Does anyone believe if a Democrat wins the Presidency we will get National Health Care?

[Bandit]

Or will it be another fiasco like the last time we had a Democratic President and a Democratic controlled Congress? Is there any real hope? DLC still has a lot of Power and we know how they feel about it..

[wakeme2008]

1. It depends on the meaning of NATIONAL...

:grr:

Only a couple want single payer systems...

[NV Whino]

2. Yes, but

not any time soon.

[MonkeyFunk]

3. They'll make progress on it

more than any republican would make.

Presidents don't get to just implement their agenda. They still have to work with congress.

No President can just wave a wand and totally remake our entire health-care system. It will be done bit by bit, step by step.

[NMDemDist2]

4. nope

the cynical part of me believes National Health care is the Democrats version of Abortion Bans for Repukes

A lovely campaign promise they have no plans on implementing when elected

[Astrad]

5. On a related note...

Does anyone believe if the Democrats take the presidency the defense budget will go down?

[Bandit]

11. I do believe that

I also believe there will indeed be Universal Health Care for all in America within the next decade. I believe the Bush* Administration has been the best thing that could have happened to America. Americans have had an opportunity to see just how bad Republicans are in governing and what Little truth is told by them. I believe the Democrats are on the verge of accomplishing truly great deeds for America and it will be because of Bush* and Cheney and their constant LIES and Incompetence...Americans want a strong America and are beginning to realize how the GOP is doing the exact opposite.. I may just be an optimist but I truly feel we are in for some better days..

[sshan2525]

6. Nope....

Not gonna happen until enough middle claas workers lose theirs due to companies dropping it due to high costs and begin yelling to their congress people about it. It has little to do with who's in the White House although a Democrat would probably allow for a better program to be signed into law.

[Nite Owl]

7. At this point I am not

hopeful that their will be the real changes we need. Maybe some marginal help, healthcare plans will likely be more available and won't be able to reject whomever they don't want to insure but insurance companies will still be in charge. Hope this is wrong but noone seems to presenting anything really coherent, a plan that would really lower rates and cover every single person as a right and unconnected from an employer except for Kucinich.

[JeffR]

8. Don't know. But I do know one thing:

If a Republican wins the Presidency there ia absolutely NO chance of National Health Care.

[rodeodance]

9. it would be up to the People to Agressively PUSH for it.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

15. And then the usual suspects will pop up on DU telling advocates of

true national health care that they're wrong to criticize Democrats for not moving in the right direction, just like they're currently bashing anti-war advocates for criticizing Democrats on the war issue.

[mmonk]

10. Absolutely not.

Not unless this president somehow makes it a national emergency under executive order. Or, this particular president makes the case enough to get support from the people to take on the private entities and their stronghold representatives in congress.

[jobycom]

12. We can, if we refrain from shredding our own party like we did in 93.

When Clinton was elected in 93, the common consensus was that he was too liberal, so southern Democrats like Sam Nunn opposed him on just about everything. Clinton moved more to the middle, then the liberals abandoned him. We could have gotten health care then if we'd closed ranks, but the Repubs split us up and we all lost.

It's a different world now. Health care is a bigger drain on most businesses than taxes, by a long shot. I am a controller for a retail operation, and I've watched insurance go from a minor nuisance to a crippling burden for my company, and go from an annoying fee for employees to a luxury most can't afford. There is a desire on the part of business and labor to come up with a more affordable system now, unlike in 92, when business was largely opposed to it.

If we can develop a plan that benefits both, we can get it passed. It's not impossible, even if we go single-payer. Taxation has to be balanced against insurance expenses in a way that benefits both sides. It can be done, but the insurance companies (and more importantly the reinsurers behind the industry) will fight it, and we have to stick together, and maybe even develop a plan that appeals to moderate Repubs (less so if we can make major Congressional gains in 2008).

But the key will be sticking together, and not shredding our party as was done in 92. I don't mean us here arguing about Clinton or Obama, I mean our Congresscritters and their willingness to flip to save a few corporate donations.

[UrbScotty]

13. Not necessarily - but hopefully progress will be made.

Whosever elected should realize that Americans - many of them, anyway - do consider healthcare to be a vital issue.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. No, but I'm willing to be surprised

What we'll probably get is some DLC-inspired boondoggle like the Massachusetts plan: a corporate welfare law requiring everyone to buy insurance and subsidizing the poor, with no expectations for good behavior on the part of the insurance companies.

That will leave me with the same lousy coverage I have now.

The DLCers on this board and elsewhere will swear up and down that it's the "only realistic" option, just like making polite suggestions to Bushboy about getting out of Iraq some time before he leaves office, maybe, if it's not too much trouble, is the "only realistic" option for getting out of Iraq.

Co-opted, corrupted enablers.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

16. No. But the lobbyists will have to expend more on payoffs..er, campaign contributions.

[gatorboy]

17. Let's see what Ahnold does with his Health Care promise in California.

If it's a success, who knows? That just might be anough for the rest of the country to get in line.

[midnight]

18. Thats a good step toward discussing real health care, but

I think we all in America should be and can be getting the type of Health Care our congress, senate, president, vp, have access to. We should look at it as a model that is working, and providing the best care-let's all use it.

[Cobalt Violet]

19. Depends on which on wins. n/t