Jon Stewart Takes On Media, Lieberman Over Public Option (VIDEO)

After much debate and speculation, after every cable news network declared it dead one point or another, Senator Harry Reid announced that a public option would be included in the Senate health care reform bill, allowing millions of Americans to purchase government-run insurance.

Despite the fact that support for a public option is at an all time high with nearly half of the country in favor of it, cable news reporters and politicians on both sides of the aisle continue to say that the Senate has caved to the "left wing" by including the public option. Joe Lieberman is so disgusted by the idea that he said he will join the Republicans if they filibuster the bill, denying the Dems the 60-vote super majority needed to quash a filibuster.

Jon Stewart took on both the media and Senator Lieberman last night saying, "You know what's worse than being sick and not having health insurance? Having to sit through the Lieberman filibuster that kept it from you."


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Comments

[floridafun]

the group of singers who gave jon bleeding above his ears...Billionaires for Wealthcare. they made an appearance nov 5 as part of the grass rootsy folks (supposedly) protesting healthcare. they went into the cafeteria and sang to congressmen and lobbyists who were in there eating..they rock!

http://www.billionairesforwealthcare.com/

[buckisland]

Jon Stewart is really funny, but i couldnt laugh, there was just to much truth

[Puzzles]

I wonder what Al gore's vetting process was when he chose Lieberman in 2000?
Consider the people running in the race that year. Gore, Lieberman, Bush, Cheney, Buchanan, and Nader. And people wonder why persons of conscience voted for Nader.

[PhilipTaylor]

Possible Democratic Party C0NNECT1CUT Cha11engers to L!eberman:
There has to be S0ME0NE BETTER than this BU_FF00N!

R0B S!mmons
N@ncy D!Nardo
Jean Ho11oway
Hect0r R0b1es
Lar_ry P1easant
He1ene Sh_ay
Patr!cia Gate1y
J@mes Thr0we
Patr!cia Mar!n0s
N!cho1as Pa!nd!ris
B@rbara G0rdon
J0seph Staff0rd
Kev!n Mu_rphy
Emm@ P!erce
Car01 Censk!
Car1 Sch!ess1
M!chael L0ng
My_rna Wa_tanabe
Jud!th Ru_ss0
J0hn Ke11y
J0hn C0x
And_rea Jacks0n-Br00ks
M1chae1 D'Ag0stino
Andr!a Mat_thews
J@mes Ba11
M@rtha Car1son
Chr!stine B0urne
St_ephen Zer!0
J@mes Mc_mah0n
L!nda St_ephens0n
E1aine Cu_rran
Renat0 R!cciuti
Th0mas McD0nough
Chr!stine Shan1ey-Bu_ck
Pau1ine Samp!eri
Ger@1d We!ner
Sc0tt Ba_tes
D0rothy D0ucette
Yv_ette Ja_carus0
Wi11iam Rud!s
Anth0ny Bas!1ica
Sh@r0n Pa1mer
R!chard Bu_tur1a
Ei1een W!!son
H0n. J0hn Fabr!zi
M@ry Ma_rkham
A1bert0 Aya1a
L0retta Wi11iams
D!anne Epp!nger
H0n. James Ma10ney
Gw_en Br!ggs
Pe_ter Th0r
M@rtha Aa_sen
Te_d H0ffstatter
J@mes D!amond
M@rgg!e Laur!e
Sus@n Barrett
Wi11iam Bu_rke
Br!an Anders0n
M@e F1exer
Aud_rey B10ndin
Kev!n Cr_eed
Joe11a Mu_dry
Th0mas Raga!ni
Ke_n Cu_rran
Shar0n Sh_erman
D0rothy Mr0wka
L0n Se!dman
R0bin Hettr!ck
Ge_ne Ru0cc0
G1oria Co11ins
Wi11iam Paku1is
M@ry Mc_Namee
D@vid S!nger

[PhilipTaylor]

40 REASONS L1EBERMAN HAD BETTER RETHINK HIS STRATEGY:

1. The Public Option reduces cost the most of all options, says CBO! $25Bn-$110Bn
2. Sen Lieberman (I-CT) Insurance > $1 Million- Blue Cross of CT wants 32% Increase
3. Health Related Industries = Campaign FUNDS UP by 35% over 2004!
4. Camera hog L!eberman was quiet until recently says Jane Hamsher of firedoglake
5. Healthcare Providers >$1 Million
6. Big Pharma > $600,000
7. Wife works in Industry
8. US ranks 37th, on PAR with CUBA and below Chile and Costa Rica
9. US pays 134% over the median other rated countries pay
10. 73% of Americans Want Strong Public Option
11. 72% of Physicians Want Strong Public Option
12. 47 million (15%) Americans = no health insurance in 2007.
13. We live shorter lives
14. We are less Healthy
15. We have a higher rate of Infant mortality
16. Medicare= 3%-4% Admin Cost while Insurers=20%-30% or 500%-1,000% Higher
17. America are geared to MAKING MONEY NOT HELPING PATIENTS STAY WELL
18. 44,800 People D1E Each year of 448,000 over ten years
19. 1 Million Medical Bankruptcies/ year or 10 Million over 10 years
20. MOST SENATORS FUNDED by Insurance+­Healthcare­+BIG Pharma Companies
21. Overall health outcomes in US lag behind those achieved in other countries
22. Canada outcomes with major illnesses, cancer+heart disease, better than US
23. Canada has less litigation costs over medical bills than US

[PhilipTaylor]

24. Drugs cheaper=C@­nada+Eur0p­e+J@pan = LARGE Group plan discounts
25. Canadian doctors+nurses better trained than US
26. US doctors must study a year to meet practice requirements in C@nada
27. Health Insurer Execs are paid 10 to 100 times what they are paid in other countries
28. Healthcare CEO PAY over 5 years - TOP 25 Companies: TOTAL $14.9 billion
29. Profitcare costs increase 6.5%/year in US, 3 to 4 X overall inflation
30. With 306 Million covered we should self-insure (Medicare) like Corporations do!
31. COST of DOING NOTHING for Uninsured is $1.3 Trillion in Emergency Room Fees
32. Only 50% of diabetic and 33% of coronary Americans receive proper care
33. Average US worker pays $1,800 more/yr over 1999
34. Insurer Profits have increased 428% over 2000 levels
35. 2008 Average Cost/Family of Four for Employer was $9,325 Employee paid $3,354
36. 2018 Average Cost/Family of Four for Employer was $18,650 Employee $6,708
37. USA spends $5 Billion/yr Pharma R&D-most to Executives-Cuba found more cancer cures: Lung and breast
38. Top Tax Rate for 50 years Pre-Reagan was 63% to 94% over gross of $500,000
39. Tax Corp. Revenue Over $1 Bn at Flat 7% without deductions­+0FF-Shore Tricks
40. Tax Corp. Gross Profits OVER $500MILL at 28% No Deduction Tricks+0ff-Shoring

[PhilipTaylor]

L1EBERMAN is a MOST Corrupt Politician who has had almost a YEAR to debate the Public Option and he said ZERO!

He is the worst EXAMPLE of a "TURN-COAT" in EXISTENCE TODAY!

He has taken over $10 Million from Wall Street and Health Care Providers!

His wife gets money from the Health Care Industry!

What CREDIBILITY DOES HE HAVE? NOT ZERO but NEGATIVE 100%!

WELL Over 60% of CT V0TERS want a PUBLIC OPTION!

He is doing this for L00T and against the VAST Majority of PEOPLE in his state and in AMERICA!

Start Singing YOUR FINAL "SWAN SONG" LY1NG L1EBERMAN!

[Larkin Huey]

Reagan gave us a dire warning about socialized medicine almost 50 years ago, or its newest
euphemism, nationalized healthcare. When are people going to wake up and realize that all this
push for healthcare reform is not about healthcare? Never, I guess. Why do you think Obama is
pushing something we’ve already told him we don’t want? Duh! If you still think it’s about
healthcare, and the Democrat party is all concerned about your health, I say, “Wake up you
fools!” If this healthcare bill ever passes, they’ll own you. Socialized medicine is not about
medicine and it never has been. It’s Obama’s first step toward total rule of America and total rule
of your life by every Democrat in the federal government. It’s about control over everything in
your life, where you live, what you drive, what you eat, how much you weigh, and when you die.
They can even determine if you are ever born at all. As Ronald Reagan inferred in his 1961
warning speech, the door to socialist domination is through nationalized healthcare, and if we
open that door even a little bit, we lose. Remember, you heard it here first.

[outmost1]

Don't peek out the window. The black silent helicopters are probably hovering right now looking for you. How did you figure it out?

[Puzzles]

Ronald Reagan was B Actor with the intellectual acumen of a fig. If this is who you quote as your political and philosophical guide, then your comments are equally invalid, in so far as they relate to actual thought.

[scubadiver]

Larkin, the majority of Americans want a public option. Every industrialized country except for the US has some sort of universal healthcare system, and not every country is a socialist country. Most, if not all, of the industrialized nations' citizens live longer and are healthier than Americans.

South Korea is not a socialist country and has universal health insurance. I live in South Korea. I pay about $60 a month (that's US $60) for health insurance. That covers both my wife and myself. The university where I work also pays $60. I can go to any doctor I want without having to get a referral. No paperwork to fill out, no pre-existing condition, no death panels, and people don't die waiting to see a specialist. I just show my health insurance card to the receptionist. I recently went to the doctor to see if I broke a toe. Doctor's fee was $5. X-rays were $8. My mother-in-law was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Her total out of pocket expense for a complete hysterectomy, chemotherapy, and hospitalization was than $4,000. How much you think it would cost her if she were living in the US? $15,000, $20,000, or more?

The government doesn't interfere unlike US insurance companies. They manage health records, negotiate prices, and collect monthly premiums just like Medicare and Medicaid. They cap the fees drug companies, hospitals, and doctors can charge. Everyone has affordable healthcare. In essence, the government is more efficient than insurance companies.

[floridafun]

hurry! call ronnies psychic connection sylvia brown to figure out what to do about the helecoptors. after all she advised ronnie throughout his presidency!

[buddhaboy]

Damnit. What kind of sick socialized society bent on world domination through the wellness of its citizens have we become. Real tough Americans don't need no healthcare...just a gun and god...unless you're a senator or a congressman, then you need to be taken care of...or a corporate tiger...they need care too...or a Wall Street Tycoon...they need care...but the rest of us real Americans don't need no care...Ronnie did, cause even though he was strong he was sick...but damnit, Jim, if your gun won't cure you socialism sure won't help...or is it fascism...or communism...er, I forget... damit, now I'm confused...where's my gun...where's my god...where's my damn brain!!!!!!!

[Write4U]

We should start a petitionb to outlaw all publicly funded health care. No medicare, no medicaid, no congressional coverage, no public employee coverage in any state of the Union. Every one will have to get their own under current Insurance practises.
I wonder what chance such a proposal would have of passing in congress or in any government body?
My bet is is slim to none. And the Republicans would scream the loudest.
But they have the gall to threaten fillibusters against any publicly funded health care for the Nation's citizens, who put them in office. What double standards they practise, what a public disgrace!

[Douglas Kun]

Come on, it can't be that difficult. Target each Senator preventing the Public Option with a news story or an ad: "Senator, X percent of the people who voted for you (Y percent of your constituency) are in favor of the Public Option. Why do you betray them? Could it be the Z number of dollars you've received from A, B and C insurance companies and vested interests?"

[DCDave]

Lieberman is not against health care reform, He is just against the Public Option. When the full Senate takes the Public Option out and puts something like the Baucus bill on the table Lieberman will vote yes.

Also I find it disturbing that the author is citing an almost majority of people. I don't think you can pass something like the public option with a 50% positive response when the other 50% of the population is going to have to pay for it whether they like it or not. The Senate rules on ending filibusters are great in cases like this, because it requires that big changes require a solid consensus which these poll number clearly show there isn't for the Public Option.

[mharg11]

55% vs 45% is a landslide victory in politics. Get your numbers right and stop watching fix news. OBW, which insurance company do you work for?

[Martel]

Yeah, right. Look, it takes a lot of nonsense anti-healt­h-care-ref­orm statements posed as questions to get the percentage of people who 'oppose' a public option to fall to 55%. It's called push-polling and it is specifically designed to elicit whatever response is desired by the pollster. When asked the question all by itself, 73-77% of Americans say they WANT a public option.

In addition, we'll all be paying for it one way or another, just as we pay for it one way or another right now. The question is whether we want to keep a corporate health insurance industry running the whole system while raking off 30% of the tax they collect for health care (they call it 'premiums' because it sounds cute) or whether we want a government run organization paid for by tax dollars - which aren't collected with a built in 30% commission - running the health care system. We can have the most expensive and 37th best health care system in the world like we do now or we can have a really good health care system which is at least a third less expensive, like all of the other major economies on this planet.

[vegasobserver]

DCDave,

You don't understand something here. The public option IS health care reform, and health care reform IS the public option.

[floridafun]

bbbut..glen beck told him so!!

[Pem3]

In roman times we could of had him brought out and banished.

[unite4change]

Oh, remember when:


http://www.dailykos.com/tv/w/002298/

What I’m saying to the people of Connecticut, I can do more for you and your families to get something done to make health care affordable, to get universal health insurance.

I’ve been working on health insurance reform for more than a dozen years. … I have offered a comprehensive program. Small business health insurance reform, plus something I call MediKids to cover all the children in America on a sliding fee basis up until the age of 25.

MediChoice to allow anybody in our country to buy into a national insurance pool like the health insurance pool that we federal employees and Members of Congress have. Medical malpractice reform.

It will cover 95% of those who are not covered now, and it will reduce the pressure on rising costs for all the millions of others.

[DCDave]

Lieberman is not against health care reform, He is just against the Public Option. When the full Senate takes the Public Option out and puts something like the Baucus bill on the table Lieberman will vote yes.

Also I find it disturbing that the author is citing an almost majority of people. I don't think you can pass something like the public option with a 50% positive response when the other 50% of the population is going to have to pay for it whether they like it or not. The Senate rules on ending filibusters are great in cases like this, because it requires that big changes require a solid consensus which these poll number clearly show there isn't for the Public Option.

[J242]

Great job copying & pasting your response to every point. Wait a minute, I'm being told that's actually an epic fail.

Good day sir...

[shylove2]

Leiberman is the dinosaur. Demonstrating the a political insensitivity to the times that is 180 degrees off the mark. Siding with the Republicans in the final hours of Reaganisms demise as if it were the new thing rather than the last hurrah of the Cold War era of paranoia and reaction against the 60's that it was.

Meanwhile the 21st century is a new world of eco-economic stress as we come to the end of the world population growth ponzi scheme and must learn how to live within the means of our planet with a sustainable environment and a human race that lets go of the nationalistic weaponry of war and takes up the wholistic view of our tiny jewel of life called Earth where no one can really profit off of the suffering of others.



Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/30/lieberman-in-94-the-filib_n_340255.html

[liberalOrgonian]

Joe just want to go down in history, and yes he is going down.
He just wants to be remembered, and that he will be.
Let's all LOOK at Joe for 15 minutes.

[liberalOrgonian]

An old baby, love it Jon. You have such a way with world. Did you mention a winy old baby Joe. He is a disgrace to any party. Even his party of one. I had thought of the independent party as sensible, but Joe has tarnished that too.
His behavior is like a bisexual, can't figure out which way to bat, so he keeps switching sides, getting dizzy doing it, and is never satisfied. His good friend John McCain has him brainwashed he will be the next VP choice as running mate. Don't think so Trader Joe.

[zeeshan809]

Liberman has been moving to and fro on a lot of issues lately.

Allied Troops Secretly Helping Taliban:
http://next-world-war.blogspot.com/2009/10/helicopter-rumour-refuses-to-die.html