As Democrats seek to push through health bill, Obama reaches out to Republicans

[onehandle]

Source: Washington Post

As Democrats on Capitol Hill prepared a risky effort to muscle sweeping health-care legislation to final passage, President Obama on Tuesday made a last gambit to split Republicans on the issue, proposing to incorporate a handful of GOP ideas into his signature domestic initiative.

On Wednesday, Obama plans to call on Congress to bring the year-long debate to a swift close, and congressional leaders expect him to signal support for a strategy that includes a special budget maneuver known as reconciliation. Under that strategy, the House would adopt the bill the Senate passed on Christmas Eve and approve a separate package of fixes to reflect a compromise worked out between Democrats in the two chambers.

Under reconciliation rules, the fixes could not be filibustered and Senate Democrats could approve them with a simple majority vote -- a move intended to bypass a Republican caucus that remains united in its opposition to the legislation. Republican leaders said Obama's offer to adopt some of the ideas they promoted at last week's health-care summit would do little to improve what they consider a fundamentally flawed measure.

"If the President simply adds a couple of Republican solutions to a trillion dollar health care package that the American people don't support, it isn't bipartisanship. It's political cover," Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the No. 2 House Republican, said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/02/AR2010030200175.html

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Sigh...

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. There is no pleasing those arrogant fools on the right.

Why even bother?

This country is screwed.

[Denninmi]

2. How many times do they have to get slapped down to learn???

Geesh. Should have forgotten this bipartisanship a year ago when it was apparent it wasn't going to happen.

Show some leadership and get this thing done.

[still_one]

7. Obama is a fool. Those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it /nt

[karynnj]

9. Obama is not a fool

Look at the list of the things he is willing to add. Even if Coburn suggested it, the fraud program sounds like an interesting idea, the "tort reform" adds dollars to something already included - grants to have the states prototype various ways to do it. (In 2004, Kerry included a way passed on MA law in his plan), etc.

He is taking talking points away from them on 2 of their biggest criticisms - fraud and tort reform.

If nothing else, adding these could help Democrats in conservative districts.

[heli]

3. The masochism continues

[asdjrocky]

4. Totally lame.

[RKP5637]

5. Republicans have no intention of working with Obama. His constant appeasing

makes him look weak and ineffective IMO. I have no difficulty with bipartisanship, but how many times are the Dems going to beg to be slapped down. As someone else posted, it is getting to be masochistic.

[Jefferson23]

6. What a crying shame and disgrace.

snip* Will President Obama’s health reform proposal, crafted to gain bipartisan support from a Congress that has been lobbied by the Big Five with $16. 8 million last year, actually reform health care? Not a chance, because the proposal preserves a central role for the for-profit insurance industry. This leads to several problems.

First, his plan will give subsidies to people who are unable to afford insurance policies. While more people would have insurance coverage, this is the equivalent of giving billions of taxpayer dollars to the private health insurance industry.

Second, the individual mandate he proposes will force millions of middle class Americans to buy inadequate insurance products, which have rapidly escalating premiums, and high deductibles and co-payments. This will contribute to financial hardship and medical bankruptcy for those who suffer serious illnesses, and actually need to use their insurance.

And, third, at least 23 million people will remain uninsured.

Dr. Quentin Young, speaking for Physicians for a National Health Program, said, “This proposal is an insurance company bonanza, not good, evidence-based reform. The president would do better by abandoning the insurance and drug companies and instead taking up the single-payer approach . . . By building on and improving the already popular Medicare program, we could put our patients’ interests first. Were Obama to do so, he would meet with strong public support, including from the medical community.”

Obama’s proposal supports the health insurance industry to the detriment of the American people. Private health insurance companies have been given our health care dollars in order to pay doctors and hospitals: they are robbing the coffers, with their exorbitant compensation packages for CEOs and profits for their investors. An improved “Medicare for All” would cover everyone, and provide payment for care people need when they are ill: that is the health care reform Americans need and want.

Susanne L. King, M. D., is a Lenox-based practitioner.

http://pnhp.org/blog/

[Toasterlad]

8. Dear Obama: Stop Being A Fucking Idiot. Love, Toasterlad.

[Gin]

11. constantly trying to appease them...makes him seem needy!

Just do it dammit!

[nightrain]

12. worse than "needy", more like a person who has been abused who is going

back for more.

[avaistheone1]

25. Dear Prez Obama: How's that working for you?

[WriteDown]

10. I don't care who kills this thing. Someone please kill it! nt

[sulphurdunn]

13. There were never more than three

realistic solutions to health care reform:
1. Single payer medicare for all administered by the federal government and funded by taxation without exclusion.
2. Single payer medicare for all regulated like a utility by the federal government or the states, funded through taxation and administered by non-profit insurance agencies without exclusion.
3. Medicare by-in option for all citizens as a fixed percentage of income in direct competition with private insurance and without exclusion.

Anything less than one or some combination of these options amounts to political malfeasance.

[valerief]

14. What do you call someone who repeatedly fails at doing one thing yet continues to do it?

Personally profitable, I guess, cuz we're getting jack shit from this reaching-out bullshit.

[Plucketeer]

15. This is BULLSHIT!!!

How about if Obama reached out to those who got him elected, and gave them a public option - or single payer???

This administration is like an emetic. I causes me to :puke:

[Jakes Progress]

16. But he wants to know if they just like him

or like him like him.

This is getting creepy.

[heli]

17. GOP to Obama: "We're not into you, but keep paying for dinner"

[Jakes Progress]

19. The GOP has him on the hook. nt

[RKP5637]

20. Yep, agree very much with you!!! n/t

[earcandle]

18. 82% of Americans support single payer. Anything is better than nothing, so show me the stats that

claim Americans don't support health care reform.  The repugs
are lying fucks. 

[RKP5637]

21. We don't get listened to by anyone!!! WTF is wrong with these people in

congress. I get so PO'ed with this nonsense. I'm banging my head against the wall, but none notices, I just end up with a headache. I might as well talk to my cat.

[bc3000]

23. link?

82% huh? Why not just say 100% if you are making up numbers.

[DallasNE]

22. Bush Set The Example

With his "my way or the highway" approach to everything. To make it stick he often used reconciliation to get his way. What goes around comes around.

[JDPriestly]

24. As I recall, this was Howard Dean's original suggestion.

Thank you, Howard Dean.

[Vidar]

26. He weakens his position every time he does this.

[classysassy]

27. Republican exposure

The president continue to expose the republican lies.When will the public see through the smoke screen created by the right wing media and the party of NO?.

[MurrayDelph]

28. I keep hoping: