Obama Says We Should 'Take Our Time' on Health Care; Al Franken Rips White House for Lack of Leaders

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Obama Says We Should 'Take Our Time' on Health Care; Al Franken Rips White House for Lack of Leadership

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/obama-wants-go-over-healthcare-bill-d

By Susie Madrak Friday Feb 05, 2010 9:00am



Oh no he didn't! What happened to "every day we delay, Americans are dying"?

What the hell is wrong with Obama? Why does he always choose accommodation over moral action?

And his lack of leadership is getting downright scary. Congress is fumbling through a game of charades, trying to figure out the clues, while it becomes increasingly clear: There's no game plan.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama says "we should take our time" getting to a final health care bill.

He said Thursday he wants to go through the legislation in detail with Republicans to examine their ideas and Democratic ideas to see whether there are better ways to improve the nation's health care system than have already been proposed.

Sure. Because those dying people? They're not going anywhere!

Obama said that letting some time pass before calling for a vote also will allow "everybody to get the real facts."

Or, as is more likely, it will give the insurance industry time to gather their forces for one final game-winning attack.

The president spoke to donors and supporters of his political organization, Organizing for America, one of a handful of fundraisers he was headlining Thursday for Democrats.

Obama said it is most urgent to focus now on a jobs package, but that health care must be addressed afterward.

But a fed-up Sen. Al Franken (who's getting a reputation for being "difficult," bless his heart) took David Axelrod to task at a "tense" closed-door meeting with the Democratic caucus today:

Five sources who were in the room tell POLITICO that Franken criticized Axelrod for the administration’s failure to provide clarity or direction on health care and the other big bills it wants Congress to enact.

The sources said Franken was the most outspoken senator in the meeting, which followed President Barack Obama’s question-and-answer session with Senate Democrats at the Newseum on Wednesday. But they also said the Minnesotan wasn’t the only angry Democrat in the room.

[Autumn]

1. K/R for

Sen. Al Franken . Yes indeed, Bless his heart.

[laughingliberal]

2. Rec for Franken standing up for us

Fighting an uphill battle but at least he keeps pushing.

[leftstreet]

3. FFS! Obama's STILL looking for better ideas? Medicare For All

What part of that doesn't this Administration understand?

[maryf]

32. Hear, hear, hear, hear...

oops they are deaf...what B.O. asked for (without knowing it perhaps) when asking for a good healthcare bill in his SOTU was Medicare for All, single payer, HR 676...

[90-percent]

4. I'm sure

I'm sure the on average 123* people that die per day in America, FOR LACK OF HEALTH CARE, take great comfort in Obama's suggestion to take our time.

My instincts tell me that perhaps the Republicans will be even more obstructionist this year, because HCR will be dead for generations to come if something substantial isn't passed well before the elections this year.

Weren't the Democrats forced to TAKE THEIR TIME during the entirety of 2009 by Republican obstructionism?

And now we're going to let Republicans take even more time out of this? They already took a fucking year!

-90% jimmy

*based on the Harvard study that determined 45,000 Americans per year die due to lack of health insurance.

[GOTV]

5. He's still wants to hear GOP ideas on HCR? Is he incapable of learning?

... why does he insist on wasting the nation's time trying to bring the GOP on board.

How often the the GOP have to tell him to pound salt?

Maybe the GOP should take out a restraining order against Obama.

[tom_paine]

19. Oh, he's capable of learning, all right. Poppy and Jeb visited him a couple days ago to make sure

he's learning.

Poppy said, "It was a good meeting."

I'll bet it was.

Remember before the Naked Hand of Power showed itself, how such thoughts would be considered beyond the pale?

Seems like a lifetime ago...

[WestSeattle2]

41. That meeting piqued my interest too....for damn sure

it wasn't a "social call", as was reported in the MSM.

[tom_paine]

52. Yep. Why would Poppy bring Jebbie along?

Maybe grooming him for the Phony Election of 2012 (or perhaps 2016) when he takes back the Imperial Throne from placeholder Obama.

He will then start up the transformation as if it never stopped, which it hasn't in many ways.

Seems to me that Obama is only retarding Bushification in small, cosmetic ways easily reversed, but making no changes of any long-term system-altering substance and even backing most of BushCheney's torture & PATRIOT ACT-type policies.

I say this with great sadness. In the end, it doesn't matter WHY, only the result.

[offog]

38. Right on, GOTV.

I watch The Daily Show religiously, and Jon Stewart made a damn good point a few days ago about Obama's constant efforts to "compromise" with the GOP. I'm not sure I've the exact wording right, but it went something like this: "No matter how much you try, they (Republicans) aren't going to let you into the car."

Also this week on The Daily Show, a guest (I forgot her name) said Democrats should quit worrying so much about the threat of a filibuster. She said let the Republicans filibuster and show everyone what a bunch of jerks they are.

Conservatives don't compromise or negotiate in good faith. It's "My way or the highway." And they won't think twice about screwing with democracy to get their way.

[mzmolly]

6. That's my Senator.

:toast:

[pleah]

7. I wish we had more Al Frankens in the house and senate. n/t

[MissDeeds]

40. And in the White House

A Democrat with the courage of his convictions. What a novel idea.

K&R for Franken

:kick:

[elocs]

8. "Take our time"? After months and months how much more time is needed?

The Republicans already know they can stop anything, so nothing will get through the Senate that they don't want to get through. I would be very surprised if anything changes there.

[Bluebear]

9. 'he wants to go through the legislation in detail with Republicans to examine their ideas'

Oh goody.

[QC]

14. The Republicans have ideas?

Fascinating.

[bvar22]

10. Wow...

THIS is what the Republicans were saying in December.

Though I DO believe this is much wiser then trying to "ram through" the horrible Senate Plan.
LESS than 35% of the American People support Mandates without a Public Option.
Ramming this plan through via Reconciliation would lead to a blood bath in 2010 and 2012.
QED Massachusetts

[Better Believe It]

11. What jobs package? The puny one being proposed in the Senate? The one that waters down the House

proposal?

The Senate one which may cut the unemployment and COBRA health care extension proposed by the House in half, from six months to only three?

The Senate one which cuts business taxes for every employee they hire, the same workers firms would hire without this tax cut?

And that's being called a job creation bill?

[Lord Helmet]

12. that should make the KILL THE BILL people happy

[gkhouston]

13. He wasn't talking about waiting that long. He said something about if Congress

doesn't see fit to pass meaningful HCR before the elections, the electorate would likely make their opinions known at the polls. That is an extremely rough paraphrase of what he actually said, so please go listen to his actual remarks. I did not get the impression that he's giving up on HCR.

[Lord Helmet]

15. They're up against the wall unless they change the filibuster rule.

[gkhouston]

16. Duh. I think they're going to have a face-off over the jobs bill, and take it from

there. HCR is a convoluted mess, and the insurance industry has its tentacles into too many politicians. A jobs bill is going to be easier to sell to the country and the Republicans are going to look like idiots filibustering it, although I expect them to walk blindly off the cliff.

[Lord Helmet]

17. dems better learn to govern around the obstructionists

rock <---- Democrats ----> hard place

Eating our own although a national sport isn't helping.

It's JOBS! JOBS! JOBS! now and, yes, I fully expect the republicans will continue to lie down in the road on every single vote.

[No Elephants]

43. But he seems to think the Senate bill is meaninful, give or take some tweaks.

[tom_paine]

18. "But, but Al...Poppy and Jebbie came to visit & read me the riot act the other day."

"They told me not to get too involved in acting out my role in the charade nor get the Peasantry too whipped up by directly communicating to them without the Bushie Media (which is almost all of it).

"They told me to remember who put me here, and it sure as shit wasn't the Peasantry who's votes aren't even counted anymore, except as a 'suggested tally' from where to start with the Vote Alteration Programs designed by the Bush Faction at CIA.

"They reminded me that the entire Democratic Party, with a handful of exceptions who will soon be gone once the latest Decree of the Bush Court goes into effect, was a subsidiary of the Republican Party.

"They told me to watch my ass and remember what happens to people who step out of line, like the Kennedy Brothers, MLK and Wellstone."

I'd like to say I was joking. I sure would like that...

[No Elephants]

44. Riiiight. I'm sure that's exacly what Poppy and Jeb said at the White House.

[tom_paine]

51. Who really knows what was said?

It's all speculation as the meeting was private.

Unfortunately, I can no longer unquestioningly accept the reality as the Corporate M$M is presenting it, from "Bin Laden" quoting Liberal Jewish Authors and being concerned with Climate Change, to 41 opposition votes constitutes a "majority" and nobody can do nuthin' about it, but when BushCheney reigned, they pushed stuff past the Democrats who had more than 50.

SOMETHING is going on, and if there's one thing perhaps we can agree upon it is the lunatic hologram that is the American Corporate Media is NOT reflecting reality in any way shape or form anymore.

You know, like how 600 Teabaggers dominate the M$M for DAYS while time and time again hundreds, thousands, or even in the worldwide pre-Iraq-invasion demonstration, some 11 million around the world, vanishes into thin air.

Mock all you'd like, but at some point the mind has to rebel at the sheer ridiculousness of what is presented to us in the Iron Theater of Bushiganda, which is to say the RW Lie Machine and the "me too" Corporate Media that trails in it's wake, half intimidated and half in the bag of their Corporate RW Owners.

I don't believe anymore than you do that's EXACTLY what was said at the meeting, but at this point, it would not surprise me at all if the Democratic Leadership, through the DLC/Third Way/Corporate-Driven Democrats, is more or less a subsidiary of the Bushies/Republicans.

But I don't know that for a fact, though it sure would explain a lot. It would explain why even when we Democrats win, we lose

Which brings me full circle - who the hell knows what's really going on? All I know is that the sh&t that comes from the RW Lie Machine/Corporate M$M is NOT reality.

[mkultra]

20. anyone can step forward and lead the senate. Including Franken.

[Nickster]

24. That is certainly true.

[mmonk]

29. Indeed. Maybe he should.

This party is the weakest I've ever seen.

[Political Heretic]

21. Look how great August was when we "waited."

Perhaps my desire not to wait sounds contradictory to my complete opposition to passing the Senate Bill "as-is." But its because I feel like their are ways around the problems.

The idea being floated that I like is to pass a "fix" bill via reconciliation that House and Senate agree on that fixes key failures of the Senate Bill. Whether it would actually to the things needed to sufficiently fix what's broken is a debatable point, but the fact that they could pass this before passing the Senate Health Bill removes a really big obstacle - the fear that the broken bill could pass and then the Senate could go back promises it made to the House.

I prefer the idea of at least trying to reach and agreement on a reconciliation fix to doing nothing. Despite my fierce opposition to passing the Senate Bill as-is, I'm not an all or nothing person. If Washington could work out a solution that I believe would not harm low income and working class individuals and families in the long run, even if it was not the single payer system we deserve, I would support getting some of these potentially substantial improvements in place.

But:
-- subsidies has to be fixed
-- insurance's claim/care denial schemes need to be addressed
-- insurance's fraudulent practices of policy cancellations on absurd grounds must be addressed
-- out of pocket cost of care caps need to be looked at
-- loopholes for corporate insurance gaming need to be closed in the form of robust federal regulation

I know it sounds like a tall order, but if it could be done, I'd get behind it.

[glinda]

22. Sir, sick people "have no more time". Wake up.

[GeorgeGist]

23. Seems like only yesterday ...

that Obama was a Democrat. I can't keep up.

[90-percent]

25. A visit from Poppy and Jeb?

That has got to be one of the most dreadful things a sitting President could be subjected to.

I'd rather have John Gotti and Jeffry Dahlmer over for dinner than those two BFEE grand poobahs!

I wonder if the meeting was televised? The Bush Family just loves transparency!

-90% jimmy

:sarcasm:

[saracat]

26. For many of us it is already too late. Lives have been lost and

quality of life has been compromised. And the current legislation is garbage anyway. he never wanted to do the right thing and speak out on behalf of health Care for everyone. He just wants a "win' and bipartisan support from GOP allies no matter what the cost. god Bless Fraken. he is turning out to be a great Senator.Must be that Wellstone influence.

[Lorien]

27. Has he taken a strong stand on ANY issue? (aside from "clean" coal, that is)

One week he's for the Public Option, the next week he'll stand behind a bill that lacks one, he was once against mandates, now he supports them, he demanded that Democrats stop being timid and get the job done during the SOTU address, now he says "we should take our time"? :wtf: Didn't he also say in the debates that he could multitask? GET IT DONE ALREADY!!

[riverdale]

28. Took a strong Herbert Hoover stand in SOTU address

Yeah, he said he'd veto anything that gets in the way of his plan to freeze spending on social programs

[JoeyT]

33. Well yeah.

The military budget. They hauled out the big guns for that one, if you'll pardon the pun.

[garethc2009]

30. Health Care

It's a damned if you do, and damned if you don't situation. The health care bill has been mangled to the extent that it doesn't really resemble what it was originall intended to. If he tries to rush it rhough, he'll be criticised on that front. If he's too slow, he'll get attacked for that.

[No Elephants]

45. He's just a poor helpless victim?

[Vidar]

31. Thank you, Al!

[democracy1st]

34. K & R

[Vinca]

35. Many don't have the time to wait this out . . . they will die.

I am ashamed of this country.

[DisgustedInMN]

36. Maybe MY Senator Al should step up...

... and take the helm for a while, until Obama figures out exactly what the fuck it is he actually stands for?

:shrug:

Take some notes Barack, that's how a Democrat acts. At least one with a spine.

[The Gunslinger]

37. He wants to examine republican ideas. I'll save him the time

republican ideas - If you got money you can pay for healthcare, if not then your out of luck.

[Jakes Progress]

39. I guess the DLC will run someone against Al now. nt

[1776Forever]

42. Did you hear Bill Moyers show yesterday? Wow - check it out if you didn't!

There was a woman Dr. who was arrested for trying to get her message heard for single payer!

She said she was very disappointed in the direction the Health Care Bill was going and this came from the TOP down.

Dr. Margaret Flowers on Medicare for All
February 5, 2010

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02052010/profile3.html

While many in Congress, the press and the public have given up on the idea of even a limited public option in health care reform, Flowers and her group, Physicians for a National Health Program, are standing firm for a single-payer plan. Specifically, they want to extend the Medicare program, which they see as a functioning single-player plan, to the nation as a whole. Flowers has testified before Congress and penned Op-Eds and she has been arrested three times in her attempts to get Congress and the White House to pay attention to single-payer.

............

I was and am a supporter of President Obama but it truly is disappointing!:shrug:

[No Elephants]

46. I saw it. It was fantastic. I was going to give the link if you hadn't. People, check it out!

[Jefferson23]

50. Thank you for that, excellent.

Franken, at least he said SOMETHING to challenge Obama.

[Sebastian Doyle]

47. Wonder when Franken decided to be a Democrat?

His radio show was such a pathetic waste of DLC whoreism, I really didn't expect much of him as a Senator, other than being marginally more tolerable than the failed used car salesman Norm Coleman.

I've never been so happy to be wrong. Keep it up, Al!

[placton]

48. What blows me away

is that ANY Dem or Liberal can support Mr. Obama. He has bailed on us, time to bail on him.

[BobRossi]

49. Obama is a miserable failure.

We have been punked! (And yes I did vote for him.)