Clinton Warns Senate on Failure as Health-Bill Timeline Slips

[still_one]

Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Former President Bill Clinton warned senators against repeating history and failing to act quickly on an overhaul of the U.S. health system even as top lawmakers suggested that Congress won’t finish work this year.

“It’s not important to be perfect here, it’s important to act, to move, to start the ball rolling,” Clinton told reporters after speaking to Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill yesterday. “The worst thing to do is nothing.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=auzjKkVsL6DQ&pos=9

Clinton is right in my view, it is important that a foundation be started. They can improve it later, but if nothing isn't done, healthcare reform will be over for a long time

What is so telling though is that these obstructionists could actually be part of a major historical event. They seem more concerned with enriching their own self-interests then helping the American people, and that is outrageous

[Captain Hilts]

1. He's right. It's not a good bill, perhaps we can make it better, but we must do SOMETHING. nt

[still_one]

2. I hope it happens /nt

[Ineeda]

4. IMO the rethug strategy, which seems to be working,

is to divide and conquer the Dem party and Dems in general, to throw as much crap into the bill as the Dems will suck up in the name of compromise, and to then vote against any reform at all. We should say 'screw you', get the best bill we can in conference, pass it by reconciliation, and then start immediately to work on fixing it. Don't give the rethugs anything else, flip them the bird (granted, while holding our noses.) If we don't pass an HCR bill, the rethugs and teabaggers will be empowered by their evil craziness, President Obama will be perceived as losing, and everything on the Dem agenda will be lost as well. One caveat: Stupak MUST be stripped.

[Captain Hilts]

5. Yes. I agree. It worked last time. This time, let's be smarter. nt

[blm]

6. Be smarter? Tell that to the OBSTRUCTIONISTS. Bill was there to give them cover. Like he did for

Bush and Iraq war, convincing undecided Dems that supporting Bush was important based on what HE knew of Iraq when he was president - using privilege to help BUSH get what he wanted - not sharing the truth with fellow Dems. Like Schumer and Hillary Clinton did during Alito - gave behind-closed-doors cover for all those who DIDN'T want to join Kennedy-Kerry filibuster.

Funny how they use their powers of persuasion and privileged access to information FOR whatever the fascists prefer and AGAINST the progressive wing of the Dem party.

[blm]

3. Seems to me Bill should have met with those obstructing public option to urge THEM

to vote for it and advise them how to best handle it politically in their states IF it is unpopular in their states - but, we already know that the majority of voters are FOR public option, and all this angst about voter backlash is corpmedia misdirection.

Surely Clinton didn't show up at the Senate and use his considerable power of persuasion just to urge Dem senators to pass a bill without public option, did he? They were already forced onto the track to do that by Bill's DLC colleagues.

DLC Dems....THEY are the ones Clinton SHOULD have cornered and lectured....so....it is likely safe to assume his reason for being there was to urge passing the bill WITHOUT the public option.