Schumer: Dems can go-it-alone on health care

[sabra]

Source: MSNBC/AP

Lawmaker says his party will push reform bill with or without GOP support

WASHINGTON - A leading Senate Democrat said Monday his party is determined to push through a health care overhaul bill, President Barack Obama's top domestic issue, with or without support from opposition Republicans.

Republicans have made clear they aren't supporting the bill, which foretells of a rowdy Senate floor debate next month on legislation that would extend health care coverage to roughly 31 million Americans, crack down on insurance company practices that deny or dilute benefits and curtail the growth of spending on medical care nationally.

"We prefer to go at it with Republicans if we can reach compromises in some areas," said Sen. Charles Schumer. "But we're not going to not pass a bill."

...

Appearing on NBC's "Today" show Monday, Schumer said, "We all know we have to give a little. ... If we don't do anything, that is the worst situation, and we have a good bill." He said lawmakers must come together because "the health care system is broken."

Schumer argued that Republican critics "haven't put any alternative on the floor."

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34107650/ns/health-health_care/

[msongs]

1. aim low and settle for less. start at the bottom and work your way....down lol nt

[midnight]

2. That does seem to be the strategy for providing meaningful health care change.

It makes me wonder why this approach was not tried by the banks, military, or oil co.?

[alllyingwhores]

13. Seriously..,is this an Onion article?

WTF?? Now that it is effectively a GOP/Corporate America...or more specifically, a DLC bill with a huge giveaway to the insurance companies and a "public option" in name only, now the F__KING ASSHOLE WANTS TO GO IT ALONE??

[theoldman]

3. I have also wondered if something is better than nothing.

If you have something you can always revise it. If you have nothing you can try at a later date. The problem with this is the later date is at least 8 years from now.

[Donnachaidh]

4. 8 years from now -- who came up with this bogus timeframe?

Or are you assuming Obama is going to get a second term? With this health INSURANCE mandate they are pushing through, I think it's foolish to even think he's going to get a second term. And not just on the healthcare issue -- his *change* agenda is one massive FAIL agenda.

[AlbertCat]

7. his *change* agenda is one massive FAIL agenda.

Well, thousands of innocent Americans didn't die this Sept so he's still doing waaaaay better than Bush did his 1st year.

I know it seems like a long time, but it's still early.


What I don't get is Congress. When the Repugs controlled both chambers and the White House, Dems couldn't even get a room.... much less anything passed. They were blocked at every turn. Now that Dems control both chambers and the White House, they still can't get a room and are being blocked at every turn. Wassup with that? I don't expect them to break rules like keeping the vote open hours longer than rules dictate, like Repugs did, but this health care mess is not promising. They are in such a bubble! Don't they realize that the only reason half of them were elected was because Repugs fucked up so much? It wasn't their shining personalities that got them elected, it was the fact that most people would rather have voted for a ham sandwich than a Repug fuck up. So what do Dems do? Fuck up right and left. The same out of touch narcissism as Repugs but from a different direction.

Who do we vote for the next time? The ham sandwich I guess.

[Donnachaidh]

9. jeez -- give the *we'd be worse off with a puke* BS a REST will ya?

Changing the subject STILL doesn't address the FACT that *change* has NOT come from the man who PROMISED it.

A ham sandwich is what the millions out of work need NOW -- and they are pretty much guaranteed NOT to get it from this administration. They are too busy planning parties for Indian dignitaries. The irony of our government feeding the elite from a country that is STEALING jobs from the US middle class is mind boggling. And it's something that middle class will NOT forget in 2010 and beyond.

[shadowknows69]

19. Oh they didn't? What about the thousands dead from lack of health care?

President Obama could have told Congress to send him single payer or he'd send it back with a Veto. Instead we've compromised to the point that people will still be dying. Just a few less so that's ok.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

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[Frances]

14. I think it's something now or nothing for 50 years

If this bill causes the Dems to lose Congress the way they did in 1994 when the Clintons tried to reform health care, no Dem President is going to risk health reform for a VERY long time. It goes without saying that the Repubs will do NOTHING to help any ordinary citizen.

[TheEuclideanOne]

5. The Dems really should answer all Republican suggestions with....

If you have no intention of supporting this bill, then SHUT THE FUCK UP! NEXT!

[fascisthunter]

6. ok... but this so-called bill sucks

so why should I care, whether you can go it alone. I cared prior to this bill, but now that I see what this bill will do to Americans, I really don't want to see it pass? You all fucked this up beyond measure...

[shadowknows69]

20. +1

[harun]

21. I read the bill and I think it is actually quite good. I felt the same

as you before I read it though.

[fascisthunter]

24. are we getting a robust Public Option

and are we still mandated to buy private health insurance?

[harun]

25. We are getting a Public Option that once people are in it they can stay in it.

So that doesn't sound like much but it gets us going in the right direction.

I don't like the mandates either, they should pull them out of there.

[TheEuclideanOne]

8. THE DEMOS ARE GOING IT ALONE!

I have no idea why the dems are giving anything to the Republicans. They have no intention at all of doing anything and have made that so clear. This is very puzzling.

[Donnachaidh]

10. sure -- after all the concessions have already been made -- they go it alone.

To use an old tattered phrase from the past -- "Mission Accomplished" for the corporate owned Democratic Party members. :eyes:

[pampango]

11. They'll have to. The "pure" corporate party is unanimously against it in the Senate, as opposed

to just 99% in the House.

If the repubs can defeat Obama now on "socialized medicine", they'll be ready for immigration reform ("amnesty"), tax reform ("class warfare"), market and financial industry regulation ("big government") and for the 2010 election "Democrats can't pass legislation even when they control the whole government".

[Zorra]

12. Fuck republicans. Dems need to go road warrior and just get it done the way they want it done.

Republicans have already wrecked our country. Now they want to do more damage. They bring absolutely nothing productive to any debate. We need to repair the damage that republicans did, not add to the damage by bowing to their silly demands that would do nothing but keep our country from progressing.

Sen. Schumer is wrong in this way: Dems don't need to give anything to republicans. Republicans represent corporations, not people. Corporations need to do what the people tell them to do, not the other way around. If corporations want to take over our country, then we need to declare war on them, not appease them.

[beyond cynical]

15. They can, if they stick together.

if...

[SandWalker1984]

16. Health insurance premiums up 87%, profits up 428% -- so let's give them even more money!

That's what the Democrats are proposing with both of these bills in Congress.

Harry Reid stripped the provision out of the Senate bill that would have overturned the insurance industry's anti-trust exemptions to gain Ben Nelson's support for Saturday's vote.

Reid also promised $100 million in Medicare for Mary Landrau's Louisiana for her vote.

There's nothing in either bill to address the out of control premium increases, premium price gouging.

Under both bills, the most affordable comprehensive policies will be allowed to cover only 60% of your medical costs (vs commonly paid 80% now). One hospital stay can wipe out your entire savings EVEN IF YOU HAVE INSURANCE.

You will be MANDATED to purchase insurance but they will not be MANDATED to provide affordable, comprehensive care or preventative care.

The only hope of competition and affordability was the "public option." It has been reduced down to availability to only 1% of the population and may be further reduced to "trigger" status. The public option will be killed off before the final vote.

Insurance corporations can still deny you coverage for thousands of reasons, as long as they don't exclude you for a pre-existing condition. If you are kicked out of your insurance plan, you will then be forced to pay a fine for failure to have insurance. Double whammy!

Since they deleted the Dennis Kucinich amendment to let states create their own single payer systems, insurance corporations could potentially, under proposed bills, sue states for developing their own single payer plans as unfair competition.

The big drug companies will continue to overcharge because the White House cut a deal with them and told Congress hands off.


Legal price gouging, legal price fixing in the health "care" system will continue.

The only difference is that the industry will gain 48 million new victims for which they can make more profits from off of human illness.

Passing this Corporate Wealthcare and Industry Protection Act
will be disasterous for Americans and for Democrats.

You cannot pass a monstosity of a bill like this and "fix" it later. The corporations will use their new found profits to become stronger, buy more members of Congress, and block any reforms.


The only decent thing to do at this point is to KILL BOTH BILLS and start over.

[jody]

18. OK but if Dems muff it they will earn 100% of the blame. IMO the current bill has several items that

are red flags for independent voters and many Dem voters.

If Dems don't clean up the bill it could easily guarantee Repubs control of the House in 2010.

[damntexdem]

22. 'Can go it alone'? MUST go it alone!

No Rethug is going to be helpful. The Dems should have known that long since.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

23. We could use a Democratic Newt Gingrich

someone who will use the majority as a "contract with America" and push the changes past that minority party.