Clark's Health Care Plan released today

[kang]

You can see it at http://americansforclark.com/

It's pretty solid, but then again I think Democrats own this issue against the GOP anyways.

By the way, his foreign policy speech today will be available on Thursday and I'll post it here and on the Foreign Policy forum in case anybody's interested. John Podesta, Ted Sorenson and many others also speak at this conference so I'll provide a link to the whole archive too. First time watching a live webcast today...pretty cool.

[roguevalley]

1. Thanks!

[DemDogs]

2. And -- guess what -- it's Edwards' health care plan!

The Edwards has a Planburglar contest and it looks like there is another qualifier.

From the blog:
The Planburglar strikes again!!
Tuesday October 28, @06:35PM
Shame on Wesley Clark!

In the most flagrant robbery of John Edwards' REAL SOLUTIONS yet, Wes Clark today announced his health care plan.

The foundation of the plan is a guarantee that all children have health insurance by combining a requirement that parents provide coverage, with additional resources to help parents join CHIP or private health care plans.

Yup. That's straight out of Edwards' July speech.

Edwards in July: " When parents bring a child into this world, they have a responsibility to provide a safe home, a good education, and a lot of love. Every parent wants to do the right thing for his or her child. I believe HEALTH INSURANCE SHOULD BE ONE OF THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES and I want to help parents meet that responsibility."

Clark in October: "We provide the opportunity and the affordability, but then we demand responsibility in return. In return for this assistance, IT WOULD BE THE RESPONSIBILITY - indeed the requirement -- of young adults and parents to enroll their children in a responsible health insurance plan."

And here's the kicker, the name of Clark's plan: "Real Solutions for Healthcare"

<http://blog.johnedwards2004.com/>

[sandnsea]

3. I'd say a compilation

Of Kerry's and Edwards'. I see bits of both of them, particularly the buying into the Congressional health insurance is Kerry's. Mandatory health care for kids is Edwards.

I saw the little plan burglar a couple days ago. Really cute.

[burr]

4. and don't forget where John Kerry stole his version of healthcare reform.

<http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=111&subid=137&contentid=251186>

It was dubbed in January by John Breaux as the "Radically Centralist Approach" to healthcare reform. And later that May...just by coincidence, Kerry announced his heathcare plan which had been taken directly out of the DLC playbook!

<http://www.johnkerry.com/news/speeches/spc_2003_0516.html>

And of course before John Breaux began pushing the idea of allowing the uninsured to buy into the FEHBP earlier this year, it was Senator Bill Bradley's big plan in 2000..during the primaries against Al Gore. And the idea of allowing people between the ages of 55-65 buy into Medicare dates back to the Clinton years.

Thankfully political ideology isn't copyrighted. But if the neo-cons had their way it would be! To them political ideas are like contagious diseases, if not stopped their party could become infected. When I see a politician stealing an idea from another politician, it shows the idea must be popular and that our system is working. But this does not make the politician flawed somehow.

[Lefty48197]

5. Yeah right

Clark supports Social Security too, but I guess he stole that one from FDR.

[DemDogs]

6. Gimme a break! He even stole the name

Real Solutions. Usually when you take someone else's term paper, you remember to write your name not theirs on the top.

Give it up on this one.

A candidate like Clark with no ideas has got to get them somewhere.

[burr]

7. And where did John Edwards steal his idea???

<http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=111&subid=137&contentid=251794>

That's right...on June 30, 2003 the DLC released their plan providing universal healthcare for kids. And just by coincidence, Edwards releases a nearly identical plan less than a month later!

<http://www.johnedwards2004.com/page.asp?id=171>

[DemDogs]

10. Not the same, Edwards' is a mandate. Clark's is a mandate, too

n/t

[burr]

12. This DLC plan also suggested the need for mandates...

"Parents have an important responsibility, too. This plan would give every parent a choice of affordable health care options, and expect them to cover their kids in return. States could make coverage a requirement for parents to renew their drivers' licenses -- or as David Kendall, Jeff Lemieux, and S. Robert Levine, M.D., proposed in the Winter 2001 Blueprint, parents could lose the personal exemption for their children on their tax return if they refused to take responsibility to cover them."

[dsc]

20. This sounds very dangerous

What happens if the government decides it can no longer afford to subsidize premiums but keeps the mandate? I think it is very dangerous territory to require parents to insure children given that the cost of doing so could be astromatical.

[burr]

21. This is the problem with government...

they can impose unfunded mandates on us, but there is only one way to impose a mandate on the government. And that is by ratifying a Constitutional Amendment, we may see another one in our lifetime...maybe.

[Bread and Circus]

11. If that's true,

then I suspect the rest of the guys got their
foreign policy talking points from Wes Clark
when he was a commentator on CNN and speaking
in front of Congress.

Look, Demdogs, I am sure you have a noble purpose...
but many of us are weary of "attack Clark at all
costs".

[Bread and Circus]

8. That's BS.....

There are similarities among many of the plans...
and there are differences.

I love how the spin against Clark mutates to
adapt to the situation no matter what.

Now, if you can't disagree with his plans,
just say "he copied them from my candidate".

Clark can't catch a break.

[KittyWampus]

9. But TLM Says Its DEAN'S Plan! LOL

:D

I prefer getting the Middle Man in the form of Insurance Companies out of the equation... which means regarding Health Care I'm with Dennis and Carol.

[rdfi-defi]

13. never mind "the middle man,"

i don't think people should be denied health care because it is a human right. i'm with dean, i'm "tired of being a second class citizen" in compairison to other helth care plans in the industrialized world. the problem is, imo, there is no way to make all americans first class citizens with out a national single payer health care system.

[burr]

14. hmmmm...

I think you have the best idea, but the wrong candidate. :eyes:

[rdfi-defi]

15. thanks for your concern

but i wanted to give dean credit for his statement, and not bash (imo) his lack of comitment to truly fix health care in america. at a glance clark's plan looked a lot like dean's. i have not looked at all 9 hc plans but i think it is time for single payer. so i'm with dk, cmb and sharpton (if i'm not mistaken the rev is for single payer also)

[burr]

16. Careful!!

I might have ta call the speeech police on you, ya dirty thief.. ;)

[rdfi-defi]

17. woooooooo

busted, like wes clark at a bush fund raiser. :7 (my first attempt at a smilie, hope it works) but all fun aside, i think health care is a big big issue and i would like to see some honest evaluations of the different plans. the only two i've looked at closely, kucinich and dean.

[KittyWampus]

18. Busted Like Dean Getting Lionized At The Cato Institute

Is a more appropriate quip, don't you think?

[RevolutionStartsNow]

19. Ummm.....

If it's a good plan, it's a good plan, and we should be happy that our fine candidates think alike!

[mzmolly]

22. Oh my, this is bad. WTF is the Clark campaign thinking?!

I agree with Mr. Clarks cousin, his advisors are MIA.

I have no issue with Clark choosing a like plan because it makes sense but to steal the whole thing (including the name)?! YIKES

[KittyWampus]

23. Yeah, But Edwards Stole It From The DLC

This is absurd to the point of surreal

It is to laugh :D

[burr]

24. Edwards, Kerry, Breaux, Dean, Bradley, and the DLC should be flattered!

Clearly their ideas are worth sharing. Or maybe those ideas are worthless, and Clark should just shutup. Afterall...don't want to steal other good ideas like singlepayer healthcare. Lets get real, all of these healthcare plans have been kicked around for decades...there is nothing original about them!

If you discovered the decimal numbering system, would this be an original concept...or just part of the nature's reality? Would the rest of us who wanted a numbering system be forced into using the binary or base two system?

Or would you consider that theft as well? Don't mind me, I just steal from God's creation...

[KittyWampus]

25. Single Payer Health Care- The Holy Grail

of Health Plans....

[SahaleArm]

26. AMA wouldn't accept it.

The AMA and Private Insurers would never go with socialized medicine.

[mzmolly]

30. Well he should at least change the friggin name ... NT

[burr]

32. I agree...

real solutions is a kinda sappy name, and John Edwards invented it! How about no child left behind? :wow:

[FrenchieCat]

31. I don't think that Clark will or will not be elected

because he is honest enough to know good parts of a plan when he sees it. Actually his plan covers more children than Edwards' plan. However, I think that his foreign policy knowledge allows him to have a plan that is not "the perfect plan to all in America".....

[kang]

27. TNR primary on Clark's Health Plan

No it's not fresh and strikingly different than the other plans put out there (which are all better than the GOP's), but isn't that a good thing? http://www.tnr.com/primary/index.mhtml?pid=909

Putting copy-cat charges aside, I thought what most Dems were so worried about was that Clark wouldn't advocate solid Dem policies. So now you blast him for advocating a good idea? Is he supposed to ignore a good idea just because others agree with it too? That doesn't make any sense.

[javadu]

28. I Agree

All the anti-Clark folks want it both ways. If he is not a democrat, then why would he steal Edwards ---- I mean Kerry's ---- or somebody else's plan for healthcare. It is a good plan.

Go General Clark!!!

[Bread and Circus]

29. TNR gives Clark an A...

and states that he does the rest one better
by emphasizing preventative care and screening.

His plan is even more health oriented then Deans though
I think Dean and Edwards have good plans.

Go Dems -- Including Dean and Edwards!!!!

One of em has got to beat Bush!

[EX-CONservative]

33. SINGLE-PAYER Healthcare!

I'm sick and tired of HMO's and private insurance companies!

Kick 'em out now and forever!!!

The rest of the civilized world, oops, THE civilized world has national healthcare. Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Belgium, Ireland, Japan, CUBA.

Our health care system is probably the worst outside Sierra Leone and I am fed up with bowing to the HMO's!!!

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[FrenchieCat]

34. That would be in step 2.....

Let's just have a piece of cake.....for now...

The single payer will come....radicalism in health care ain't gonna happen overnight.......

Pragmatism always wins the day.

Hey, I am french, so I know single payer is better....but not realistic for the time being.

Just beating Bush will help my Health!

[Bread and Circus]

35. As a doc...

I think Clark's plan will work and I agree
with Frenchie, nationalized health insurance
is step #2 or 3, about 15 years from now.

Also, I think Clark's plan actually is the best
to improve health care, not just increase insurance.

[democratreformed]

36. Thanks for your input, doc

I really respect your opinion because I have read so many of your ideas before.