Anthony Weiner: Obama Administration "Half-Pregnant With The Insurance Industry"

The Hill:

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) said on Tuesday that the Obama administration is "half-pregnant" with health insurers and pharmaceutical companies, which may jeopardize the success of reform.

The congressman -- who is a leading liberal voice in the healthcare reform debate -- said that rumored deals the White House has struck with big pharmaceutical companies and insurers may guide them to abandon key elements of reform, such as a public health insurance option.

Read the whole story: The Hill

Comments

[Grannysue]

Tony and Grayson should be in charge of the Healthcare bill instead of that twit Reid and Bacus too bad their in Congress and not the Senate!

[dmsdzinr]

The President needs a DIVORCE from Big Pharma & The Health Insurance Industry! He and the Democrats need to work for THE PEOPLE and NOT the aforementioned Corporations! DO WHAT IS RIGHT!!!

[grata2ude]

The more I hear Anthony Weiner speak the more I like him. He's truly on the side of the people.

Get er Done Mr Weiner. We're behind you.

[Republicrats]

The far left and far right do battle against the fully pregnant center, where all the cash, interests, and reelection campaigns, coincide and reside........the center holds, not much changes, we elect promisers to promise and not fund, we die, our children pay, and the republic for which it stands...washes into the landfill of history....

[jmpurser]

Fanned and faved. That's about the status quo that Obama is fighting so hard to preserve.

[Jimmyboyo]

ALL polls show majority of indipendent "centrists" support the public option

Go diddle with yourself in a corner. The grown ups are trying to work

[Kamenskiy]

I think he means centrist politicians, not the public. He's got a point: if you consider progressives "the left" and the libertarian-like types "the right", they are the factions that are the least dependent on corporate contributions. It's the Blue Dogs and the Republican establishment that are the corporatists.

[MarieNat]

That's poetic.

[princeza]

Half-pregnant is an interesting choice of words, but I see Rep. Weiner's point. We just have to wait and see if the final bill has a strong Public Option or not. We'll see how many of our Senators and Reps care more about the money or the people.

[jmpurser]

A public option would be the child Obama's "half pregnant" with. The public option was created with only one goal: Kill real health care reform.

[Timothy2700]

The President needs to step into this and GET THIS DONE!!
We've really never been this close to a HCR bill passage and
HE NEEDS TO STEP UP HIS GAME!

This is going to happen!!!

[Greg2000]

He can't! And God knows why. Because if he could, he would have done it a long time ago.
KO was probably right to say the president was the second biggest recipient of campaign contribution from the heath care industry after Hilary.

Why is he voting present???????

[gs-425]

Is half pregnant considered a "pre-existing condition??"

[Kamenskiy]

"Half-pregnant." LOL.

I wonder if the health care bill will pay for their abortion?

[vinny]

We Liberals need to start leaning on these bandwagon Obamacrats who spend all their time disparaging and then caving into the minority party.

[la2012verdad]

They want to get re-elected more than anything else. we need to make their jobs less cushy.

[MarieNat]

To whom are you referring?

[ChelseaC]

Rep Weiner, I would LOVE you to be my President, please run in 2012.
We The People need a real man like you who's not on the take--who really cares about people.
Weiner/Sanders!

[Norak]

Good slate. I'm fanning you for forward thinking!

[Dana Nicole]

I'm still an Obama supporter, but a Sanders/Weiner ticket is one I could definitely go for!

[lovesds]

Please Weiner sat on his ass for years while we got screwed. See democrats like him talk big but my question to him is "what the hell have you done all this time in congress"? Weiner kissed the Clintons ass while Clinton was screwing us also. Another question to Weiner is, why hasn't he done anything about healthcare for all these years? Oh yea to busy kissing ass. See I don't cut any slack to these democrats in Congress talking big now but sat on their butts all these years. Remember Weiner backed Hillary. See I don't forget what Weiner has said in the past. GROW SOME DAMN BALLS AND GO AFTER YOUR OWN DAMN CONGRESS PEOPLE THAT MAKE THE DAMN LAWS.

[Greg2000]

Yup!!

[grata2ude]

I agree. I support President Obama but this guy really is catching my ear and respect.

[VOTER]

The Obama/Biden Team are just fine BUT they should sit down and have
a talk with the Weiner/Sanders "Team."

[blackhole2008]

..and Grayson for VP!

[jmpurser]

Or Sanders/Weiner.

[hippie4ever]

Obama never campaigned as a liberal; he was always a moderate with a slightly liberal bias. My belief is the pressure is so intense on Congress that at least partial reform will pass. Probably a public option but enough loopholes to keep insurance expensive. Single payer would eliminate the insurance companies and lower costs by at least 50%. It would mean the rich suddenly without jobs or income, excluding their tremendous wealth. Since they caused the economic crisis with their greed, this would complete the karmic cycle.

[ChelseaC]

"Obama never campaigned as a liberal"
Sure about that?
Perhaps you'll want to take a looksie at this video of him running for the Senate.
Scroll down to the bottom of the webpage.
Enjoy!
http://www.pnhp.org/change/


And by the way, this should not be about Obama--but about what is RIGHT FOR AMERICA.
44,000 deaths per year.
We were critical of W when he and his admin stood by and watched Katrina victims die. We were right to be criticle.

Again, 44,000 people die each year because of our greedy sick for-profit system. This is a "Katrina" of sorts every year--why are you not up in arms about this, instead you defend the insurance cartel corporatism that kills people.


http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/10/20-9

[EWeiss]

We're closer to real healthcare reform than we have been in decades. I know that gets said a lot, but it happens to be true.

(btw, I'm pretty sure he was referring to his Presidential run.)

[jmpurser]

He has no "slight liberal bias". He's a full on DLC corporatist out to preserve wealth and the status quo. Yes, he CAMPAIGNED as someone with liberal leanings but that disappeared with the oath of office.

[FrozenNorthObserver]

Gee, I wonder why that might be,,,

Hospitals & Nursing Homes: Top Recipients- Top recipient 08- Senator Ob*a*ma $3.3mil
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=H02&cycle=2008&recipdetail=A&mem=Y&sortorder=U

Health Services/HMOs: Top Recipients-Top recipient 08- Senator Ob*a*ma $1.4mil
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=H03&cycle=2008&recipdetail=A&mem=Y&sortorder=U

Pharmaceuticals / Health Products: Top Recipients- Top recipient 08-Senator Ob*a*ma- $2.1mil
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=H04&cycle=2008&recipdetail=A&mem=Y&sortorder=U

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing: Top Recipients-Top recipient 08-Senator Ob*a*ma $1.1mil
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=H4300&cycle=2008&recipdetail=A&mem=Y&sortorder=U

Medical Supplies: Top Recipients-Top recipient 08- Senator Ob*a*ma $345,521
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=H4100&cycle=2008&recipdetail=A&mem=Y&sortorder=U

and for those that like to pretend that O got his money from "small donors" his corporate take was almost the same as G W Bush!
Ob*a*ma's small donor base image is a myth, new study reveals
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/11/obama-money.html

[EWeiss]

Translation: Obama raised more money from the same sources than did Hillary or McCain. There comes a point in an election where it's obvious who the winner is going to be, and the big donors scramble to see who can get there first.

As for your link, I know that personally I trust people who use words like "The Great Republican Satan". I was also shocked to learn that having given $250 to Obama, the blogger you linked me to has classified me as a big donor. Wonder when I'm getting my invitation to the White House.

Anyway, how's your investigation into the links between Blagojevich and Obama coming along? LOL

[EWeiss]

Translation: Obama raised more money from the same sources than did Hillary or McCain. There comes a point in an election where it's obvious who the winner is going to be, and the big donors scramble to see who can get there first.

As for your link, I know that personally I trust people who use words like "The Great Republican Sa..t..an". I was also shocked to learn that having given $250 to Obama, the blogger you linked me to has classified me as a big donor. Wonder when I'm getting my invitation to the White House.

Anyway, how's your investigation into the links between Blagojevich and Obama coming along?

[Jezreel]

There is no such thing as "half pregnant". U either is or u ain't pregnant. Either way, if the W.H. is in the bed with Big Pharma and AHIP, it's the American people who are being screwed.

[vinny]

half pregnant is like when your woman is waiting for the pee stick to develop.

we just don't know what obama's real position is, or if he even has one.

[Dana Nicole]

Ah, I see...makes sense. Well the stick better come up negative, or I'm gonna get really annoying with my phone calls and letters to my Congressmen.

[mhazard]

Someone hasn't been listening.

[yearlin]

please proofread

[Jezreel]

Actually, I wrote what I intended to say. It was meant as a paralinguistic twist or alternative, ethnocentric rendition of the phrase; you are either pregnant or you're not.

[mcmutter]

TAKE AWAY their anti-trust exemption - its a great start.

[ChelseaC]

Put them out of business--sounds even better.

[PhilipTaylor]

0BAMA is FAILING AMERICANS ON FORECLOSURES, MAIN STREET JOBS, COMPETITION AND CHOICE IN HEALTH CARE, AND OVERTHROW OF THE OL1GARCHY!