Is everyone trying to email Jonathan Alter after his tirade on the Ed Show?

[cui bono]

I can't get on his website to find an email addy for him.

That was disgusting. He claims to be for single payer but says liberals are driving themselves over the cliff by hanging on to the public option. He thinks we need to negotiate. And he wouldn't let Ed get his arguments out on his own show! Fuck him. He should go back on vacation. I was literally yelling fuck you and stfu and flipping off my TV.

:mad:

Edited to fix stfu so I wasn't saying stuf.

[Faygo Kid]

1. Me, too.

[cui bono]

4. With friends like that who needs enemies? n/t

[valerief]

2. He couldn't grab his ankles fast enough for the insurance companies! nt

[jtrockville]

3. This is listed as his email at newsweek.com:

webeditors
_at_
newsweek.com

[cui bono]

5. Thanks, I'll try that. n/t

[gateley]

6. He wants what's best for us, and that's just his opinion. No need to

come down on him for it -- he's not the one who will be deciding. That's where our energy should go.

And Ed did his fair share of talking over/interrupting, too. I loved it! It was a heated, HONEST debate between two good guys who both want the best for all. :shrug:

[cui bono]

9. Do you think giving away the public option is what's best for us?

And I got plenty of energy to spread it around. :evilgrin:

[gateley]

22. No I don't, but this isn't about what I think. It's up to us to work to make sure

the public option -- a GOOD one -- is included. It's not up to Alter and it isn't as though Obama is listening to his advice anyway. He's entitled to his opinion, that's all. Bottom line is I think he's 'one of us' and he's one of the few I listen to who generally tells it like it is and has a good take on things.

Now go spread that energy around. :evilgrin:

[peacebird]

12. "he wants the best for us"? I think Alter deserves to hear what WE think too.

He claims to be for single payer but says with a quiver, shiver... tremor... "oh gosh - we can't get it so we better settle for whatever the Repubs want us to have, and be real quiet and and and if we behave maybe (whimper) they'll let us *buy* insurance..."

:eyes:

Maybe since he HAS insurance he should put in for a spine implant.

[gateley]

26. As I just said to cui bono, I think Alter is basically 'one of us' -- one of the

ones who sees through the bullshit and presents it to us sans spin. This is just his opinion -- one I don't agree with -- but I honestly feel HE believes his approach is the best one (don't we all believe that?).

It ultimately doesn't matter what he thinks, Obama's not turning to him for advice and guidance. We're the ones who need to make sure that those who are voting hear what we think.

I'm glad he's around and I continue to respect him, whether I agree with him or not. That's all I was trying to say. :hi:

[zippy890]

31. agreed - Alter isn't the one to go after n/t

[alsame]

7. He seems to think that not excluding people for pre-existing

conditions is the most important issue. And he's willing to give up a lot of other things so that there would be no discrimination against sick people.

I think it's a personal thing with him, he has talked about a recent battle with cancer on other shows.

[madmax]

18. I'm in that battle with him and pre-existing

conditon is way way up there with what I need.

[alsame]

23. The President has always said that is not

negotiable. Hang in there :hug:

[cui bono]

19. That's a given. But dropping the public option is a gift to the insurance companies.

We need the public option. The other regulations should always have been in place and are absolutely immoral to leave as the norm. Health care for profit is immoral period.

[alsame]

24. I agree, I'm not sure why Alter was making it an either/or situation. nt

[DJ13]

8. He's been downplaying the public option for weeks on TV

I think the threats to not vote for a bill without a public option by the progressives in the House has the insurance defenders scared.

I think they thought they had it defeated already.

[lamp_shade]

10. Alter made some good points. Ed wouldn't shut up long enough to listen.

I love Ed, but sometimes....

[cynatnite]

11. Tirade?

I saw both him and Ed going back and forth. Each held his ground pretty good. I like Jonathan Alter and I think his opinion is fine. There is a lot more they agree with each other on than disagree.

on edit: Alter also thinks heath coverage is a civil rights issue, too. I agree.

[cui bono]

13. I generally like him too, but he was getting me so mad when he kept saying we should not hold

on to the public option. Saying that as long as we regulate. Come on, when have we ever really regulated big corporations? How the regulation of wall street going? If that's all we do it will get reversed as soon as the Rethuglicans are in power. But let them try to make people switch from public option to private health insurance later, the people can see and feel that happening. They won't even know if regulations are relaxed or not enforced.

No public option, no reform.

[SusanaMontana41]

21. I'm with you

That was a healthy debate (no pun intended). They agreed more than they disagreed.

And neither was disagreeable, though both got loud.

[Connie_Corleone]

14. I actually want to hear more of what Alter was trying to say on Ed's show.

Each one made some good points. Alter is as passionate about health care reform as Ed is. For those saying he's shilling for insurance companies is nonsense considering how much he's against discriminating against sick people for pre-existing conditions. He should know.

It was just his opinion. Nothing to go nuclear over. I thought we wanted a healthy debate on the substance of health care reform?

I guess not. :shrug:

[SoFlaJet]

15. Ed Schultz gives THIS democrat a headache

he won't be on the air too much longer anyway IMO. Lawrence O'Donnell is chomping at the bit...patiently waiting. Ed seems a little burnt out to me-3-4 hours a day on the radio and another hour on TV and all the prep time...

[madmax]

20. I don't always agree with him... most times I do.

He's our Rush only he doesn't make shit up as he goes. I'd love to see L O'D get his own show, preferably Tweety's.

[walldude]

27. Me too, never did like him

I love the comment about how Alter "wouldn't let Ed talk". It's Ed's show. He could have shut Alter down if he wanted.

Back when Lieberman was "changing parties" so he could continue his lunacy Ed had him on his show. Ed kissed his ass the entire interview. Not a single hard question. That was the last time I listened to Ed.

[Peregrine Took]

35. I love Ed but then I'm not a DLC'r....

[valerief]

16. Sent this to Ed and Jonathan both

Ed is right! Jonathan is wrong!

We Americans are tired of bending over for insurance companies. Why not draw a line in the sand? Conceding single payer is concession enough.

We all know that once the public option is created it will be set in stone like Medicare and Social Security. And, over time, it will grow into single payer like those First World countries have. That's why we need it now. Anything less will result in another Phil Gramm deregulation deal and we'll be back where we started.

Thanks, Ed! Keep up the good fight!!!! We love you. Jonathan, there's room in the boat for you but you've gotta climb on board.

[CreekDog]

17. well what would we be getting for this trade off?

when people are fighting with their insurance companies in 2010, does "reform" cut for or against Democrats at that point?

if people have options that mean they don't have to fight, or the regulations are so strong that they don't have to fight, people are going to think more of the reform, if not, they will think less of it.

second if reform is passed, people's expectations will go up, they won't stay where they are. i might be okay with my insurance but if after all this i end up fighting to get covered and all the usual nonsense that happens now still happens, the average American is going to be MORE angry knowing that reform was supposed to fix it.

if reform simply means more people get health insurance but that insurance can keep playing the games it has, people will freak out over this in short order.

however, the cat is out of the bag, if Democrats don't pass this at all, they will be dead in the water in 2010 because they have already taken it on.

so they literally need to think 2-5 years into the future and compare it to now and figure out what as a practical matter needs to be done for 1) the uninsured 2) the insured and come up with a plan to do it. if it's different than what they've drawn up, they need to make those changes. if they think it is hard now, this is easy compared to the fallout from no reform or bad reform.

[mzmolly]

25. I strongly support a public option but Bill Maher had a good point on Rachel's

show recently. He said Social Security looked very different when we first embarked on it and that we've vastly improved it over the years. He suggested that if the liberals of the day demanded all that they wanted at that time, we would not have gotten it done. And, we may not have the program today.

[Cleita]

29. Bill is only speculating.

Actually, Medicare was part of the SS bill but FDR had to compromise and leave it off. Imagine if he had started where he ended up, then for sure we wouldn't have SS but probably some right winger's wet dream of pension savings accounts.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

30. Taking the long view -

Maher was exactly right. Others have made that same point, most notably Lawrence O'Donnell when he was subbing for Tweety last week.

People with disabilities weren't covered by Social Security when the initial legislation was passed.

Laws get changed and amended as time goes on. But, this being such an urgent issue for some - a matter of life and death - I don't think folks are able to see that very clearly right now.................................

[Cleita]

28. Yes, we are for single payer until it looks like a prayer's chance it may happen,

then it's time to pull out all the insurance company talking points as to why nothing will work except what they say will work.

:thumbsdown:

The reason all the hacks are out in full regalia is because the industry is in a panic and they know the truth, that the majority of Americans want this. Keep the pressure on people. They are in the minority and evenutally, our pols are going to have to cave and do what we want.

[kelly1mm]

32. Alter's point was that he does not think that you would have enough

Democratic Senators (forgetting the R's) to pass a public option. It's not about the R's it about the blue dogs. That's his opinion and I agree at this point but the debate is still ongoing.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[Peregrine Took]

34. He's a corporatist - plain and simple. n/t