Obama promises to pursue a public option later

[FourScore]

Source: Ezra Klein - Washington Post

Obama promises to pursue a public option later...

...“The meeting with President Obama today was productive and necessary, and I was glad to hear him speak frankly about where we stand on health care legislation. He said the public option – a well-known and long-standing progressive priority – lacks enough Senate support to be included in the final package. However, he personally committed to pursue a public option after passage of the current bill.

I remain concerned about elements of the bill, but was encouraged by the president’s outreach and interest in a substantive discussion. We agree that expanding health care access and quality, while bringing down costs, is a top priority this year, and I intend to continue playing a constructive role until Congress holds its final vote.”

I've long wondered why Obama didn't promise this a while ago. A bill offering a public option and Medicare buy-in to age 55 would be a popular bill, and a good bill, and could be done after health-care reform had passed. The administration and others like to say that the Senate legislation is just a start, and they should begin acting on that belief. Pass the start, and then begin trying to make it better with smaller, discrete bills that are easier to message and pass.


Read more: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/

[Captain Hilts]

1. Lame. The football has been pulled away from me too many times on this issue. nt

[Sub Atomic]

2. Gee. Another feel-good, do-nothing promise from Obama.

It's starting to sound more and more like a broken record every day.

[gateley]

3. I need it NOW. And Captain Hilts puts it perfectly. I'm through with hoping that

I'll be able to get health care.

[gleaner]

4. If anyone at this late date ...

still believes Obama's promises after all the lies and deceptions he has visited on the American
people, then I have some swamp land I can sell to them. It's good land, honest and I promise to drain it later.

[Tx4obama]

11. I totally disagree with you...

President has kept MANY of his campaign promises so far and MANY MANY more are In the Works.
Promises Kept: 96
Promises In the Works: 272
Link to the Obameter on the right side of the page: http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/

[Jim Sagle]

13. DLC rahmwash!

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SPedigrees]

15. Nice to see a voice of reason on this thread. nt

[Hell Hath No Fury]

50. Unfortunately, the ones he kept --

are crap -- like escalating Afghanistan and bombing the crap out of Pakistan.

The ones he's broken or failed to pursue are the ones most important to Americans.

[Iowa]

39. +1

[rsmith6621]

5. I Will Not Be Satisfied If The Public Option Is...

....not a part of this..... It's another opportunity to cave to BIG PHARMA and Insurance Lobbyist....

....Basically what Obama is saying lets pass the crap first and then hope you all forget about the public option until I am out of office in 2013.........SAD

[Jamastiene]

6. Promises, promises, promises. n/t

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[defendandprotect]

8. Why later? Utter the words MEDICARE FOR ALL and entire nation will back him--!!

[Roland99]

24. Oh! But Single Payer is "too radical" don'tcha know?

:eyes:

Obama threw healthcare reform under the bus with that little comment.

[Hannah Bell]

9. super-lame. yeah, sure. "later". if you can't do it now, you can't do it. don't bullshit it.

because when you bullshit it, you reveal that you have no respect for the voters, & no concern about actually providing them with a workable health care program.

[tiny elvis]

37. remember thepoorman.net?

original archives are gone from the time he wrote that great piece:
Phase II Is Where You Go Fuck Yourself
when repub promises to do the right thing were said to be coming in an unscheduled phase two of a process

[salguine]

10. I wish you could issue a no-confidence recall on Presidents.

[Iowa]

40. +1

[jtuck004]

12. Just show me the Carfax. n/t

[ProSense]

16. "A statement just released by the Grivalja press office"

So this is Grivalja's statement? Who exactly are people expecting to oppose this bill?

[rhett o rick]

28. The insurance industry is backing this bill. They dodged a bullet. nt

[GinaMaria]

56. the insurance companies (top 5 CEOs) are in DC right now

they've been meeting with Obama and his admin. Have the single payer, Medicare for anyone who wants it or public option people been asked to the table? Have they ever? How many times have insurance execs and lobbyists met with Obama?

[niyad]

17. "don't make promises you can't keep"

[jannyk]

18. This belongs in 'Latest Breaking Fairy Stories' not LBN!

:shrug:

[SHRED]

19. how very 2003 of him

[saracat]

20. Anyone "trusting" that to be the case is just foolish. Raul has been trying to barter

and obviously isn't very good at this.

[Vidar]

21. Well Obama, you can have you Secret Service protection later too. You're

pretty careless of other peoples' lives, especially the poor & the military.

[Cha]

22. Well, I will thank the President..

Thanks, President Obama & and your Team, for all your hard work:patriot::patriot:

[rhett o rick]

26. I am sorry what? Hard work? What exactly have they done?

So far we got nothing. NOTHING. And at best we might get a piece of garbage written by the damn health insurance companies.

Yeah thanks a lot Obama

[Cha]

33. He's done a hellava lot more than those

sitting around throwing cheap shots over the internet.

[Sub Atomic]

41. You're right. At least I haven't capitulated to the Republicans for the past 13 months.

[rhett o rick]

51. First of all not very much has been done. Second, it's their job to get something done.

I do my part, but it falls on deaf ears. Incumbent Democrats cant be replaced unless by repukes. Third, I feel the president could have done a lot more, to help the process and to let the people know he is fighting for us and not the insurance companies.

Why isnt the government negotiating drug prices for Medicare? The president sold us out there. He didnt even try for single payer, and isnt trying for a real PO either.

The Senate bill is better than death in the streets but that's no way to judge something. It isnt near what we need.

And I very much resent you and your friends dismissing complaints about this admin as "throwing cheap shots". Is it a cheap shot to say that Pres Obama sold us out to big pharma over drug price negotiations?

[Name removed]

43. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Zoeisright]

23. Uh huh. Right.

And there's a bridge in Brooklyn for sale too.

[David Zephyr]

25. What utter bullshit.

Crap.

[Beacool]

27. Is this the same Obama who voted for FISA with promises to go back and retool it later on?

:eyes:

[yurbud]

29. if he spent a tenth of the time twisting arms of DLCers that he did wooing Republicans, he'd have

the votes in the Senate for the public option.

[webDude]

30. Ah! Well, I believe him! Don't you? (dick me around and...

...lie some more? Are you kidding?).

[harmonicon]

31. "those who seek to make revolution by halves dig their own graves" (nt)

[glinda]

32. It is now or never. I really think the time is right now.

[lib2DaBone]

34. Patriot Act.... Torture... NAFTA... .. Your Check is in the mail....

[aquart]

35. I could throw up.

This is what he did with his momentum? His sweeping majority? Sucked up to the Republicans until he had no power left at all?

[Eric Condon]

36. Justice delayed...

you know the rest.

[western mass]

38. Thanks, Barack!

Signed,

the suckers

[Orrex]

42. So, for all of you people out there who are currently on fire

Please be patient; we'll get you a bucket later.

[NecklyTyler]

44. I would like to see some realistic proposals for single payer

The only real solution to the health care crisis is to go to a single payer system. All of the current reforms and public option ideas are little more than lip service to a life and death issue

[Bluenorthwest]

45. No offense, but is Ezra like 22 or something? His writing is rough

and he just seems open faced and Pollyanna like. Dear wee Ezra, when a politician says that later he will be able to do that which right now he simply refuses to try to do, and that politician has a long history of mendacity and shifting 'positions' on the issue, that politician is engaging in what we adults call 'bullshit'. He's lying. He's saying whatever he thinks will sell his agenda.
So what is this Klein, 23? 12? Or is he just stupid as a box of rocks?

[RedstDem]

46. Be nice if we could believe him, but theres that old saying in Texas

Fool me once, shame on shame on you, fool me twice, uh....cant get fooled agin.

[Doctor_J]

47. When? After the winger take over the house and senate next year?

What an epic disappointment

[Javaman]

48. Yeah, "later"...

:eyes:

[Hell Hath No Fury]

49. Uh yeah. And I'm Cleopatra.

:eyes:

There is simply no chance this is going to happen. We are going to be losing seats at the midterm -- the chance we will continue to have the votes for a public option or Medicare buy-in become slim to none.

If it doesn't happen now, it just is not going to happen for a very long time.

[Daveparts still]

52. Just yesterday

he told conservative Democrats if they didn't pass the Senate version it would be a generation before health care was addressed again. promises, promises, pass what's good for the corporations now and we'll give the public what it wants later.

[avaistheone1]

53. Another empty promise.

Most of us can not afford to wait until Obama and blue dogs get around to passing real health reform.


Time is not on our side. Waiting is not an option.

[FlyByNight]

54. I'll believe that when I see it

Frankly, we've heard this kind of horse-shit before.

Actions speak louder than words, no matter the eloquence, Mr. President.

:eyes:

[GeorgeGist]

55. More lipstick, please.

[KoKo]

57. "Later, DUDE" ..."I've got a BIG AGENDA and much Food on My Plate."

:eyes:

[northernlights]

58. public option delayed is public option denied

where have I heard that before? :shrug: