Who Wants Health Care Reform?

[Dave]

>>Taken from the political blogs.
>>http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/7...-supermajority
>>


check this out:

* The 40 Republican senators currently in the Senate, all of whom are expected to filibuster a public option, received 44.2 million votes in their elections.
* The 5 Democrats (Conrad, Baucus, Lincoln, Landrieu, and Nelson) who seem most likely to filibuster health care reform including a public option received 2.5 million votes in their elections.
* The remaining 55 Senators (53 Dems plus Lieberman and Sanders), all of whom would likely vote for cloture on a reform plan including a public option, received 79.8 million votes (this includes votes cast for the Democratic predecessors in CO, NY, IL, and DE).

To recap:

* Votes for seats held by GOP filibuster supporters: 44.2 million
* Votes for seats held by Dems who may filibuster: 2.5 million
* Votes for seats held by Dems who would support cloture: 79.8 million

Obviously, there's a ton of ways you can slice numbers, but this analysis yields a fairly salient factoid: nearly twice as many people voted for senators likely to support a cloture motion than voted for a senator who is likely to thwart health care reform with a filibuster.

[Riverwind]

Dave, that's the beauty of our system, its a republic not a democracy, as much as we would like to believe differently.

That is our curse and strength, states like Alaska, Wyoming, North and South Dakota have as much clout as New York or California. The senate is equal unto its self. Thank god for the house.

River

[subgamble]

This health care plan comes from the liberal left that wants to completely socialize the U
S A and take away all individual rights, including freedom of speech, let alone guns. Sure they got more votes. The republicans blew it by joining the democrats with more big spending. The republican party deserted its supporters when it gained power. The republicans went off on a spending spree like there was no tomorrow. Now the dems. have doubled the national debt in five months and if left to have there way will double it again by years end

[sag111]

This country needs reform in health care but we didnt get in this place over night and we need to take our time and get this thing right .We dont need congress shoving this thing through when they admit they dont even read the bills because it is to hard to read that many pages.We will get what we voted for beleave me and this proves it.

[gareth19]

This health care plan comes from the liberal left that wants to completely socialize the U
S A and take away all individual rights, including freedom of speech

It was the Republicans under Dubya who made the greatest assault on the Bill of Rights, and the far right, aside from wanting everyone of suitable pigmentation to be armed to the teeth, has proposed government control on every woman's c*nt, so you've sort of got your perspective on this ass-backwards, though you are right in observing that for all of their gum-flapping about "fiscal responsibility" (by which they mean not paying for education, vaccinations, and school lunches) once they had the checkbook in hand, they could spend mightily for all those bright, shiny weapons of mass destruction, but what else would you expect from a political party funded by Enron and whose main function is to assure that Paris Hilton gets another tax break?

[Riverwind]

The last 3 posts shows why this country is non functioning,
In days past dems and gop, played together, worked together, got things done together.

Today its name calling going both directions, dividing us into camps that we cant get out of. GOP saying the Dems are spending to much right after they spent more money than all the other congresses before them combine. Its like the kettel calling the pot black.

What is really wrong is the name calling, librial, socicalist, communist, trator and the list goes on. This is the same group that clams to be the religious right. I am sure they are making GOD proud, yes that one. The lables go both ways, the GOP has been taged as the party of NO. fill in the blanks.

Maybe just maybe its time for both sides to start working together again, like we hired them to do.

No once again it will be the lobbiest the ones that run Washington that will decide what kind of health care we get, if we get any at all and the name calling will continue because we like it.

What do you think?

River

[ramses]

I suspect that the divide is too large to conquer. The differences are too great. If one side is going a direction that you feel is going to harm this country, you are going to fight it, not compromise with it.

If the republicans are the only oposition to this monstrosity, then I have to side with them on this one. If Obama tries to pass something I feel is better for the country, I will support it accordinly. So far, the party of NO has said no to everything I would hope they would lately, but I could have missed something as I havn't watched or listened to much politics lately.

I think most (if not all) of the members here that are often labled "right wing" , agree that there needs to be some serious reform to the healthcare system, just not this one as it is.

All of this debate does remind me that it would be nice if there were a viable 3rd party that wasn't jsut a wasted vote.

[Elizabeth]

Now the dems. have doubled the national debt in five months and if left to have there way will double it again by years end

You have been reading too much propaganda. Bush and the republicans doubled the debt. They left a deficit of $1.3 trillion a year, plus $700,000,000,000 for the banks, $180,000,000,000 for AIG, $60,000,000,000 for the auto industry, $200,000,000,000 for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and $200,000,000,000 a year for a war that we should never have been in. Not to mention expanding medicare to include drug benefits and the largest increase in the federal government since Roosevelt by expanding and adding Homeland security and a $3,000,000,000,000 tax cut for the extremely wealthy. It's pretty disingenuous to say that the Democrats are spending too much money after the Republicans said no to nothing.

Now how is it that we can afford all that, but we can't afford $100,000,000,000 a year for health care? In the history of mankind, medicine has always been a human right, until now. Now it's for profit. How immoral is that? We are the only major country on the planet where people have to pay for healthcare.

All so the insurance industry can rake in huge profits, while providing no service. Well I have news for you. We are already paying for those with no insurance. Everytime they go to the emergency room and don't pay, we pay.

So if we are already paying the money, why not do it right? Every Republican was against Medicare. That is government run health care. The Veterans Administration runs one of the best medical systems on the planet.

So if you are not lucky enough to have a job that provides good or even "any" health insurance, it's because you are a bad person and shouldn't be given health care if you or your kids get ill? It's absurd. If you are so fond of private health care provided by your employer, than let's require all employers to offer health insurance? We require them to have workers compensation and unemployment benefits as well as social security and medicare. Why not medical? Why do some employers get out of this?

I used to own a small business and I could not afford health care insurance for my employers because my competitors did not provide it. But if everyone had to provide it, it would be an even playing field and would not hurt employers.

Health care is broken. It don't work for too many people. As my children turn 18 they suddenly become uninsured, through no fault of their own. So they can't go to the doctor or get sick. So they have to choose between college or going to a doctor?

It's ridiculous. We have all watched the medical community rape our country for over 40 years now with laws that allow them to charge people whatever they want and refuse people without insurance. A few years ago I had trouble taking my kid to the doctor because we didn't have insurance. I had the money, but no one would accept it.

Like I said, people who have insurance already are lucky, not better than others. There are a lot of good, honest, hardworking people who deserve insurance just as much as anyone, but because of circumstance, don't get it. It's time for everyone to pony up and pay so everyone has the right to get sick without losing everything one has worked a lifetime for.

Elizabeth

[dometoo]

You have been reading too much propaganda. Bush and the republicans doubled the debt. They left a deficit of $1.3 trillion a year, plus $700,000,000,000 for the banks, $180,000,000,000 for AIG, $60,000,000,000 for the auto industry, $200,000,000,000 for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and $200,000,000,000 a year for a war that we should never have been in. Not to mention expanding medicare to include drug benefits and the largest increase in the federal government since Roosevelt by expanding and adding Homeland security and a $3,000,000,000,000 tax cut for the extremely wealthy. It's pretty disingenuous to say that the Democrats are spending too much money after the Republicans said no to nothing.

Now how is it that we can afford all that, but we can't afford $100,000,000,000 a year for health care? In the history of mankind, medicine has always been a human right, until now. Now it's for profit. How immoral is that? We are the only major country on the planet where people have to pay for healthcare.

All so the insurance industry can rake in huge profits, while providing no service. Well I have news for you. We are already paying for those with no insurance. Everytime they go to the emergency room and don't pay, we pay.

So if we are already paying the money, why not do it right? Every Republican was against Medicare. That is government run health care. The Veterans Administration runs one of the best medical systems on the planet.

So if you are not lucky enough to have a job that provides good or even "any" health insurance, it's because you are a bad person and shouldn't be given health care if you or your kids get ill? It's absurd. If you are so fond of private health care provided by your employer, than let's require all employers to offer health insurance? We require them to have workers compensation and unemployment benefits as well as social security and medicare. Why not medical? Why do some employers get out of this?

I used to own a small business and I could not afford health care insurance for my employers because my competitors did not provide it. But if everyone had to provide it, it would be an even playing field and would not hurt employers.

Health care is broken. It don't work for too many people. As my children turn 18 they suddenly become uninsured, through no fault of their own. So they can't go to the doctor or get sick. So they have to choose between college or going to a doctor?

It's ridiculous. We have all watched the medical community rape our country for over 40 years now with laws that allow them to charge people whatever they want and refuse people without insurance. A few years ago I had trouble taking my kid to the doctor because we didn't have insurance. I had the money, but no one would accept it.

Like I said, people who have insurance already are lucky, not better than others. There are a lot of good, honest, hardworking people who deserve insurance just as much as anyone, but because of circumstance, don't get it. It's time for everyone to pony up and pay so everyone has the right to get sick without losing everything one has worked a lifetime for.

Elizabeth

When was the last time you talked to a Vet about the VA healthcare system?
I find very few who are satisfied with it!
What is being proposed isn't reform, it's a government takeover by forcing private insurers out of the business. They will not be able to compete with a taxpayer subsidized program.
Then it will become a government rationed healthcare system run with the efficiency of the Postal Service and the compassion of the IRS.

[moi621]

What is being proposed isn't reform, it's a government takeover by forcing private insurers out of the business. They will not be able to compete with a taxpayer subsidized program.
Then it will become a government rationed healthcare system run with the efficiency of the Postal Service and the compassion of the IRS.

Why?
Seriously.
Please explain why we need a health insurance industry?