Warm Up Your Dialing Fingers
Next week President Obama will convene his bipartisan health care summit. It’s expected that sometime in next few days, the Senate bill + reconciliation sidecar will be introduced. The reconciliation bill is to correct some of the issues that the House had with the Senate bill. We don’t know exactly what’s in it but it’s thought to remove the health insurance company anti-trust exemption, remove the special Medicaid deal for Nebraska and introduce a fix for the excise tax (still the major sticking point).
There’s now another push to introduce a public option through reconciliation. I’m not sure if this will be a separate bill or part of the reconciliation package. Right now, 14 Senators have signed on (we need 50). The 14 Senators are Michael Bennet, Kirsten Gillibrand, Jeff Merkley, Sherrod Brown, Al Franken, Pat Leahy, John Kerry, Sheldon Whitehouse, Roland Burris, Bernie Sanders, Dianne Feinstein, Amy Klobuchar, Ben Cardin and Carl Levin. Neither Ted Kaufman or Tom Carper have signed on, so let them know what you think. There’s a script for the call if you want one, and also a petition you can sign. Be sure to tell them 1) you want health care reform to pass, no more delaying and 2) pass a public option through reconciliation.
The public polling supports passing health care reform. In fact, the newest poll showed that opposition to health care reform is mostly from people who would never vote for Democrats anyway (1% approve, 94% oppose among the 37% who definitely won’t vote Democratic). Among people who would consider voting for Democrats (30% who would consider, 34% who definitely will) 64% approve of passing reform, with only 22% opposed.
The public wants Democrats to deliver on their promise of change. No more excuses, no more wringing of hands. Pass it and then sell it. The people opposed may be loud, but they aren’t the majority.
Tags: Health Care Reform, Ted Kaufman, Tom Carper
Do it.
Oh, please — do it.
Do it fast.
Do it mercilessly.
Do it without regard for the views of the minority party.
And then wake up on the morning of November 3, 2010 and discover that you have guaranteed that there will never be another Democrat majority in either house of Congress during your lifetime — and that Barack Obama is a lame duck who will be the last Democrat to hold the White House in the next couple of decades.
And know that the first order of business in the new Congress will be the repeal of ObamaCare.
okiedoky.
And then wake up on the morning of November 3, 2010 and discover that you have guaranteed that there will never be another Democrat majority in either house of Congress during your lifetime — and that Barack Obama is a lame duck who will be the last Democrat to hold the White House in the next couple of decades.
Good luck running on that “Repeal Health Care” platform.
By the way, how are things working out with your “Repeal Medicare” agenda? If voters are not familiar with that, I guess we will hear more about it in the televised bipartisan transparency meetings. I’m sure it will be a hit.
I hope that RWR will call his Senators, Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchinson and urge them to vote for health care reform, since it’s such a great strategy for Republicans.
RWR is dabbling in reverse psychology.
“And know that the first order of business in the new Congress will be the repeal of ObamaCare.”
Wow. Are you the same guy? You used to have a modicum of intelligence about our political system. What you describe could never pass the Senate — you don’t really think you’ll have 60 seats, do you? — and would be swiftly vetoed besides. And, as your party still has no candidate for 2012, you probably couldn’t find a president willing to scrap it until 2017 at the earliest. By which point it will have taken effect.
What you really are is a totalitarian, and it’s showing.
What you describe could never pass the Senate — you don’t really think you’ll have 60 seats, do you? —
Counting Dem turncoats, probably. Who knows how Dems will vote when they are backstopped by a veto.
Nonetheless, it would be very useful to have that roll call on record.
Actually, what RWR is showing is panic. 😉
Geezer — as I recall, at this point in 2006 your party’s presumptive candidate was Hillary Clinton. Indeed, at this point in 2007 the presumptive Democrat nominee was Hillary Clinton. We saw how well that worked out, didn’t we?
Let’s get through the 2010 election before you start arguing that the GOP has no 2012 presidential nominee.
BTW, the support number is up to 19. The following Senators have signed on: Barbara Boxer, Jack Reed, Barbara Mikulski, Tom Udall and Frank Lautenberg.
Does anyone have a report for Kaufman or Carper?
19. Isn’t that also about the percentage of public support that Congressional Democrats have?
There are now 19 Senators who have signed a letter to Harry Reid demanding the public option be put back in the health care reform plan. We are asked to call on Senator Carpetbagger, and Senator Kaufman to ask if they will sign on. I did that and guess what? Carpetbaggers office said, “they had no plan to sign on”, Kaufmans office, “OUR health care team is looking at it”…this is the lame ass senatorial delegation we have representing Delaware. I want to know who the hell is on Senator Kaufmans “health care team”? Have you made your call to the two blind mice from Delaware in the Senate. Why dont you call and see what story they give you. Kaufman should vote with the people, that is if he cares about the people. Cares about the democratic party, is prepared to vote with his President and the VP Biden, (whose job was appointed to him)! So whats up with you Ted? We no where the carpetbagger is, on the same team as Leiberman and Bayh!
Here is a question. What pressure is the Democratic Party of Delaware putting on Carper and Kaufman? Who has a report on that.
Breaking on Twitter:
Schumer has signed on! Hopefully he can drag some people with him.
Also just read that the new hcr bill will be put online Monday, 3 days before hcr summit.
I called both Senators’ offices. Senator Kauffman has not reached an opinion on the public option, but will consider it when he returns to DC after the recess. The aide said that they have had a lot of calls on the issue. Senator Carper also has not taken a position on the public option; the aide will pass my position on. In both cases, I called their DC offices.
To me, having the public option in the bill is extremely important to hold costs down. We’ve seen what is ahead without it by the huge increases that have begun to occur already.
I would have thought that they would hold off on the increases until after a final determination by Congress has been made on the bill. The fact that they did not hold off, tells me that the insurance companies actually want the public option and the bill, because they will then have more subscribers if there is a mandate, and their pool will be diluted with younger and healthier people.
Not that I want a win for the nasty insurance companies, but since it will also be a win also for the insured having lower premiums and more insured, I’m all for the public option.
Now that the dem’s got the message and it now appears that they will go for the 51 votes on Health care Where does Tommy Boy stand???????
Tommy Boy will be standing with Leiberman, Baucus, Nelson, Landrieu. If Ted Kaufman follows the advice of Tommy Boy, Delaware is in deep doo doo. As Kaufman stated on WDEL, “Tom Carper is an expert on health care”? Way to go Ted, follow the example of Delaware’s biggest corporate prostitute. If Kaufman cares anything about the Party or Obama/Biden winning again in 2012, he better do the right thing or go down as the worst “appointed” Senator in Delaware history.
And to Rhymes with Right. Please do tell us what the mystery candidate who in your mind could win anything above dog catcher. We can only hope the GOP will be stupid enough to run Palin or any of the ole has beens they have been running in the past.
I have asked this question at least twice. What is the Delaware Democratic Party doing to push Tommy Carpetbagger to do the right thing on health care reform? Hummm! What you don’t know, or you do know and just not sayin’?
Senator Mike Bennett of Colorado who wrote the letter to put the public option back in, is under attack in Colorado. Progressive Change (The BOLD Progressives) are putting their money where their mouth is. They raised $85,000 in a few hours for Bennett. Their plan is to raise money for all progressives in office and candidates who support progressive issues against those who work for corporate america instead of the citizens. A great bunch of activists.
Tom Carper will vote with his party on health care reconciliation.
Tom Carper will vote with his party on health care reconciliation.
Tom Carper of the triggers, the co-ops, the triggered co-ops? Sure he will vote with his party but only after doing his damndest to water down the bill; that’s his M.O.
But apparently neither Kaufmann or Carper is ready to commit to the public option via reconciliation according to calls made by Perry last week.
If only there were a futures market on this question.
dont temp walk street. if they could profit off of this, they would. .. and bankrupt at few thousand families in the process. god bless the free market.
how about when we call carper, we add that our future votes for him are based on his voting for the public option.