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Maybe Obama doesn't like the public option.
huffpo:
Moreover, given the mess of messaging coming from the White House, it's very hard to get clarity on the issue. President Barack Obama has always been more forthright and more consistent in his insistence that nobody would be forced out of a private health care option that they currently have and which they prefer. He's been far less clear on his support for the public option. This sows confusion: if the public option isn't an essential ingredient, where's the need to remind people that they won't be forced out of the private insurance that they may prefer?Has it occurred to anyone that maybe the President doesn't actually care for the public option?
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Well ... Eric . . .
You bring up a fine point to speculate upon . . but ...
I can't read the President's mind. Although, just a short 8 days ago the last time that I heard him speak about his feelings on the need for the "public option" was the following:
Organizing For America Forum on Health Care - August 20, 2009
The President, speaking of individuals who have no insurance coverage, made this point at 25:30 of the presentation:
Go to the C-SPAN video archive and watch and listen for yourself for his full explanation.
So as of that date, Obama was quite clear to those who he asked to get back out across the country and reach out to their neighbors and friends in their local communities.
That's all I've got to go on Eric.
How about you?
~OGD~
August 28, 2009 9:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
And maybe he does...and maybe the sun will rise in the west, and maybe someday pigs will fly. I like Eric Idle a lot better than Idle Speculation.
And I like OGD's comment which goes without saying, though I just said it.
August 29, 2009 3:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
it's entirely possible.
bill moyers was on bill maher the other night saying that rahm emanuel intends to fund his democratic majorities with money from healthcare and wall street, hence, we are seeing wall street friendly bailouts and regulation, or lack thereof, and secret deals with pharma not to negotiate drug prices and the like.
they want to have their cake and eat it to...
that's why they keep telling progressives to pipe down and the minimum amount of lip service to public option to keep the "left wing loonies" under control.
moyers made another obvious point, but one that cannot be stated often enough, which is the democrats are just as much in big businesses pockets as republicans. while they were out of power they purchased, and it's astonishing how small some of these bribes seem, by Health Inc.
nader made the same point in his ill-fated 2000 presidential run, that there was very little difference between democrats and republicans, and he was mocked and scorned. he was dead on!
on an issue with such moral clarity, healthcare for their very own real life constituents, the needs of Health Inc. are still disproportionately influencing this debate through outright bribery.
Corporocrats.
August 29, 2009 2:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Or maybe...Obama may the decision to let Congress craft the legislation rather than attempting to impose an agenda, and it turned out that the Dems as a whole were not all consensusy on the idea of the public option. Here in Indiana at least I see commercials from Senator Bayh asking people to call his office to tell him they support his efforts for the health care reform "compromise." Code for no public option.
Maybe Obama made a mistake of not doing a little run around the constitution and tried to impose legislation on Congress (I doubt he would have been successful). But I think the mix messages coming from White House, and some of it has been truly unartful, is their attempt to push reform while not stepping on toes like Carter did in his first years in office.
While it depresses me to watch the reform debate (or what passes for debate) going on this country, I am thankful at least that the Dems and the WH are not like the days of Bush, Delay and company, where the Republican congress just waited around to be told what to do for fear they would lose their committees, etc.
August 29, 2009 7:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Of course, he doesn't like it. If he liked it the House would have crafted an actual plan to change the system. What we are left with is window dressing changes......We lose again......
August 29, 2009 7:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Do I hear . . .
. . . a trace of leftover caustic tone from the the tough times of the Democratic primary run? Maybe? Of course I do. Anyone who calls Obama ...a chicken shit President has some serious issues with the individual. No doubt! Although, Hillary does make a good tough Secretary of State.
Buy anyhow ... With that out of the way ...
To let ya' know ... I've been in support of Universal Medicare for All for 35+ years. But we must get something done now, and the public option must be included in this bill.
Maybe you can get out some FAXs to some of the representatives there in the fine State of Kentucky telling them of your wishes in support of the public option. You do support the effort, right? You wouldn't let a little loss in the primaries get in the way of the good of the whole, would ya'?
Below is some info you can print and send to those reps. Especially if they're Republicans or Blue Dawg Dems if that's the case...
The direct links to those individuals and the entire list of reps may be found posted in my TPM Cafe blog here . . .
Have a Good Day!
~OGD~
August 30, 2009 11:00 AM | Reply | Permalink