Clinton To Dems: GOP Will Define Debate If Health Care Fails

Former President Bill Clinton urged Democratic senators to score a victory on health care reform in the weeks ahead, warning that a failure to pass legislation would leave them particularly vulnerable to Republican attack.

Addressing the caucus just one day before they head to recess, Senate sources tell the Huffington Post that Clinton made a fairly emotional and political plea for action.

"If you don't win this, the opposition will define the issue," a Senate aide who was briefed on the meeting, paraphrased the former president as saying. "[Clinton] noted that Hilary Care was defined in a way that didn't resemble what it truly was. His point was that you better win, or you risk being tagged by whatever they want to tag you with. The 'they' being Republicans, Republican strategists, candidates, etc..."

The former president, who is perhaps the best living symbol of the political harm incurred by failing to pass health care reform, told reporters that his message was: "The worst thing to do is nothing."

Inside closed doors, he bucked up Senate Democrats during the Caucus lunch and, according to one person in attendance, spent 20 minutes afterward "discussing health care with different groups of members that came up to talk to him." The list included not just fence-sitters but die-hard reform proponents as well.

In addition to warning of a pending Republican victory, Clinton also laid out the reasons that reform could be a success. According to the Senate aide, the former president listed several ways in which the current landscape is more favorable than that which he confronted.

Clinton, the aide relayed, noted that "among the differences from last time is that this time around we have a Finance [Committee] chairman [Max Baucus] who has been working very hard to get health care done and wants to get health care done. The contrast was to [Daniel Patrick] Moynihan [who scuttled Clinton's efforts] last time."

After the meeting, Clinton summarized his pep talk as follows (per the The New York Times):

So I think it is good politics to pass this and to pass it as soon as they can. But I think the most important thing is, it's the right thing for America. We just simply -- the worst thing to do is nothing. The worst thing to do is to keep dragging around a 16.5 percent of G.D.P. health-care system that doesn't sent cover everybody, doesn't get the right results and do so much better.

Look at the A.M.A. -- endorsed it. They joined the nurses and AARP. I mean, every doctor I know is screaming inside every day because of the way that the whole financing and bureaucracy requirements of the health-care system have taken away a lot of the joy of practicing medicine and claimed more time.

The worst thing to do is nothing. That was my message to them and those are my reasons.

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Comments

[phochfeld]

Clinton says:

"Look at the A.M.A. -- endorsed it. They joined the nurses and AARP. I mean, every doctor I know is screaming inside every day because of the way that the whole financing and bureaucracy requirements of the health-care system have taken away a lot of the joy of practicing medicine and claimed more time."

As a physician, looking at what got through the HOUSE, I can say with confidence that what "might" get passed is not going to change the experience of hardly any doctor. We will still have a sick care non-system that is designed (to the extent that it is designed at all!) to serve the private insurance companies, the taxpayer will still be covering the sickest/oldest patients while insurance companies profit (with subsidies) caring for those who are healthy, and the AMA will continue to control the Reimbursement Update Commission that is root cause of our primary care crisis. If the AMA is for it and AARP is for it, it must be bad.

[MSC2007]

Democrats have failed again thanks to our Judiciary and DOJ.

By Design, this is how the GOP continues to control:

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=9039532731256680760&hl=en&fs=true%22%20id=%22VideoPlayback

By Design, this is how the GOP controls healthcare:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/What-if-Health-Care-Reform-by-Samuel-Lipari-091116-774.html

The GOP will own 2010, 2012, 2014,2016!

[Hysterian68]

but Bill the Republicans are already defining the health care debate. They've raised the spectre of the public option bankrupting the nation. The public may start to believe them.

[batguano]

Ya know, for a bunch of supposedly really smart guys and gals (they tell us so), it is astonishing that the Dems allow the Repubs to "define the debate" so easily of whatever is happening apparently, according to Bill. I guess what he is selling is that anything (a give-away bill) is better than nothing (real comprehensive reform) because a real bill is more difficult, and by doing so he comes down hard on the side of all the corporate shills and big money interests that made these bills an empty sham and give-away to Big Pharma/Insurance industry business as usual, and against the people. Some few with integrity along this tortured and spineless way, like Howard Dean and Dennis Kucinich, spoke out in favor of the real reform of Single-Payer and HR676, but they have been marginalized and ignored, most of the Dem so-called leadership did not support real reform, and that includes Big Bill. Boy, they really like being Repub lite I guess since they wind up there so often, and without even a real fight (Bill was great at that); they are punks to fold so easily, or was it all a total game from the beginning; to cultivate defeat from the jaws of victory and maintain campaign contributions? And once again we dreamers are left wondering why the Dems we elect are so spineless and weak after promising us change and receiving a mandate for real change. Astonishing.

[schatsie]

The worst thing they can do is increase taxes on the middle class, we are gasping and sliding into poverty.... and then to knife the women with no coverage for reproductive rights, means that the next thing is that they will not want to cover normal deliveries...The Repugs have a slippery slope and want to slide us all into poverty and foreclosure and no health care.....While the EUROS get single payer, mass transportation, 6 weeks of vacation and a real retirement system.....

They force the middle class to cough up hundreds of dollars a month for healthcare is INSANITY, we already cover the Medicare people, the Medicaid people, the government employees and the Military....and now we get to pay more taxes....FACE IT THE RICH HAVE WON THE CLASS WAR, they pay 17% in taxes on incomes that average 250 million and want our childrens blood for the wars to protest their assets and want us to fund their pensions, and business expenses AND THE DAMN PRIVATE AIRPORTS....They will NEVER EVER BE SATISFIED,,,READ FREE LUNCH NOW and realize that they have destroyed the boomers retirements and are destroying the future of the children....and they DO NOT CARE!!!

[batguano]

Read David Cay Johnston's other book also on the same subject of taxation (or the lack of it) of the rich and powerful, Perfectly Legal. Along with Free Lunch, they will open your eyes.

[Robinsong]

Democratic blue dogs will understand nothing until they lose control of the Senate in 2010 and 2012 and they lose their cushy powerful committee chairmanships for their inability to legislate and Joe Lieberman joins the Republican caucus and becomes chairman of the powerful Finance committee. Then they will understand and "we the people will suffer".

[masher]

So if the federal government "owns" the public option and can do things like restrict abortions then what other procedures will they (the next Bush for instance) ban?

Its starting to sound like the nuts were actually right about one thing. If the federal government is putting money into the public option then the GOP (or anyone else) will be able to regulate it and our bodies.

That's not a good thing at all. They could have just ended the insurance monopoly exemption, banned insurance from dropping customers, and banned providers from charging different rates. That would have mostly fixed the problems.

[exclintonsupporter]

So you are not against a "government run insurance plan", you are just against a "government run insurance plans" that has restrictions? The fact of the matter is that the "abortion restriction" is just one small part of the insurance plan. You may not agree with it, but for those who believe "abortions are morally wrong" then the point is that those folks don't want to pay for people to have abortions. Although I believe in "choice", I also believe that abortions are morally wrong...and therefore do not want to pay for someone to have one...however if they want to do that...it should be there choice and they should foot the bill...not the average Joe taxpayer.

Again, this issue is not the entire "health care" reform issue. You are never going to get everything that you want under any circumstan­ces...that is what compromise is all about. If 80% of the plan is good...let's move past this issue so that we can bring this country, on health care into the 21st century. There are people suffering because they do not have and can not get or afford health care. I can't believe all of these folks want health care hung up because they won't be able to get an abortion under this plan!!! How many people will be affected by not having the option to get an abortion?

[schatsie]

and I do not want to pay for VIAGRA or PENILE IMPLANTS.....Where is their exclusion????

[TheHandyman]

This bill reminds me of what P T said about no one ever going broke over estimating the intelligence of the human animal. This bill is as bad as it gets. It accomplishes only one thing and that is to make the insurance companies richer and gives the pharmacueticals a lock on their patented drugs so that there will never be any generic drugs made. And it attacks the rights of a woman to get a medical procedure that she has every legal right to get to boot.

The People were promised a steak and lobster dinner and what they have gotten is a mouthful of dirt and will pay 10 times the price! And their reaction, instead of the justified outrage, they are fighting anyone who might try to convince them that they are in fact entitled to the steal and lobster dinner at the price they were told they would pay. Americans are such a foolish group of people. If it weren't for all the shiny weapons of mass destruction we have we would command no respect in the world!

[TheHandyman]

Clinton shows once again that it is all about making what isn't more important than what is. What isn't important is whether the Democan'ts or the Republiwon'ts win. What is important is that the People get good health care which this abomination of a bill doesn't give us. Clinton is about making himself, Obama, and the Dims looking good so they can get elected again. This man is a disgrace to his country. It was never about the BJ! It was about lying to a whole nation when he didn't have to! It was about him saving his face rather than saving the face of his country! I am ashamed of this man but what's worse, he should be ashamed and isn't. He should be ashamed that this bill does nothing except insure that the Dims will give more money to the Vampires of health care who will in turn give the Dims more money. As they say, one hand washes the other! Slick Willy, you are wrong, in this case it would be better to do nothing than to force this yoke onto the People's back! But you don't care, you are set for life!

[party-of-one]

Bill Clinton needs and chases the spotlight. His constant pontification is about Bill and ego. History shows you cannot trust one thing he says. So why listen?

[Give Peace A Chance]

Sounds like he is selling us, NAFTA again. Good politics. How about real reform? Affordable, Universal Health Care that isn't over twice as expensive as any other modern industrialized nation. No wonder, factories and jobs are being outsourced.

All other nations pay less for US pharma, than the US. The US Congress and our President is afraid to negotiate, fair pricing.

[masher]

Well, imagine universal health care and Bush is President. Think about that. If we had universal health care back under Bush he certainly would have used the information in our medical records to "track terrorist". And he could have banned more than just stem cell research. He could have banned all sorts of procedures for "moral reasons." That's the fatal flaw in universal health care.

We should have just started with simple things like ending the anti-trust exemptions. Of course, that would require Obama to actually care about breaking up monopolies....and he doesn't.

[garcia83]

I'm hungry. I think I'll make some spaghetti then watch old Seinfeld episodes.

[MuchMadness]

President Clinton is right. If the Democrats stick together and pass a health care reform bill this year, the public will overlook any imperfections for a while. There will be a health care honeymoon period, and when flaws do become apparent, the Democrats may still be in the majority and have a chance to make improvements. If reform fails this year, though, the Republicans will say that the Democrats are incapable of governing and must be replaced. It will be very difficult for Democrats to run in 2010 if they can't deliver in 2009.

Congress also needs to get this health care bill passed in 2009 so that they can spend 2010 ( and 2011 and 2012) fixing all things Bush and the Republicans in congress wrecked over the past 8 years.

[Qunamngdogs]

Well, at least you're honest about it. Blatant, but honest. Or maybe deluded. Do you actually believe that people will forget- as they're struggling to budget for replacing the money that's been extorted from them day in & day out, that they will "forget"? That there'll be a HONEYMOON PERIOD? Seriously? For "insurance" that they can't even afford to use?

The people who are struggling through this economic nightmare DON'T CARE about politics. People don't care what the Republicans say about Democrats- can you understand that? Maybe you should worry more about what THE AMERICAN PEOPLE have to say about Democrats.
2 words. Get. OUT.

[exclintonsupporter]

When Obama came into office the country was in a very, very bad way. Had he done nothing...including not getting that stimulus package, we would be worst off then we are now. It's easy to criticize this administration now, since they stopped the bleeding...but we did not get where we are overnight and it won't go away overnight. Obama is trying to put in motion things that will turn this economy around...he is not trying to patch the bleeding...he is trying to stop it. That is not an easy task...and again, it is going to take some time for it all to come together. Yes...a lot of people have lost their homes and jobs...but the outrage should have happened 7 to 10 years ago when this country started shipping jobs to China, Mexico and India...our large manufacturing companies started doing business out of the country because labor was cheaper...that is when the "tea parties" should have started...Obama did not create this situation...he is just trying to fix it. That includes fixing the health care system that should have been fixed even before the Clinton's tried.

[Mihailo]

Bill Clinton is absolutely right on this. The "Utopia or Bust" crowd has to grow up and realize that there are a lot of conservative democrats in Congress that won't go along with a progressive plan. Compromise is inevitable, and one who won't compromise will not go far. Clearly, Obama and Clinton understand the real world and don't live on marshmellow fields and under marmalade skies.

[party-of-one]

It is naive to think Bill Clinton is interested in anyhting other than Bill Clinton.

[MuchMadness]

Tangerine trees and marmalade skies. The marshmallow is confined to the pies that the rocking horse people eat. And the fields are forever strawberry, but that's a different song entirely.

[TheHandyman]

First of all, the Dimocrats are incapable of governing. But neither are the Republiwon'ts! The repugs are dead set against the government succeeding at anything other than making rich people richer, themselves included. The Dims want to pretend that they are governing when in fact the people that paid for their elections, which wasn't you or me, are paying them to make them richer too. If the Dims really wanted real health care reform they would have started with single payer because it is the only solution and it works. The problem is that it kills a major source of legal bribes, the health industry!

[omeo2013]

There's really only one Senator he needs to talk to: Lieberman. If he can convince Lieberman to block the filibuster, we can get this thing done. The question is, is Joe Lieberman crazier than Kim Jong Il?

[MuchMadness]

No. Senator Reid must be compelled to change the cloture rules so that filibusters become a thing of the past. Progressives must work to guarantee Senator Reid's defeat in 2010 if he does not allow the rules to be changed. The constitution says that the senate can set its own rules, and that means that at any time the rules can be changed by simple majority vote even if some previous senate set a different rule. A past senate cannot bind the current senate or deprive it of its right to set the rules by simple majority vote.

[Donnie4488]

Screw it. Let 'em filibuster. It'll show the country that the Repups are really the party of "No".

[verdadero]

Once again former President Clinton proves why we elected him twice. He is right about most things and this time he is one hundred percent correct. The political atmosphere of today reminds me of when Carter was President and was promoting energy efficiency and called the oil crisis the moral equivalent of war. Many Democrats jumped on the Reagan Band Wagon because of that and we have now fought two real and unnecessary wars wrestling with the energy issues. Every time you give an inch to the Republicans they take six inches and we all know what they do with that six inches.

[TheHandyman]

Really, right about every thing. Was he right when he said he didn't have sex with that woman? Was he right about how NAFTA would help the econonomy and create more jobs and bring the price of goods down? Was he right when he signed the bills that allowed the banks and investment houses to merge into firms too big to fail? Was he right when he said that deregulating those industries would bring enormous economic growth to the country? Given his track record on those issues excuse me if I also think he is wrong on this bill also!

[TomTheAlmostUgly]

If you can't win an argument any other way, bring in Monica.

[masher]

You do realize that Clinton is the one who deregulated the banks?

And you do realize that Clinton pushed for NAFTA? You do realize that?

And you realize that Clinton also created the H-1B work visas (which are killing my industry)?

And you realize that if this bill passes then when the GOP gets back into power, and they will, they will be able to use it to see everything about you and to restrict any procedure they don't like? It won't just be abortion that the GOP will use this bill to end.

[schatsie]

there have been working visas for the last 100 years and they were for doctors and nurses....I have worked with Phillipino nurses since the late 1970s and they were used to keep the wages down...go figure, nothing new in this country.....

[Smithn]

Yet again, I'm so proud of our POTUS: It takes a mighty big and self assured man to let the big dog into his play pen--again.

[Mihailo]

Absolutely right, Smithn.

[masher]

Especially when that big dog is the one who deregulated the banks which started this whole mess. (look up the repeal of Glass Steagall, it was under Clinton). And Clinton created NAFTA. And work visas. Clinton also allowed the networks to consolidate. Clinton also allowed all the defense corporations to consolidate. Clinton ended the fairness doctrine too. It goes on and on with Clinton. He wasn't as good as think (unless you own a media corporation).

Yes, Bush was a total disaster. But folks forget what Clinton did and what he started.