stageplay's Comments (128)

“It is time for the majority party to do what it was elected to do. It is time for President Obama to show some strong leadership and some clear goals. It is time for Senator Reid to put the public option back in the bill, and/or the lowering of age for Medicare benefits, and then put this health insurance reform bill up for a vote in the Senate. Let the chips fall where they may. If Nelson or Lieberman, or Landrieu or Lincoln, or all of the Republicans wish to vote no, then let them vote no! Let them be the ones who deny health insurance reform to the majority of Americans who laid their mandate before congress and the White House on November 4, 2008. Let them be the ones on the wrong side of history for all to see. Let them go down in ignominy come the next election. Let the people speak again, but louder, by voting out those who would prevent true health insurance reform and voting in those would do the will of the majority of Americans rather than that of the corporate powers that be. That is what Democracy is all about.”

“The Republicans are only doing this because they want as many Americans as possible to turn against them so that in 2010 they will lose even more seats in the House and Senate. It is a brilliant strategy in that who ever would have seen it coming? How many pundits or analysts ever envisioned that it would be the Republican Party's desire to shrink the party as quickly as possible. Yes, the Republicans remember back in 1936 when, after years of a similar strategy, they managed to whittle it down to only 19 Republican U.S Senators. This time, perhaps they can topple that milestone and reach 18 or perhaps 17...or would it be unthinkable that they could possibly reach sweet 16? With Judd Gregg at the helm giving out written instructions, surely they will achieve shrinkage that heretofor would have been unimaginable! Bravo, Republican senators! Fight for the insurance industry. Prevent people from getting the kind of health insurance you have, for you, and you alone, should be the only ones who have such health coverage with a public option! Fight for the CEO's and the industry lobbyists who have paid you dearly for this moment in the sun! Fight, that they may continue to deny coverage to people at will so that they, and you, may fill the coffers! You have fought to prevent health insurance reform for nearly70 years...do NOT let the foolish peons have the health insurance coverage that they think they deserve.”

“Actually, I think it would be great if nothing from News Corp. showed up on Google. That company has already done enough harm to this country as it is.”

“It is very difficult to keep promises when your own Democratic party has people like Sen. Lincoln, Sen. Landrieu, Sen. Nelson, Sen. Lieberman, Rep. Stupak, etc. etc., who are owned by the insurance companies and are fighting against those promises. Not to mention the Republicans who are in lockstep to derail those promises in any way that they can. Do you think if McCain had been elected president we would even be talking about let alone trying to pass health care reform?? I think not. The Republicans have alway opposed health care reform and always will. Perhaps you are unable to perceive these realities. Obama has gotten us closer to health care reform than ever...let's hope it will pass in spite of all the Republicans and the aforementioned Democrats...but if it does not pass, it will not be because of Barack Obama. He cannot make the Sen. Blanche Lincolns or the Republicans vote in the best interests of the American people rather than the best interests of the health insurance industry, can he.”

“And that, my friend is the absolute core question. You nailed it.”

“Why is this man still a senator? What in the world is wrong with the people in Connecticut that they re-elected this unmitigated bozo?”

“For most of the last 8 years, the Republican Party had a solid majority. I just checked history. Maybe you did not?”

“The only thing one can gather from this article is that for the most part Republicans are cowardly. It is good to see three of them using a little common sense, but the fact is, the Republicans of today are a reflection of Dick Cheney, a man who is always telling us to be very afraid or that we are not safe. He is a coward. He had several deferments to keep him out of the military during the Vietnam war era. He was a coward then, and he is a coward now. He wants all good Republicans to be cowards just like him, and most of them are stumbling over each other trying to get to the front of Dick's "Let's Be Very Afraid" queue.”

“Yes! Cheney/Palin or Palin/Cheney wingnut ticket in 2012 would be a tremendous gift from the right wing to our country. It would ensure another four years for President Obama, and would probably help the Democrats gain several more seats in both the House and the Senate.”

“If you people on the right would take the clouds out of your thinking process, perhaps you would then come to the realization that no one is talking about government run health care. The health care givers (hospitals, doctors, clinics) would all be private, not government run. We are talking about adding a public option on health insurance, not health care. This public option would be added to the existing pool of private health insurance companies. People like Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams were for this kind of thing. Ever heard of them? They had some part in writing the constitution to which you refer. There is nothing in the constitution saying that the government cannot negotiate with insurance companies to keep prices down. It does say government should provide for the general welfare, though, doesn't it.”

“This study, in my opinion, makes it clear that we need single payer, government run health care in this country to put an end to for-profit health insurance companies.”

“If this article doesn't convince everyone of the absolute necessity of a strong public option to keep the insurance companies honest, then I suppose nothing will. I am for single payer, anyway, but I will definitely settle for a strong public option, because, as this article proves, without a strong public option you can count on the insurance industry to jack up prices even more than they always have before.”

“I never read anything like this when Bush and Cheney were in office. Though I feel Bush was easily the worst president of my lifetime (I am a Vietnam Vet, to give you an idea of my age...I remember watching Eisenhower, the last true Republican, on television when I was a boy), I would never encourage violence of any kind toward our government. These right wing media folks are going way too far now. It angers me. There is no doubt in my mind that it angers a majority of Americans...remember, Barack Obama won the election because a majority of Americans supported him, a larger majority than Bush ever had. There is also no doubt in my mind that this kind of crap is further marginalizing the Republican Party because Republican leaders are not speaking out against this stuff. Look for the Republicans to lose yet more seats in the House and Senate in 2010.”

“Oh. Yes. How mavericky.”

“I am not sure why anyone with progressive ideas would want to be on Fox News. Unless he or she has a tendency toward masochistic behavior. In my opinion, for a progressive to appear on Fox News for any reason is tantamount to being caught between a dog and a tree.”

“Wow. Clearly, this Glenn Thrush is not a reporter who cares enough about the truth to make sure that what he is reporting is true. Sadly, that seems to be the case for many reporters in this country. Journalism is getting redefined by the corporate media, and objectivity is becoming a journalistic relic of the past. That's sad...and dangerous. I believe that the corporate media is at the root of the ever-expanding ideological schisms in the United States. It begs the question: is unbridled, unrestricted, unregulated capitalism good for our country, or does it lead us down a path of narrowminded divisiveness with all goals being focused on one thing: profit? Have we come to the point where the words "In God We Trust" imprinted on our coinage stands as a strong metaphor for "Money Is Our God"? It's kind of starting to look that way. When journalists put profits over the truth, then journalism becomes no more than just another part of the greedy financial system that has been sapping the lifeblood of our nation.”

“"because if President Obama stood for truth and I think he does....then it would strength the point he should sit down with FOX"

I'm sorry to break this news to you, but FOX has made it pretty clear over the years that they are not interested in the truth.”

“Welcome to Denver, Colorado, Huffington Post! We are very happy you have decided to make your third local section devoted to our beautiful state and dynamic city and I am greeting you with arms wide open!”

“Very well said, Laughing Man. You nailed it.”

“At what point in time, I wonder, did Jon Voight lose his ability to reason?”

“It should be clear to all of us by now that the words "Republican" and "Bipartisan" are mutually exclusive. When the Republicans are in power, they ram bills through congress without a second thought of bipartisanship. When the Dems are in power, the Republicans constantly whine about bipartisanship while they say "no" to everything the Dems try to do. I say enough. Enough of this imaginary bipartisanship. It simply does not exist as long as the Republicans are kowtowing to the extreme right. Therefore, let the Democrats do the right thing for the American people in spite of the Republicans. Just as they did with Social Security and Medicare, the Democrats must do what is right, and clearly the right thing cannot be done when there are Republicans in the mix. The Republicans try to do what is right for the very wealthy and no one else. The Dems are in power, and the time for health care reform is now. Pass it. Without the Republicans.”

“Teddy Kennedy spent his career fighting for the sick and the poor. This is why Limbaugh and the conservatives despised him. He embarrassed them.”

“Well, Mike, I would say that if you are just waitin' for a conservative to have a "thoughtful discussion", then you have an interminably long wait ahead of you. As a matter of fact, I doubt you will see it in your lifetime.”

“A couple of weeks ago, Bill Maher said that Americans are stupid. It provoked some folks and was a bit controversial. I would say that this article about Fox, and the fact that Fox News' ratings are going up proves unequivocally that Mr. Maher was correct in his statement. Clearly, Americans are stupid. Heck, the fact that there are so many Americans that think Palin would be a good leader for this country proves how stupid Americans can be.”

“While I have strongly supported Obama from the start, I must say that if there is no strong public option in the health care bill, then it is not real health care reform. Without the public option, the bill is too weak and does not represent change we can believe in. So, if there is no public option, I am totally against the bill. I am also totally against a half-baked public option (what conservative dems are calling "co-ops"). If Obama is presented with a bill that has no public option, I feel he should veto it and make congress go right back to the drawing board. If he does not veto a bill that has no public option, I will lose a whole lot of faith in him, and I will be incredibly disappointed.”