the bottom up?

[Disuberence2]

07:53 PM on 10/06/2009

Hehe. The idea of an incorruptible third party goes out the window once that party is no longer a third party.

[Bitsko]

08:17 PM on 10/06/2009

Naivety is overrated.

[theMightyT]

07:14 PM on 10/06/2009

Bravia Justicia I'm a Fan of Bravia Justicia I'm a fan of this user 5 fans permalink
So you've got nothing.

Quelle surprise.

====

I've been around long enough to know that you're pretty much a one-trick pony.

And it's not much of a trick - but then again, I've never accused you of being intelligent. Or original.

Must be why you get the boot so much.

[LibraLady]

07:26 PM on 10/06/2009

Bravia's posts are ridiculous. Why do we have to suffer fron that creepo & Hume gets banned? I wrote to Katie in support...think he'll be back soon.

[Chernynkaya]

07:42 PM on 10/06/2009

Fellow libra-- I tried katie@huff ingtonpoat.com, and gmail said it was an invalid address. You?

[javaz]

07:12 PM on 10/06/2009

Is Tiff still here?

When I first came on, and had been a reader of HP for a long time and a reader of posts before I decided to join in.
The very first poster I responded to was Tiff, and I did not realize that she did not mean her post, but was being snarky, so I responded in a negative snarky post back, and my goodness.

I was attacked and called a bitter betty, and worse, I was accused of being a Republican, and it was shocking.
I'm an Independent, but consider myself liberal on social issues and used to consider myself conservative on fiscal issues, but no longer since conservatives, imho, are bad for our country.

It's hard to tell sometimes when people are joking, or displaying sarcasm, but I've been here long enough now to discern the difference, so please, give people a break, especially the newbies.
You folks have changed my opinion on certain things, so please, try to act better than the Republicans and skip the attacks, but use reason and civility.

And I am shocked that hume is banned and someone tell me what to do to protest that.

[SarcasticFringehead]

07:20 PM on 10/06/2009

Huh?
I checked your profile and you've made almost 3000 comments and have 76 fans.
You're hardly the shy, easily offended newbie you would have us think.

[javaz]

07:28 PM on 10/06/2009

Did I type it wrong?
Oh my gosh, sorry, but you missed what I meant to say.
I've been reading HP for a long time and when I first signed up to post, it was during our president's inauguration.
YIKES.
I cannot believe that anyone would find offense from my post.
I was just saying, and I suppose now that I should not have said anything.
I apologize.
I've never been any good at verbalizing what I really meant to say.

[nicole473]

08:04 PM on 10/06/2009

Hume is banned?? How do you know? When did it happen?

[GaBu2]

07:11 PM on 10/06/2009

Once again, the lbs are thrown in disarray.

First

When Volvo was banned, mass hysteria ensued...again, libs show their independence by whining because a 'great poster' has bee removed.

Hey I had a great poster once, then I grew up and took it off my wall.

[seekanddestroy]

07:15 PM on 10/06/2009

If you dislike this so much, why are you here?

[theMightyT]

07:15 PM on 10/06/2009

it's almost as bad as how discombobulated you were when the Team of Mavericks lost the election, hey GaBu?

What is the barraquitter up to these days?

[GaBu2]

07:31 PM on 10/06/2009

Dream on Sparky.

[Joel Villasenor]

07:02 PM on 10/06/2009

Where's another Earl Warren when you need one?