GlennInVenice's Comments (905)

“Pre-presidential Obama himself said that health care insurance mandates were akin to solving the homeless crisis by mandating that every homeless person must buy a home.

You tell me which component of this bill can be expanded to get us to single payer.”

“Agreed; which is why we will live through another cyclical Republican resurgence after this failed Democratic administration.”

“If you look at the polls and not the circus that is staged by a handful of right-wing freaks you will be surprised to see that the common people have more common sense than you give them credit for.

For instance, recent polls show that with a public option, HCR has the support of the majority of Americans. Without a public option, the current senate bill DOES NOT have the support of the majority of Americans.

The corporate bail-outs did not have the support of the majority of Americans.

It is not really the majority of the people that is the problem here. It is the corporate take-over (or give-away) of our representatives and government.

We cannot say that we have a democracy. Even our federalism has been compromised.”

“This bill is worse than "flawed".

The basic building blocks that it contained that could have been ratified were removed. There is no basis for future improvement addressed in the bill. It is not part of an incremental approach as it does not fundamentally change any part of our current system.

The bill has no reform and does not change direction.

I increases (through offensive government mandate) the number of people buying policies from corporations and plays with their policies without addressing their pricing.”

“In fairness you are comparing the Bush years that we all know so terribly well, with a presidency that DID NOT EXIST. I like Gore but no claim can be made as to what a Gore presidency would have been like. Maybe Gore would have sold us out just like Obama has.

If McCain had won instead of Obama I too would have agreed with the common wisdom that Obama would have governed better than McCain. Having experienced Obama's presidency, I am more willing than ever to say Democrat / Republican, Republican / Democrat, what is the difference?

Remember that almost every vile thing that Bush did had the support of more than a few Democrats. They were the party of the opposition and have no record of actively or effectively opposing any move that Bush made.”

“Those that defend Obama talk about the obstacles that he had to face and suggest that incrementality was his only choice.

Those that are not biased and simply examine Obama’s actions can see that he took single payer off the table and then proceeded to host big pharma and health care insurance representatives in closed door meetings where he negotiated terms that satisfied all of their demands. I cannot see how these negotiations were a win for the American people at all. I will not say that Obama negotiated badly because I do not know what his objective was and am open the possibility that he did get exactly what he wanted in this deal that sold out the American people.

Finally you will notice that the administration generally pretended to stay out of the process, which was not what we needed from our president, but DID meddle enough to ensure that the final bills were harmonized with the terms Obama negotiated with the corporations. They worked against the public option and kept trumpeting triggers. They encouraged a last minute switch of Medicare extension to get the public option out of the Senate bill and then said nothing as the replacement was dropped.

I believe Obama got exactly what he wanted and proved himself to be an obstructionist when it came to real health care reform and an ally of the mega corporations that are the source of our health care catastrophe to begin with.”

“Just imagine for a moment that Obama was actually fighting for single payer. OK, imagine him fighting for a vigorous public option if you too believe that American is not capable of achieving what our peers have long since achieved. You have to work hard to imagine such a thing.
Now picture the senate threatening the bill with filibuster and so forth. This part you do not have to imagine.
Imagine Obama pressuring the senate, leveraging his public support and his golden tongue to show the senate up as a good old boys network of obstructionists representing the corporations and not the people. Can you imagine the kind of populist anger Obama could raise against the obstructionist senate? Could you imagine the type of support that Obama would garner from the people when they discover that he really is fighting on our behalf and for change?
Finally, imagine that Obama announces that single payer (or public option) cannot be achieved with this no-good senate but promising to get back to health care reform at the end of 2010 after the American people have shuffled the players up and removed the obstructionists? Can you imagine how different Nov. 2010 would be?
I’m afraid that we are left to imagine great leadership. I am sorry to say that Obama is not a leader.”

“I agree.

I keep saying that I hope that the rise of the viable third party will be Obama's legacy.”

“It is just the valueless middleman that wants to take a profit for throttling my access to health care that I resent.”

“or unprecedented?

I think it is because we are dealing with people who spin for a living and they do not recognize when their spin makes them sound like carnival barkers.”

“Perfect would be single payer.

After that we have left perfect.

A rigorous public option would have been decent.

"A" public option was a table scrap.

Early Medicare buy-in would have been a compromise to the table scrap.

What we have left is nothing. I mean that there is NO framework for government competition or regulation of health care insurance pricing yet we are FORCED to pay up.

Don't accuse me of looking for the perfect. Accuse me of having a standard. Accuse the Senate of NOT having a standard. Accuse yourself of the same thing while you are at it.”

“There is a Chinese saying "You cannot jump a chasm in two jumps". Sometimes incrementality is just another label for failure.

As for those that say “something is better than nothing”, I suggest they try saying that in good conscience to a person in an abusive relationship.

The bill does not meet the need and does not lead us toward a real solution. It will incorrectly create the impression of progress and allow politicians to add a check mark to their brochure.

STOP THE BILL NOW.”

“If Obama was progressive, which he is not, he could have played it so differently.

When it became apparent that it was not possible to pass single payer or AT LEAST the robust public option he could have shut down the HCR process and told the nation that he cannot accomplish what is needed with the current house and congress. He could explain that he will still be president after 2010 but that he needs the country to rework the house and the senate to get the health care insurance reform that it needs.

Could you imagine what a call to remove the obstructers could have meant politically? Could you imagine the countries response to the realization that our president was really working for us in a principled way?

Instead he plays the same old game in the same old way which will eventually mean we will see the cyclical resurgence of the Republicans.”

“Thank you for your post. It was both beautiful and very descriptive of how I feel.”

“I agree with you.

Except that if you are going to write, make it about single payer.

Just cause they started with a terrible compromise doesn't me that we should.”

“Catastrophic health breakdown is by far the major cause of banruptcy in the country.

What kind of health savings account is going to get a family though cancer, heart disease, or the like?”

“If the current senate bill is passed, big corps win.

Who cares about the GOP or the DNC winning? Really?

Fact is that once again the people loose.”

“Pelosi worked HARD for a robust public option but in the end was only able to get a so-so public option

Reid tried hard for a so-so public option and in the end put nothing in to ensure competition to the private health care insurance companies we may be forced to do business with

Obama took single payer off the table and his entire administration rallied HARD against any public option without a future unpullable "trigger"

I could not disagree with you more. Obama has been working against our interests yet again.”

“I think that in scapegoating Lieberman you are grossly simplifying the situation and missing the truth.

The only difference between Lieberman and Obama is that Lieberman is proud and public about his obstructionism.

Obama took single payer off the table and then proceeded to negotiate behind closed doors with big pharma and the health care insurance companies. He pretended to stay out of the house and senate but fed them a great deal of legislation and used his administration to rally against any provision that compromised his agreements. Just observe how his administration down-played the public option, trumped up the trigger, and was instrumental in the last minute bait and switch and withdraw of the Medicare buy-in that got the public option thrown out before it was itself withdrawn.”

“Yesterday, by coincidence, I overheard two things that reminded me of the stakes when it comes to REAL health care reform...

While in my doctors office I overheard an assistant explain to a patient that the claim had been denied again.

That afternoon I was walking my dog and joined two women talking to a younger woman about her hand that she had put in a splint. They asked her if she had seen a doctor. When she said "no" they asked her if it is because she has no insurance. She nodded.

They are not particularly revelatory of themselves but hearing both at a time when the subject is on my mind really hit it home. Perhaps this is Obama’s Katrina and he is not sending buses.

I say SHAME on our representatives for playing politics with this human crisis. I say SHAME on them for sending us back to the very health care insurance companies who put us in this position in the first place.

I believe they have abdicated their responsibility and should be removed from their position.”

“I think he is getting what he wanted passed.

You have to at least consider that possibility which is more frightening than the simple idea that he is inept.”

“Why trust an amendment process when you can't get a bill that contains the compromise to the compromise to the compromise?”

“YOU GET WHAT YOU TOLLERATE.

If we accept this bill as "health care reform" then we will have continued to green light a corrupt and inept Presidential Administration, Senate, and House of Representatives that continues to play to the corporations and drop the occasional table scrap to the people. They do it because we let them time and again.

TREAT THIS LIKE THE WARM-UP FOR ADDRESSING GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE THAT IT IS.

This same corrupt and inept group must soon lead us through a reform that will touch every single aspect of our economy, political and corporate structure, and personal lifestyles in an attempt to stave off climate change before it makes human life unsustainable. I suggest we tell them that they had better learn to do better and use this as the object lesson.

KILL THE BILL.

Give them the F that they deserve and don't give this current corrupt and inept group a second chance at using our need as an excuse to give more to the corporations. Obama has already given himself an A- grade due to HRC. Can you believe that?

TERRIBLE LEGISLATION IS AN OBSTRUCTION AND IS NO SUBSTITUTION FOR A SOLUTION.”

“DId you read your own post to me?

You said...

"If you think your scarred now"...

And I said...

"That's just it, I am not scared."

Then you went off on defining fear as respect.

You are not very coherent my friend.”

“Maybe Dean needs to turn Green along with the many progressives who will look to third parties in the next few cycles so that they can exercise their vote in a way that is conscionable.”